What birds have a large beak. Birds with the most unusual beaks. Lilac-capped painted malure

03.11.2019

On our planet, there are many species of birds that differ from each other both externally, and in habits, and in lifestyle. We will tell you about the interesting features of some representatives of the world of birds that distinguish them from other birds ...

We will not list encyclopedic information about the size of these birds and other facts that tell about their "everyday" life, we'd rather try to find some "zest" in each of them ...

Kiwis are New Zealand's centenarians, having appeared here over thirty million years ago.

Kiwis still have wings, although they are practically invisible. Their size does not exceed 5 cm. Kiwi eyes are also small, but very powerful legs with huge claws.

Kiwi has an excellent "scent". At the tip of her long beak there are special antennae. Having put his “nose” into the ground, the kiwi, in the literal sense of the word, sniffs out worm-bugs there.

At one time, kiwis were on the verge of extermination, and all because of their feathers - the natives made durable protective raincoats from them. Now the kiwi population is not very large (about 70 thousand individuals), and this time it is all the fault of the predators brought into the kiwi habitat, as well as uncontrolled deforestation.

Kiwi is a symbol of New Zealand, its image can be seen on stamps and coins.

The name of these birds is translated from Greek as "bull horn". Their distinctive feature is a huge beak. And this is with a rather modest size of other parts of the body.

When the hornbill flies, its wings make sounds similar to the hum of an approaching train. This is due to the special structure of their wings - the intervals between the flight feathers are not covered with small feathers. When you flap your wings, the air noisily passes through them, making such loud sounds.

Hornbills are extremely noisy creatures, making very non-melodious sounds. And if they are in danger, the "rhinos" begin to screech heart-rendingly, and they can be heard for several kilometers.

Interesting fact. Female hornbills incubate their chicks in tree cavities. To protect themselves and their offspring from uninvited guests, in particular, snakes, they immure themselves in a hollow with a mixture of saliva, droppings and other “improvised materials”. They leave only a small hole through which the male will bring them food. I must say, the males do this very diligently, as a result, they themselves lose a lot of weight, and the females gain weight extremely during their voluntary imprisonment in the hollow.

Hornbills love to hunt snakes, and collectively. If some one especially notices a reptile, she will call her relatives with her cries, who, protecting their bodies from snake bites with dense wings, begin to tear it to pieces.

The California Condor is one of the largest flying birds.

Their wingspan is over 3.5 meters. And many thousands of years ago, a condor lived in California, whose wingspan exceeded five meters!

These are very powerful birds of prey, capable of soaring in the air for a long time, have a very unsympathetic "face". They have a small head, and besides, they are completely bald. Why did nature treat them so badly? Everything is absolutely justified. While eating, and condors feed on large prey, they do not tear off pieces of meat from the edge with their powerful beaks, and often climb inside the carcass with their heads and, naturally, get very dirty in the bloody insides of the “food”. Therefore, with such "sloppy" meals, feathers on the head become absolutely superfluous. Below the bald head, on the neck, the condor has a collar of feathers, which serves as a barrier to the flowing blood of the victim, so that it does not stain the feathers on the body.

Condors are scavengers, often devouring decaying food. To neutralize cadaveric poison, their stomachs produce special juices.

Condors love to sunbathe with their huge wings spread. This is done to get rid of bacteria on the feathers.

Now, unfortunately, Californian condors are listed in the Red Book.

Velvet weaver - the bird with the largest tail

Of course, in relation to the body of the bird itself. I must say that males have beautiful long black tails, and females are inconspicuous, like sparrows. These birds are often referred to as "widows" and it's all about their tail.

Why are these birds called "weavers"? For the fact that they skillfully weave their nests from plant fibers, and males always do this. Females "decorate" the dwelling from the inside.

"Gannet" in Spanish means "stupid" or "clown". So these birds were named not for stupid behavior, but for their clumsy gait on land. And also for their absolute credulity. Gannets are not at all afraid of people, which often ends badly for them.

The males of these funny birds seem to be shod in blue boots. The color of the paws varies depending on the age, health status and nutrition of the male. The older and more sickly the male, the lighter the legs. Considering all this, the female chooses for herself the most suitable and capable male for procreation.

