Beaks and Bills

Birds use their beak (also called their bill) to eat, drink and preen their feathers. Beaks come in many different shapes and sizes.

Each beak is made for a special job. If you look at the size and shape of a bird’s beak it gives you a clue as to what it eats and how it catches it.

Ducks have wide, flat bills which they use to sieve small insects and plants out of the water.

Ibis have long curved bills to poke deep down into the soft mud.

Grebes dive under the water and use their short, stout beaks to grab insects and fish.

Just as waterbirds have different feet depending on how they search for food, so they have different shaped beaks to help with collecting their food.

Egrets would not have much luck catching fish and frogs if they had a tiny little beak. And ducks would be very unsuccessful at catching tiny plants and insects if they had to grab each one individually with a big solid beak.

Each beak is made for a special job and they work together with their feet to collect the food needed.

The Egret wriggles his toes in the soft mud as he moves and then can grab any small animal that is disturbed with his big strong beak.

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