Weird Bird Beaks

Weird Bird Beaks

Bearded Barbet I am a bearded barbet, as you can see from the hairlike feathers that look like a beard on my beak. My large, thick beak also has pointed parts on the bottom like sharp teeth. I live where it is dry in Africa, and I am a member of the woodpecker family. Like the woodpecker, I often use my tail feathers to help me hold onto trees. I use my beak to make a hole in a dead tree or stump to build my nest. I feed on fruit and sometimes on insects. I live with a partner and three or four other birds that help incubate our eggs and care for the chicks after they hatch.

Crossbill I am a type of finch called a crossbill because my beak is crossed like an X, which helps me pull the seeds out of pinecones. I hold a cone with one foot and then pry open the scales of the cone to get the pine nuts. Pinecones grow on trees called conifers, but conifers don't produce good pinecones every year, so I travel all over to find pinecones instead of living in one place. If I can't find any pine nuts to eat, I will settle for other seeds and even insects to survive. Like the canary, which I'm related to, I sing beautiful and elaborate melodies.

Rhinoceros Hornbill I am called a rhinoceros hornbill because of the horn on top of my beak, which I use to knock down fruit. I also use my horn to fight and sometimes to attract a mate. When my mate is incubating eggs in a tree-hole nest, I seal her in with mud. I leave a small opening in the mud for my beak to fit through so that I can bring her food. She breaks out once our babies hatch, but then we seal them in again for safety until they are old enough to leave the nest. If you think my horn looks weird, you should see my eyelashes! I am one of the few birds that have them.

Huia We huias (HOO-yuhs)lived in New Zealand until we became extinct. " I am the male. My beak is thick and strong. " " I am the female. My beak is thin and curved. " Our beaks were so different that for a long time, people thought we weren't related to each other at all. We looked alike otherwise, though, with orange fleshy wattles and shiny black feathers except for the white tips of our tails. We ate insects and insect larvae, spiders, and sometimes berries.

Sword-Billed Hummingbird I am a sword-billed hummingbird, a very small bird with a very long beak; in fact, I'm the only bird with a bill longer than my body. My beak is heavy, so when I land, I tilt my head up to reduce the strain on my neck. I use my long beak and even longer tongue to get nectar from tube-shaped flowers. I can stick my tongue out and pull it back in again about 13 times per second. I live in the Andes Mountains of South America, where I build my nest of moss and leaves held together with cobwebs.