Info Bites

Bird Beaks

Birds have an amazing variety of beaks, adapted for their particular type of food-gathering. Check out this tool-kit:

Spoon - Spear - Fishhook - Trap - Shredder - Swiss Army Knife

‘Spoon’ - Royal Spoonbill Platalea flavipes

Small fish and shrimps are caught by sweeping the bill through the water. Uses sensitive bill to locate prey it can’t see in muddy water.

http://birdway.com.au/threskiornithidae/

http://www.aussiebirds.bravepages.com/spoonbills.html

‘Spear’ - Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

Powerful, pointed beak for hunting. Prey is bashed on a branch or dropped from a height to immobilise it. Beak is also useful as a ‘digging stick’ for excavating tunnels in termite nests.

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/laughing_kookaburra.htm

‘Fishhook’ - Cormorant Phalacrocorax sp.

A long beak with a sharp hook at the end is ideal for catching and holding on to fish.

http://faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=422

‘Trap’ - Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides

Very wide, powerful beak for catching prey on the ground or in flight and swallowing it whole. Unlike owls and hawks, this hunter does not use its talons.

www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/tawny_frogmouth.htm

‘Shredder’ - Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae

Sharp, curved bill for tearing meat after prey is caught by talons.

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/southern_boobook.htm

‘Swiss Army Knife’ - Galah Cacatua roseicapilla

This multi-function tool is ideal for extracting and cracking seeds. It combines a sharp-pointed top beak, a chisel-edged lower beak, a file (ridged inner surface of the upper beak) and a vise. Its strong beak is also used for climbing. Inside the thick bill is a large, sensitive, muscular tongue.

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/galah.htm

More birds: http://www.amonline.net.au/birds/index.htm