My, What a Strange Beak You Have

American avocets have long, very thin, and slightly up-curved bills. They swish their beaks from side to side in shallow water looking for crustaceans and insects.

American white pelicans have interesting bills with a pouch of skin known as a throat sac that is connected to the lower mandible, acting as a net for catching fish and filtering water. These birds “upend” like ducks to hunt rather than diving. American white pelicans make their big beaks extra flashy during breeding season. These pelicans grow a "horn" on the upper bill, which is shed after they lay their eggs. It's the only pelican species to grow such an appendage.

Black skimmers have the most unique bills among shorebirds. Their beaks are large but thin. When it comes to their beaks, the lower mandible extends past the upper mandible, which is ideal for how these birds catch their food. As they fly, they dip their lower mandibles into water to skim for fish. Their razor-thin bills can slice through water; meeting up with a fish, their lower mandibles snap onto the fish. Black skimmers are the only bird species in North and South America with this foraging technique.

Flamingos are among the most recognized birds around with their big beaks, pink coloring, and long legs. They are native to South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Mediterranean The bills are designed to be used upside-down and have a hairy, filter-like structure called lamellae lining the mandibles to help the birds separate food from mud and water.

Great hornbills are one of the larger species along with the rhinoceros hornbills. They are native to Southeast Asia, the Malay Peninsula, and Indonesia, preferring wet, tall evergreen forests. These birds have bright yellow and black casques atop their already large bills. Their casques are used mostly when mating with male birds head-batting each other in flight.

Keel-billed toucans have equally large beaks to the toco toucans. Their bills are colored in rainbow colors, and they are native to Central and South America, living and nesting in flocks. (pictured above)

Kiwis are the only birds with their nostrils at the tip of their beaks. These birds are endemic to New Zealand. They have the second-largest olfactory bulb relative to the size of their forebrain (the condor having the largest), meaning they have an exceptional sense of smell. By contrast, its eyesight is poor. As it walks, the kiwi probes the earth, sniffs, and then uses its big beak as a lever to widen the hole in search of earthworms.

Long-billed curlews are North American shorebirds that spend winter on the coast and breed in grasslands. Their long bills are just right for catching shrimp and crabs that live deep in burrows in tidal mudflats, and their bills make it easy for them to get to earthworms in pastures. These birds have one of the longest bills of any shorebirds.

Red crossbills seem to have beaks that are deformed when considering most other finch species. They inhabit mountainous conifer and boreal forests. However, their beaks are perfect for getting to their primary food source, which are the seeds in pinecones. These birds place the tips of their bills under a cone scale and bite down, pushing the scale up and exposing the seed.

Rhinoceros hornbills have truly amazing bills and are birds, not rhinoceroses. They are native to peninsular Malaysia and the islands of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra. On their bills they have a feature that is called a casque with a striking upward curve just like a rhino horn. With their strong beaks, these birds can reach fruit from thin tree branches. Their casques made from keratin are used as a resonating chamber, amplifying their loud calls.

I don’t know really why, because I have not seen these birds in person, but just seeing photos of them, I have to say they are among my favorite birds. Roseate spoonbills are among several species of spoonbills featuring their oddly shaped spoon-like beaks. They are found in marshy areas in Florida and the Gulf Coast. They feed in shallow fresh and coastal water, moving their bills from side to side. With their big beaks, roseate spoonbills strain food from the water, like crustaceans, aquatic insects, and small fish. The birds get their pink coloring from pigments in the crustaceans they eat.

Shoebills are stork-like birds with bills shaped like large shoes. They inhabit swamps in Africa. The sharp edges of the mandibles help the birds kill fish and discard any vegetation caught along the way. The sharp hooks at the tip of their bills let the birds grip, crush, and pierce prey. Shoebills can clatter their bills to communicate with others.

Sword-billed hummingbirds have the longest beaks relative to the body size of any bird in the world. They are native to South America. With a bill so long, these birds have to groom themselves with their feet. For balance they perch with their heads tilted at an upward angle. Sword-billed hummingbirds have the advantage that they can feed on flowers, particularly long corollas, reaching the nectar that is unavailable to other hummingbird species.

Toco toucans have amazingly big bills, which, lucky for them, are made of a honeycomb of keratin, so they are not heavy. These birds are native to South America. The structure of the bills helps them regulate body temperature. Their large bills are good for peeling skin from fruit, intimidating other birds, and scaring off predators. With their long, flat tongues, toco toucans can easily eat lizards, frogs, and insects.