The major categories of beak shape work for most birds, but there are some birds that have unusual
shapes to their beaks.
You'll notice that unusual beak shapes are almost always about getting to an unusual
food source.
For example: Curved beaks are used for eating fruit.
They're found on the toucan and the hornbill.
Long, curved beaks are usually on fruit-eating species.
Fruit often grows way out at the end of the branch which is not strong enough to support
the bird.
The long beak lets the bird stand on a firmer part of the branch and reeeach out to where
the good fruit is that the other birds can't reach.
Then the bird eats its fruit and moves on.
Tubular beaks are used for feeding from flowers.
They're found on the hummingbird.
The hummingbird's long beak helps it reach deep into flowers to get at the nectar hidden
inside.
Some flowers are shaped just right for hummingbird beaks.
There's another way to use a tubular beak, and that is like a curlew.
Curlews eat clams hidden in burrows.
Their beak helps them find clams and pull them out.
The hummingbird and curlew eat wildly different foods, but the idea is the same in each.
Hummingbirds stick their beak in a flower and drink sugary nectar.
Curlews stick their beak into sand and eat clams and crabs.
The tubular beak helps them reach food that other birds can't get.
You can see in this demonstration that there is a tasty treat in this jar.
I want to eat the treat, but my hand is too big to fit into the jar, so too bad for me.
On the other hand, literally, my wife has small hands that can fit into the jar and
get the food that I can't.
This is what unusual beak shapes are all about.
Grooved beaks are used for filtering water.
They're found on the flamingo and the mallard duck.
These birds usually feed in water.
They open their beak and get a mouthful of water and food bits.
Their beaks have grooves to hold the bits of food while the water rushes out.
Ducks and swans feed while swimming right-side up.
Flamingos have beaks that work better upside down!
Generalist beak- used to eat anything.
They're found on crows and grackles.
Generalist beaks are rather short, generic-shaped beaks.
They are medium-long, medium curved, medium-thick.
They're average in every way.
Generalist beaks can eat any type of food, from fruit or insects to eggs or fish.
It may sound surprising that a generalist beak counts as an unusual type of beak.
But it is- there's many more species with specialized beak shapes than average beak
shapes.
So why is an average, generalized beak so unusual?
Let's do a quick illustration.
Have you ever used a multi-tool?
Multiools are those all-in-one tools.
They have a screwdriver, but not the best screwdriver.
They have a saw, but it's not a very good saw.
This is like a generalist beak.
The tool can do anything, but each thing it can do is not as good as a single-purpose
tool.
If I was in a competition to saw through a board, I would lose to someone with a normal
saw.
This is why most birds have specialist beaks; they only have limited choices food, but they
are really good at eating that type of food.
Only a few birds are flexible and equipped to eat anything.
Now you know something more about bird beaks.
If a bird has an unusual beak shape, it probably eats an unusual food.
You can learn more about beaks by checking out my channel page.
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