The sage grouse is a bird whose males boast bright colors (compared to females) and organs that resemble a female bust. In fact, these are throat pouches hidden in feathers. During courtship, males inflate them to their maximum size, and hide their heads, as if they didn’t exist at all. Black grouse often fight for the female, angrily sticking out their red eyebrows and hitting each other with their swollen breasts.

Puffins are sea birds that spend a lot of time in the ocean. On land, in fact, they only hatch offspring.

Puffins are good anglers and excellent divers. They can stay underwater for more than two minutes.

Birds have to travel long distances from the nest with chicks to the place of "fishing", so the birds try to bring as many fish as possible at a time. The largest human recorded record is 29 fish.

These birds form bird markets, settling on steep coastal cliffs.

Beauties! The bright appearance of such chickens can be envied by ordinary chickens. And their feathers are beautiful, and become, and the “hairstyle” is such, as if a cool stylist worked with them!

Padua chickens have a pampered disposition. They do not like rain and snow - their hair and beard get very wet and the chickens catch a cold.

Many centuries ago, paduan chickens were kept as decoration. In the Vatican, there are two small sculptures of padua hens dated to the second century AD.

For the sake of eggs and meat, they began to breed only in the 18th century.

The birthplace of these beautiful chickens is Italy.

Cassowary is the most dangerous and aggressive flightless bird.

Cassowary means "horned head" in Indonesian. This is a huge bird, whose height can reach two meters, and weight 85 kg.

The cassowary is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most dangerous bird in the world. He is extremely irritable. No one knows what will enter his bird's head the next moment, so anyone in the reach of a cassowary must be extremely careful. The cassowary does not wait for an attack from outside, it always attacks first. Considering its dimensions, twelve-centimeter claws, a developed speed on land of 50 km / h and excellent swimmer abilities, it becomes clear that the victim of a cassowary has practically no chance of escaping. Cassowaries are also good high jumpers: it is not difficult for them to jump over a meter-long obstacle!

Even with their brethren, cassowaries fight not for life, but for death!

In past centuries, daggers and needles were made from the claws and bones of cassowaries.

Now some people are trying to raise cassowaries for later sale. One bird costs about 1.5 thousand dollars.

Hummingbird is the smallest bird

Hummingbird is perhaps the smallest and most delightful creation of our mother nature. The smallest hummingbird is called "bee hummingbird", this bird is only 7 centimeters long and weighs 2 grams; the largest representative of the hummingbird is called the "giant hummingbird", its length is 21 centimeters and its weight is about 20 grams.

Nature researchers also awarded other representatives of this family with very beautiful names: “angel hummingbird”, “snow-capped hummingbird”, “coquette hummingbird”, “emerald neck”, “fiery topaz”, “flying amethyst”.

1. There are over 300 varieties of hummingbirds in the world. At first glance, these birds are very delicate and fragile, however, they are the hardiest in the entire animal world. There are hummingbirds in a variety of climatic conditions: Arizona, the coast of Nova Scotia, Argentina, even Alaska. An interesting fact: hummingbirds live only in the New World.

2. On average, the length of a hummingbird is 5.7 centimeters, and most of the body is occupied by the tail and beak. The hummingbird weighs approximately 1.5 grams. The length of the largest representative of this family is 20 centimeters. Hummingbirds live for about 9 years.

3. The hummingbird has an incredibly developed heart, its volume is three times the stomach and takes up half of the already tiny body. This is due to the fact that these birds lead a very mobile lifestyle, and also have a very fast metabolism. We also note that hummingbirds have several times more red blood cells than other representatives of birds.

4. The heart of a hummingbird beats with an incredibly high frequency, 500 beats per minute (and this is at rest, and in some species it can reach 1000), and during the life of this crumb, the heart contracts 4.5 billion times, which is almost twice as many beats as a human heart beats in 70 years.

5. Hummingbirds need a lot of food. The daily norm of food exceeds the weight of a hummingbird twice. It is clear that this is the only way they can maintain such a fast metabolism and a stable temperature of their bodies. The diet of a hummingbird is flower nectar and small insects.

6. The flight speed of a hummingbird reaches 80 kilometers per hour, while they make 8-10 flaps of wings in one second. The wings move so fast that they are almost invisible. They hover motionlessly over the flower only due to the incredible speed of their wings.

