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OBSERVING BIRDS Birds are one of the most fascinating animals on Earth! Explore the items on this table and see for yourself just how amazing these feathered creatures really are. Bird Beaks A cone shaped beak is found in many birds such as finches and grosbeaks. It is a strong beak used for cracking seeds. Did you ever wonder why there are so many types of bird beaks? The most important function of a bird bill is feeding, and it is shaped Thin, slender, pointed beaks according to what a bird eats. The are found mainly in insect eaters. They are used to pick beak is one of the characteristics insects off leaves, twigs, and used to identify birds. You can learn about bird behavior by bark. This warbler is a good example. looking at the beak and thinking about what it eats. Pictured here Woodpeckers have strong are some common beak shapes beaks which taper to the tip, and a description of the food they forming a chisel for pecking holes in trees for food or are especially adapted to eat. nests. Most feed on insects which live under the bark. Hummingbirds have long, tubular beaks that resemble straws, which they use to sip nectar from flowers. Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey which catch and kill live prey have sharp, "hooked" beaks. These are used to bite the skull or neck and also to tear the body into pieces small enough to swallow. The edges of a Mallard's bill are fringed to strain plants, seeds, and small animals from mud and water. Can you match the beak to the food it’s designed to eat? SONG BIRDS or PERCHING BIRDS (warblers, thrushes, wrens, etc.) have independent, flexible toes, with one pointing backwards, ideal for grasping perches. Why don't perching birds fall out of trees when they sleep? When perching birds sit, a tendon on the backside of the ankle automatically flexes locking their toes around the branch. With feet locked, sleeping birds don't fall. As the bird stands up its feet release. WATER BIRDS such as ducks have webbing between their toes for swimming. GULLS also have feet similar to these so they don't sink while walking in the soft sand or mud near the water's edge. WADING BIRDS. The long toes of herons, which spreads the bird's weight over a large surface area, facilitates walking on soft surfaces near the water's edge (where wading birds like to eat). RAPTORS such as hawks, eagles, and owls use large claws (called talons) to capture, kill, and carry prey with their feet. Bird Feet Birds have many different shapes and sizes to their feet. Like the shape of the beak, a birds' feet tells us much about the different species of birds. Pictured here are several examples of birds feet and what each one can tell us about the group of birds who possess them. Can you match the bird to it’s feet?