Bird beaks come in all shapes and sizes, and through observing those differences we can learn a lot about them. Our education department has tons of lessons related to adaptations that different animals evolve to best fit their environment, and one that perfectly demonstrates this are our lessons about bird beaks.
Kids match replica bird skulls and photos during a nature lesson (photo by Mickenzee Okon/SoWBA).
We can share these differences up close to kids with our replica bird skulls that we take to lessons. They’re made to look like the real thing, but are plastic, so they’re really durable for small hands.
Take, for example, the chunky bill of a Northern Cardinal. Looking at that beak, you can tell that it’s a seed-eating bird. A Bald Eagle’s sharp hooked beak perfectly showcases adaptations for ripping and tearing flesh. (A Bald Eagle’s beak also changes with age: juvenile eagles have brown beaks and adults have yellow; an eagle that is two or three years old will have a mix of yellow and brown in the beak.)
It gets really interesting when we take a closer look at beaks that are different in a more subtle way. A comparison we often draw is between the Sandhill Crane and the Great Blue Heron. We know both of these birds have long slender beaks and love to spend their time in wetland habitats, but they have pretty different hunting strategies. The crane’s beak is more slender, which is good for plucking slippery things up, while the thicker beak of the heron makes a great spear to plunge into prey.
To further demonstrate that bird beaks are like special tools, we often have kids do a game called “Bird Beak Buffet.” This activity requires some basic kitchen utensils and creative “food” items to test your beaks with. Tweezers can show how beaks like that of the American Robin are great for picking up and plucking (similar to the crane beak, but at a smaller scale), while the beak of a Mallard is more like a strainer or sieve that’s specialized for eating vegetation in the water.
A child uses a “cardinal beak” clothespin to pick up seed (photo by Mickenzee Okon/SoWBA).
A child uses narrow tweezers to pluck food from a water dish during Bird Beak Buffet (SoWBA photo).
With this, we can also teach about generalists and specialists. If the tool is good at getting lots of different shapes and sizes of foods, the bird with that type of beak is likely a dietary generalist, who has more options when one food source runs out. If a tool is really good at getting one type of food with one particular strategy, we know the bird with that type of beak is a dietary specialist that is more vulnerable if its food source is threatened.
Next time you’re watching birds in your backyard, at a park, or in the middle of a nature preserve, take some time to notice the beaks. What do they tell you about the bird, its habitat, its food source, its age? Based on your diet, what kind of beak would YOU have?
And if you plan to attend the Garden & Green Living Expo in Madison this weekend, be sure to stop by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance booth to try your hand at matching beaks and skulls with photos of birds, and the SOS Save Our Songbirds booth to give Bird Beak Buffet a try!
Written by Mickenzee Okon, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance educator