7. Using a camera that can capture brief moments, an interesting moment was captured when the hummingbird entered the peak. As a result, stunning data were obtained: the speed of the bird is 400 of its bodies per second. If we compare the speed and body length of a hummingbird, it turns out that their ratio is much higher than that of a fighter with afterburner turned on and that of a space shuttle when passing through the earth's atmosphere. At the moment of exit from the peak, the hummingbird shows such instant braking, which is beyond the control of other living organisms conquering the airspace.

8. These little birds never pair up. Responsibilities for family affairs fall entirely on the "shoulders" of the female. She herself builds a nest and later raises the chicks. A female hummingbird usually lays two eggs and very rarely one.

9. The only time a hummingbird was found on the territory of the Russian Federation. The ocher hummingbird was discovered in 1976 on Ratmanov Island (Bering Strait).

10. Hummingbird is not only a small bird. A similar name is: a musical group from St. Petersburg; in 2004, a publishing house for the book industry was founded in Russia; pistol, the creator of which is the designer Franz Pfannlem; hybrid balloons; German kayak with a unique frame.

Among the variety of bird species, there are those that stand out for their unusual size - the smallest and largest birds. It is known about birds with strange beaks and birds digging holes.

The biggest birds

Among the birds there are very large ones. Most large birds, unfortunately, are unable to fly. The largest birds are the cassowary, ostrich and condor.

Ostrich

The truly giant bird is the ostrich. She can be admired not only for the largest dimensions and impressive weight, but also for her running speed. As you know, an ostrich is able to overtake a horse. In a sprint, the bird can accelerate to seventy kilometers per hour, while it is helped by very strong legs that take four-meter steps.

Cassowary

Another large bird lacking the ability to fly is the cassowary. Her height reaches one and a half meters with a weight of eighty kilograms. The maximum speed of this bird is fifty kilometers per hour. On the skull of the cassowary there is a bone plate, sometimes growing up to seventeen centimeters. For this, the Indonesians called her horned head.

Condor

Not all large birds can fly. There is a "giant" that rises high into the sky - this is the Californian condor. The Indians in the old days believed that the sun rested on the huge wings of a condor. This is not surprising, because its wingspan is three meters twenty-five centimeters. The length of the body of the condor itself is one meter thirty-five centimeters.

Albatross is also considered a large bird. He can plan in several ways. .

The smallest birds

Birds differ from each other in many ways, including size. The smallest birds are found even among predators.

bee hummingbird

The islands of Pinos and Cuba are home to the smallest birds in the world. It's about the bee hummingbird. Its weight is only 1.6 g. With a length of five centimeters, seven millimeters, along with a beak and tail. Its second name is the bird-fly.

baby falcon

The black-footed baby falcon is one of the miniature birds of prey. Approximately the same size is another predator - White-fronted falcon-baby. Their length is fifteen centimeters, and their weight is thirty-five grams. These birds live in southeast Asia and feed on dragonflies, butterflies, lizards, etc. Larger prey is not available to them, since they simply will not carry it away.

red-headed beetle

The smallest bird living in Russia is called the red-headed kinglet. Its weight is only five and a half grams with a length of nine centimeters. The red-headed beetle is extremely rare.

yellow-mouthed beetle

The yellow-mouthed wren is not only one of the smallest birds, but also the national bird of Luxembourg. The weight of this "baby" is about six grams, and the length does not exceed ten centimeters.

The most unusual birds

The world of birds is diverse, and among all this diversity there are birds with an unusual way of incubation, a non-standard appearance, a special structure of the legs or beak.

Malaya Sultanka

The small sultanka, thanks to its long fingers, has the ability to swim like a duck, and climb the branches and stems of vegetation, and walk like a chicken on floating plants. All this is possible thanks to the long fingers of the sultan.

Red-billed Alcyone

In an unusual way of incubation of eggs, the red-billed alcyone stands out among the birds. It is a bird of prey feeding on songbirds, rodents, frogs, snails, etc. To incubate eggs, Alcyone builds a nest by digging a hole up to fifty centimeters long.

