BirdWatching

Beak abilities

When birds gave up their teeth and traded their “hands” for wings, obtaining food may have become challenging. But through evolution, birds developed an ingenious assortment of bill shapes to enable them to keep eating.

In my column in the July/August 2018 issue, I described how bills evolved from primitive snouts and what researchers have learned from studying the skulls of modern and ancient birds. Here I give examples of various birds’ bills and how they use them.

have conical bills designed for cracking seeds. Their bill size

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from BirdWatching

BirdWatching8 min read
Louisiana’s grail Birds
Fifty years ago, Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills were uncommon in south-central and southwestern Louisiana. Yellow Rails were likely present in southwestern Louisiana but not detected. Non-migratory Whooping Cranes had been extirpated over 35 year
BirdWatching5 min read
ID TIPS: Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds
IN MY BIRDING YOUTH IN CALIFORNIA, the second edition of Roger Peterson’s Field Guide to Western Birds (1961) was my go-to source for bird identification. But, in hindsight, hummingbird identification was in a primitive state in those days. Field ide
BirdWatching2 min read
CRC Hosts Emergency Efforts To Help Save California Condors
Recently the Carolina Raptor Center (CRC) became home to 28 Black Vultures that are part of an emergency use vaccine authorization, a program dedicated to protecting endangered California Condors from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The eme

Related Books & Audiobooks