bills and beaks header

Birds eat almost every kind of food, but not all birds eat the same things. Your best clues as to what a bird eats are its bill and feet. Bills are dining utensils. They can work like hammers, chisels, pincers, nutcrackers, hooks, spears, or even strainers.

 hummingbird  Anna's Hummingbirds have long, tubular bills that resemble straws, which they use to sip nectar from flowers.
 Acorn Woodpeckers have a strong, long, chisel-like bill to make holes in oak trees.
 woodpecker
 Flycatcher  Vermilion Flycatchers have a wide bill surrounded by a net of bristles that works to funnel flying insects into it's mouth while the flycatcher is in the air.
 Mergansers have a long bill with serrated edges and a hooked point, adapted for grabbing fish.
 Merganser
 Mallard  The edges of a Mallard's bill are fringed to strain plants, seeds, and small animals from mud and water.
 Western Meadowlarks use their long pointed bills to probe for insects in the ground.
 Western Meadowlark
 evening Grosbeak  The Evening Grosbeak has a thick, conical beak, which is necessary for opening the hard outer shells of seeds to reach the nutritious interior.
 Eagles tear prey, such as mice, into bite-sized pieces with their strong, hooked bills.
 eagle
 woodcock  Many shore birds have long, thin probing bills. These bills come in a variety of sizes to jab at different depths in the muck, allowing many species to live together without directly competing for food.



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