Indian hornbill

The peculiarity of the hornbill is its massive yellow beak. On the beak is a growth similar to the second hollow beak. By the way, scientists still cannot understand the purpose of this growth. The bird is omnivorous; it feeds on fish, a variety of fruits, and small mammals.

crowned flycatcher

The crowned flyeater at first glance seems like an ordinary bird, but if you tease it, it will spread a chic crest. In females, the tuft feathers are yellow or orange, in males they are fiery red.

The strangest bird in the world

A shoebill seems to be a strange, unusual and even prehistoric bird. It is extremely little studied. This is one of the largest birds, being a close relative of storks, pelicans, marabou.

On the massive head of the bird is a huge beak with a hook at the end. The head is wide, even slightly wider than the body of the shoebill. This strange bird lives on the banks of the Nile in Africa, preferring swampy places. Its main food is lungfish protoptera.
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Toucans are one of the most colorful tropical birds found in the Americas. Their most notable feature is their huge beak, the size of which, at times, is almost commensurate with the size of the bird itself. These largest representatives of the woodpecker order are known for their gullibility and quick wit. They are easily tamed and do well in captivity.

Description of the toucan

Toucan is a large bird with bright plumage and an exorbitantly large beak. It belongs to the toucan family and is, albeit distant, but, nevertheless, a relative of ordinary forest woodpeckers.

Appearance

Their body is large and rather massive, having an almost oval shape. The head is also oval and rather large, turning into a strong and strong, far from thin and graceful neck.

The main distinguishing feature of these birds is a huge beak, the size of which can be almost equal to the length of the body. True, in some species it is much smaller: it barely exceeds the size of the head.

The eyes of a toucan are quite large, rounded and very expressive for birds. Eye color can be black or lighter, such as dark brown.

The tail of most species is short and fairly wide, with well-developed large, usually black feathers. However, there are also species of toucans with rather long tails.

The wings are not long and not too strong, which is why toucans cannot be called first-class flyers. However, in the dense tropical forest where these birds live, they do not need to make long flights, it is enough just to be able to fly from branch to branch and move from one tree to another.

The legs, as a rule, are of a bluish tint, strong and powerful enough to hold the bird's massive body on a branch. Small chicks have a special calcaneal callus on their legs, with which they are held in the nest.

The main color of their plumage is black, complemented by large and very contrasting spots of other colors, such as white, yellow or cream. Even the toucan's beak is colored very very brightly: in some species of these birds, five different shades can be counted on only one beak.

As a rule, colored spots on the body of a toucan are arranged as follows:

The main background of the plumage is jet black. The upper part of the head, almost the entire body and tail of the bird are painted in this color. However, there are also species whose main plumage color is not completely black, but rather has a different shade, for example, chestnut.
The lower part of the head, as well as the throat and chest, are colored in a lighter contrasting shade: as a rule, white or yellow of varying intensity: from pale lemon or creamy yellowish to rich saffron and yellow-orange.
The rump and undertail can also be very brightly colored: white, red, orange or another contrasting shade.
There are also often bright spots around the eyes, contrasting both with the main black background and with the light pattern on the lower part of the head, throat and upper chest.
The legs of most species of toucans have a bluish-blue tint, the claws are also bluish.
The eyes of these birds are black or brownish.
The thin skin around the eyes can be colored in the brightest shades of blue, sky blue, bright green, orange-yellow or reddish.
The color of the beak in different species can be both dark and lighter and very bright. But even on black beaks, these birds have spots of bluish, yellow or orange hues.

It is interesting! The outlines of the body of toucans, their massive body, large head crowned with a huge powerful beak and shortened tail, together with a very bright and contrasting plumage coloring, give these birds an unusual and even grotesque look. However, one cannot but admit that toucans are beautiful, albeit in their own way.

Behavior, lifestyle

Toucans are jokingly called "Amazonian clowns" for their bright appearance and cheerful disposition. These birds prefer to stay in small flocks - about 20 individuals each. But during the breeding season, they can form pairs, after which they return to the flock with grown-up offspring.

Sometimes, when toucans need to migrate, which happens extremely rarely, since these birds are extremely reluctant to leave their inhabited places, they can also gather in larger flocks. The same thing happens when several small groups manage to find a particularly large fruit-bearing tree that can shelter these birds for a long time and provide them with a food base. In this case, toucans can also unite in large flocks.

