Feet Adaptations
How To Draw Birds
Create-a-Bird
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Bird Adaptations - Beaks
Did you ever wonder why there are so many types of bird beaks (scientists
call them bills)? The most important function of a bird bill is feeding,
and it is shaped according to what a bird eats. If you want to learn more
about birds, you may want to pay attentions to bill shapes! You can use it as
one of the characeristics you use to identify birds. If you have already
identified a bird, you can learn more about its behavior by looking at the bill
and thinking about what it eats. Then you may think about where it lives,
and so on. To help you get started, here are some common bill shapes and
the food theat they are especially adapted to eat:
| SHAPE | TYPE | ADAPTATION |
 | Cracker | Seed eaters like sparrows and cardinals have short, thick conical bills for cracking seed. |
 | Shredder | Birds of prey like hawks and owls have sharp, curved bills for tearing meat. |
 | Chisel | Woodpeckers have bills that are long and chisel-like for boring into wood to eat insects. |
 | Probe | Hummingbird bills are long and slender for probing flowers for nectar. |
 | Strainer | Some ducks have long, flat bills that strain small plants and animals from the water. |
 | Spear | Birds like herons and kingfishers have spear-like bills adapted for fishing. |
 | Tweezer | Insect eaters like warblers have thin, pointed bills. |
 | Swiss Army Knife | Crows have a multi-purpose bill that allows them to eat fruit, seeds,
insects, fish, and other animals. |
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