These birds are active mainly during daylight hours. At the same time, toucans rarely descend to the ground, preferring to be among the clusters of branches in the crowns of trees, where there is a lot of food and where it can be difficult for predators to climb.

But at the same time, they are not at all grumpy, but, on the contrary, very friendly creatures, who also have a peculiar sense of humor. Toucans maintain friendly relations with other members of their flock and, if necessary, will certainly come to the aid of their relatives.

These birds are known for their cheerful disposition and funny habits. They often play with each other, jump on the branches of trees and knock on them with their beaks, and then, tilting their heads to one side, listen to the "music". They also tend to splash noisily in the water that accumulates after rain in the forks of thick branches.

There is no consensus among scientists about why the toucan needs its huge, and, at first glance, awkward beak. It seems strange to people unfamiliar with these birds: how can a toucan generally live normally, having such a “decoration”? Indeed, a large and heavy beak should have made life difficult for the bird. Why doesn't this happen? After all, toucans do not look at all unhappy creatures offended by nature, on the contrary, they are very optimistic and cheerful birds.

It is interesting! The beak of toucans only looks overly massive: in fact, it is quite light due to the fact that it has many air cavities that significantly reduce its weight.

A huge beak is necessary for a toucan, first of all, because with its help it obtains food, in addition, many researchers agree that the beak of these birds acts as a kind of "air conditioner" and plays a huge role in thermoregulation. Also, with the help of the formidable clicking of their huge beaks, these birds drive away predators and protect themselves and their offspring from them.

In captivity, toucans do not cause concern to the owners and there are no problems with them, except for the fact that birds of this size need very large cages, which often have to be done independently or to order. When kept at home, toucans delight their owners with a friendly and even affectionate character, as well as the intelligence and ingenuity inherent in them by nature.

How long do toucans live

This is a surprisingly long-lived bird. Depending on the species, as well as on the conditions of existence, the life span of toucans is from 20 to 50 years.

sexual dimorphism

It is not clearly expressed: birds of different sexes have the same plumage color and differ only slightly in size: females are slightly smaller than males and lighter in weight. However, in some species of toucans, females also have slightly smaller beaks than males.

Types of toucans

To real toucans, ornithologists include eight species of these birds:

Yellow-throated toucan. Body length - 47-61 cm, weight - from 584 to 746 g. The main color of plumage is black. The bright yellow throat and upper chest are separated from the main jet black background by a narrow red border. The uppertail is creamy white, the undertail is bright red. The beak is two-tone, as if divided by darker and lighter shades diagonally. Its upperparts are bright yellow and the underparts are black or brownish chestnut. Around the eyes there is a pale green spot. This bird lives along the eastern slope of the Andes: in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Ariel toucan. The dimensions are approximately equal to 48 cm, weight 300-430 g. The main color is lacquer black. On the lower half of the head, throat and upper chest there is a bright yellow spot, the base of the black beak is also painted in the same shade. On the border of yellow and black colors, marks of a bright, orange-red color are clearly visible, the undertail and spots around the dark eyes, surrounded by spots of light bluish thin skin, have the same shade. Ariel toucans live in the southeastern regions of the Amazon.
Lemon-throated toucan. The body length is about 48 cm, weight - about 360 g. In this jet-black bird, the upper chest and throat in front are painted in a pale lemon hue, turning into white on the sides. The area near the eye is light bluish, turning from top to bottom into white. On the top of the beak there is a bluish-yellow narrow strip, and its base is also painted in the same colors. These birds live in Venezuela and Colombia.
Blue-faced toucan. This bird reaches approximately 48 cm in length and weighs between 300 and 430 g. The white patch on the throat and upper chest is separated from the main black color by a reddish stripe. There are bright blue spots around the eyes. The rump is a brick-reddish shade. The beak is black, except for a pale yellow stripe on top of it, and a yellow base. These toucans live in Venezuela, Bolivia and Brazil.
Red-breasted toucan. The smallest among the representatives of its kind, in addition, its beak is shorter than that of other toucans. The size of these birds is 40-46 cm, weight - from 265 to 400 g. The throat and upper chest are yellow-orange, turning yellowish-white to the edges. The lower part of the chest and belly are red, the spots around the eyes also have a reddish tint. The beak is painted in greenish-blue shades. These birds live in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northeast Argentina.
Rainbow toucan. Body length from 50 to 53 cm, weight - about 400 grams. The chest, throat and lower part of the head are painted in lemon yellow, which, on the border with the black main color, is divided by a narrow red stripe, the undertail is bright red. The beak is painted in four shades: green, blue, orange and red, and along its edge and below there is a black edging. The edges of the two upper and lower parts of the beak are also edged with black narrow stripes. These toucans live from southern Mexico to northern Colombia and Venezuela.
Big toucan. Length from 55 to 65 cm, weight about 700 g. The main color of plumage is black. On the lower part of the head, throat and chest there is a white spot. The uppertail is also bright white, while the undertail is colored red. The eyes are bordered with bluish spots, and they, in turn, are surrounded by orange markings. The beak is yellow-orange, with a narrow red stripe above and black spots near the base and at its end. These toucans live in Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Brazil.
White-breasted toucan. The length is 53-58 cm, weight is from 500 to 700 g. This bird got its name because the color of its throat and upper chest is pure white. On its border with a black main background, there is a red stripe. The beak is multicolored: its main tone is red, while in its upper part there are blotches of turquoise and bright yellow, clearly delimited from red by a coal-black stripe. The white-breasted toucan lives mainly in the Amazon.

Range, habitats

Toucans inhabit the forests of Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina, and are found both in flat tropical rainforests and in highlands, at an altitude of up to 3 km above sea level. At the same time, birds prefer to settle where it is lighter, for example, on the edges or in sparse groves, and not in the very thick of forests. They are not afraid of people and often settle near their homes.

Toucans live in hollows, but due to the fact that their beak is not adapted for making holes in hardwood, these birds prefer to occupy existing holes in tree trunks. At the same time, several birds often live in one hollow at once.

It is interesting! To ensure that the beak does not take up too much space in a cramped nest, the toucan turns its head 180 degrees and places its beak on the back of itself or its closest neighbor.

Birds are quickly identified by their beaks, and among over 10,000 species of birds, there are a number of birds with such strange beaks that they must be seen to be believed. Shapes, colors and unique features indicate a distinctiveness that is rarely found in other species. Some types of beaks are so strange that only one bird species on the planet can boast of them. It is about such bird beaks that we will tell in our list.

10. Kitoglav (Shoebill)

This huge heron-like bird roams the large swamps of East Africa. Their huge beaks resemble a Dutch shoe, while the curved tip only enhances the similarity. Shoe storks can swallow catfish, frogs, and even lungfish, along with the occasional bird and mammal. This species can reach almost one and a half meters in height, with a weight of 5.5 kilograms. Gray birds with pale eyes stand still for a long period of time and suddenly plunge their beak into the water. Despite their large size, shoebills can walk on floating vegetation as they stalk their prey.

9. Wrybill Plover

This riverside shorebird of the Charadriidae family, with whitish-grey plumage rims, looks like one of the most common birds in the world until you look closely at its beak. The side-bent, wavy "crooked bill" gives the bird an advantage in foraging, as the hook-nosed plover sifts rocks in its riverbank habitat with its beak. The curved beak helps the bird to reach and conveniently retrieve prey consisting of crustaceans and insects from under the rocks. The beak is always curved to the right.

8. American curlew (Long-billed Curlew)

Curlews have long been known in Europe through popular fiction and cultural references, but the American curlew from North America is the longest-billed curlew species of the entire Plover family. Like many snipes, American curlews actually live far inland, far from the oceans and even freshwater bodies. They nest in the meadows. This species uses its huge beak like a scythe, catching grasshoppers, crickets and other small field invertebrates instead of aquatic animals. American curlews migrate great distances. During the migration season, they can be seen in coastal habitats. The pale beige plumage and long, curved beak, which can be up to twenty centimeters long, make this bird look like a blade when it hunts for prey.

7. Variegated Turpan (Surf Scoter)

Ducks are known to quack, but in fact, sea ducks make a huge variety of sounds. Also, the typical yellow beak seen on mallards or farm ducks is not universal to all ducks. Ducks can be divided into several categories: river ducks and sea ducks. Ocean waterfowl have some of the strangest beaks among birds. The variegated scoter, which has an almost entirely black plumage and has adapted to feeding on mollusks, boasts a huge mollusc-catching beak that allows it to easily pick up large prey from the ocean floor. The black, orange and beige patterns on the male's beak make it especially striking, while the large nasal openings look like it has a transparent tunnel running through its beak. The variegated scoter lives along the North American coastlines and travels north during the breeding season. When they gather in large schools, a strange cry can be heard on the water, more like a whistle.

6Sword Billed Hummingbird

The swordbilled hummingbird of South America inhabits a range of habitats where deep fuchsia flowers are commonly found. In order to climb into these flowers and collect nectar, the sword-billed hummingbird has a beak that makes it perfectly adapted to this lifestyle and endows it with an extremely unique appearance. This spectacular, bright green bird's beak reaches a whopping 10 centimeters and is the only beak in the world that is longer than the bird that possesses it. In this species, the tongue also extends much further than in other species. When flying, it is clear that it is very difficult for a bird to fly with such a weight in front of the body, however, this adaptation has helped it find its ecological niche.

5. Big Merganser (Common Merganser)

The giant merganser looks like an average duck, but it's actually a living example of a prehistoric or even science fiction concept - a ferocious hunting bird with razor-sharp teeth. This duck's beak is studded with over 100 insidious "teeth" that extend from the edges of each jaw. This species is the largest of the entire genus of mergansers and lives on estuaries, lakes, rivers and large ponds throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The teeth of this fish-eating bird allow it to easily grab fish, tear it apart and eat it. This toothy killer also occasionally feeds on small mammals, as well as frogs or reptiles, which get on the menu by getting too close to this bird. In flight, mergansers are among the fastest birds and can reach speeds in excess of 80 kilometers per hour. The merganser is also one of the largest species of ducks.

4. Black water cutter (Black Skimmer)

Three species of water cutters are waterfowl endemic to the rivers and oceans of Asia, South America, North America and Africa. A unique feature of these striking large-headed black-and-white birds is that they have disproportionate mandibles, as their lower jaw is extended much further than the upper one. Black water cutters fly along the water at high speeds, and their lower part of the beak cuts a channel in the water. Every time a fish or shrimp is encountered in the path of the canal, the beak closes and the bird swallows the prey. However, such an extreme lifestyle is not without certain risks, so from time to time, birds have collisions with underwater objects. The beaks of water cutters are very colorful, with red and black strokes. They also use their pointed beaks to kill gulls that invade their nesting sites.

3. Roseate Spoonbill

The pink spoonbills that live in the Florida Everglades (Everglades) have a pink flamingo color and even resemble these birds from afar. They look very bright and unusual. However, this pink plumage does not hide the grotesque and dinosaur-like appearance of their snouts, nor does the featherless body parts. The spoonbill has a huge, flat beak that resembles a one-yard measuring stick. At the end of the beak, its shape becomes more rounded. The huge spatula carried by this bird gives it easy access to the many aquatic animals and nutritious food sources in the warm, shallow wetlands where it feeds. Spoonbills are often seen feeding alongside herons, storks and cranes.

2. Klest (Crossbill)

Various types of crossbills belonging to the finches family look like canaries and live in the coniferous forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Walking in nature in Canada and Scotland, you are likely to see representatives of one or more types of crossbill. These colorful red or yellow finches have bills that curve in opposite directions, giving them a bizarre and misshapen appearance. Different types of crossbills have slightly different beak shapes that allow them to focus on their specific adaptations to available food sources. Crossbills activity can be seen at ground level by the amount of cones thrown out by these warped-beaked parrot-like songbirds.

1. American Woodcock

Bird's beaks should be hard probes or appendages for picking and pecking. However, some coastal birds have more bizarre jaw adaptations. Woodcocks from the snipe family have disproportionately long beaks. They live in moist forests and bushes where there is mud and damp soil from which they extract invertebrates. The beak of woodcocks is equipped with nerve endings, allowing it to be used as an effective sensitive organ. Most incredible, however, is the woodcock's ability to bend its beak for added control and maneuverability as it burrows through the forest floor and captures prey. Among its victims are earthworms, beetle larvae and other small invertebrates. The beak of this bird feels soft and fleshy when compared to the beaks of many closely related species.

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Beaks are one of the most important body parts of birds and are used for more than gathering and eating food. Each beak has been "designed" by evolution to best meet the needs of the owners, so they are often used for courtship, fighting, feeding, building nests, and even regulating body temperature. Here are some examples of birds with the most unusual and prominent beaks.

big toucan ( lat. Ramphastos toco)

The bright beak of these birds is about a third of the entire length of their body and is used to collect and clean fruit, scare away predators, attract females and protect the territory. Recent studies show that the cool bill helps toucans regulate their body temperature in hot weather.

Asian hornbill ( lat. Anthracoceros albirostris)

Compiling a rating of the most unusual beaks, it is difficult to ignore the hornbill. The beak of these birds is so heavy that evolution had to provide hornbills with powerful neck muscles and several fused vertebrae. The beak is used to catch prey, fight and, of course, attract females. However, the most recognizable element of these birds is the hollow horn that grows at the top of the beak. It is also used to attract females, fights, as well as enhance the emitted screams.

Bald Eagle ( lat. Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

The powerful, sharply curved beak of the eagles is used to kill fish, mammals and birds. The beak helps to butcher prey, as well as tearing the victim's flesh into small, easily swallowed pieces.

Swordbill Hummingbird ( lat. Ensifera ensifera)

The beak of this bird is notable for being longer than the rest of its body. The incredibly long beak and tongue of the hummingbird are used to extract nectar from flowers with long petals.

Curly Pelican ( lat. Pelecanus crispus)

Most often, pelicans feed on fish, which are caught from the water in a huge throat bag. After being caught, the birds drain the water and swallow the prey. The hook at the top of the beak is used to catch the fish that they toss up before swallowing.

Red flamingo ( lat. Phoenicopterus ruber)

The flamingo is mostly known for its grace, but its beak is no less remarkable. Flamingos feed on algae, crustaceans and other small living creatures, which are filtered out of the water through their beaks.

Australian Avocet ( lat. Recurvirostra novaehollandiae)

The beaks of these birds are long, thin and curved upwards. When feeding, avocets dip the tip of their beak into water or the upper layer of silt and, moving their beak, collect small crustaceans, mollusks and insects.

Yellow-billed Toko ( lat. Tockus leucomelas)

Currents are also one of the representatives of hornbills. They feed on seeds, small insects, as well as spiders and scorpions. The horn on the beak of the current is not as pronounced as in many other representatives of the species.

Spoonbills ( lat. plateinae)

The shape of the beak of these birds is ideal for their lifestyle. In search of food, they slowly roam the shallow water with their beak lowered into the water. The spoonbills move their beak in different directions and, having found the prey, immediately slam it shut.

Black water cutter ( lat. Rynchops nigga)

The large asymmetric beak of these birds is perfectly adapted to catching fish. Water cutters fish by flying directly above the surface of the water, "cutting" it with the lower part of the beak. When touching a fish, the beak instantly closes.

Spruce crossbill ( lat. Loxia curvirostra)

Of all bird species, crossbills have perhaps the most specialized beak. The crossed halves of their beaks look odd, but they are actually the perfect tool for extracting seeds from pine cones. Interestingly, the beaks of different types of crossbills differ in shape and are adapted to open only certain types of cones.

Curlews ( lat. Numenius)

Curlews are easily recognizable by their long, sharp, slightly downwardly curved beaks, which help locate prey in wet, soft bottoms. The length of the beak can reach more than 20 cm, which allows curlews to easily catch worms and other invertebrates from the mud.

Collared arasari ( lat. Pteroglossus torquatus)

Arasari is another representative of the toucan family. A powerful beak allows these birds to eat not only the fruits of trees, but also insects, lizards, as well as eggs of other birds.

Australian Pelican ( lat. Pelecanus conspicillatus)

Pelicans have one of the largest beaks of any bird species, and the bag under their beak can hold approximately 13 liters of water. During the breeding season, the coloring of the bags also serves to attract females. But the pelican in the photo is really irresistible!