Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Black Skimmer
The black skimmer has a truly unique bill among shorebirds, and really, among all North American birds. The bill is large yet very thin, and the lower mandible extends out past the upper mandible. These features make it ideal for how this bird catches food. As it flies, it dips the lower mandible into the water, skimming for fish.
Rhinoceros Hornbill
The rhinoceros hornbill has a name as impressive as its unbelievable bill. Atop its bill is a feature called a casque, which has a striking upward curve like a rhino horn, hence the bird's common name. The strong bill is used for reaching fruit from thin tree branches, and that impressive casque, made from keratin, is used as a resonating chamber to amplify the bird's loud calls.
Roseate Spoonbill
It's easy to guess how this bird got its common name. The roseate spoonbill is one of several species of spoonbill, all of which sport this uniquely shaped bill. It feeds in shallow fresh and coastal waters; walking while moving the bill from side to side, it uses its beak to strain small food items from water such as crustaceans, aquatic insects, and small fish.
Red Crossbill
The red crossbill sports a bill that would be viewed as a deformity in most other finch species. But for this species, it is the perfect way to get at its primary food source: the seeds held within pinecones. Even tightly closed cones can be accessed thanks to the unusual shape of its bill.
Shoebill
Like the spoonbill, the shoebill's name has a rather obvious source. This stork-like bird has a bill shaped like a large shoe, which is the bird's most notable feature. The sharp edges of the mandibles help the shoebill kill its fishy prey and also discard vegetation caught along the way.
Long-Billed Curlew
The long-billed curlew is a North American shorebird that spends winters on the coast and breeds in grasslands. Its long bill is adapted for both places, catching shrimp and crabs living in deep burrows in tidal mudflats, and also snatching up earthworms in pastures.
Sword-Billed Hummingbird
The sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak relative to its body size of any bird in the world. In fact, it's the only bird that sometimes has a bill longer than its body. The bill is so long, this hummingbird must groom itself with its feet.
Great Hornbill
The great hornbill is another bird with a particularly impressive bill. This is one of the larger species, along with the rhinoceros hornbill. It sports a bright yellow and black casque on top of its already enormous bill.
Toco Toucan
We could never leave the toco toucan off this list. Its amazing bill accounts for between 30% and 50% of its entire body surface area. Good for reaching things that would otherwise be too far away, the toucan's bill may also be good for peeling skin from fruit, intimidating other birds, and scaring off predators.
#unbelievablebeaks #birdsbeak #beakbirds
Keel-Billed Toucan
Another species of toucan with a particularly amazing bill that comprises one-third of its entire length is the keel-billed toucan. It has the same functions as the bill of the toco toucan, but adds some rainbow colors in splashy patterns.
American White Pelican
Pelicans have truly amazing bills. With a pouch of skin, called a throat sac, connected to the lower mandible to act as a net, they are able to catch fish and filter out the water. They "upend" like a duck to hunt, rather than diving like a brown pelican.
Flamingo
The flamingo has one of the most recognized profiles around. But we don't often stop to celebrate that unbelievable beak. It's designed to be used upside-down and has a hairy, filter-like structure called lamellae lining the mandibles that help separate food from mud and water before expelling the liquid. It's a design similar to that of baleen whales and it allows the Greater Flamingo to capture prey like crustaceans, mollusks, and insects up to an inch long
Kiwi
The kiwi is the only bird to have its nostrils at the tip of its beak. Other birds have the nostrils higher up, usually near the base of their face. But not the kiwi. It has the second largest olfactory bulk relative to the size of its forebrain (the condor having the largest), meaning it has an exceptional sense of smell. By contrast, its eyesight is poor.
Atlantic Puffin
Flashy red-and-black stripes on its triangular beak are the source of this bird's nicknames: "clown of the sea" and "sea parrot." But the bold color pattern on the beak of the Atlantic puffin is only the beginning of what makes this beak so special.
American Avocet
The American avocet has an elegant, delicate appearance that extends all the way to its long, amazingly thin, and slightly up-curved bill. It swishes its bill from side to side through shallow water no deeper than eight inches, looking for crustaceans and insects.
Black Skimmer
The black skimmer has a truly unique bill among shorebirds, and really, among all North American birds. The bill is large yet very thin, and the lower mandible extends out past the upper mandible. These features make it ideal for how this bird catches food. As it flies, it dips the lower mandible into the water, skimming for fish.
Rhinoceros Hornbill
The rhinoceros hornbill has a name as impressive as its unbelievable bill. Atop its bill is a feature called a casque, which has a striking upward curve like a rhino horn, hence the bird's common name. The strong bill is used for reaching fruit from thin tree branches, and that impressive casque, made from keratin, is used as a resonating chamber to amplify the bird's loud calls.
Roseate Spoonbill
It's easy to guess how this bird got its common name. The roseate spoonbill is one of several species of spoonbill, all of which sport this uniquely shaped bill. It feeds in shallow fresh and coastal waters; walking while moving the bill from side to side, it uses its beak to strain small food items from water such as crustaceans, aquatic insects, and small fish.
Red Crossbill
The red crossbill sports a bill that would be viewed as a deformity in most other finch species. But for this species, it is the perfect way to get at its primary food source: the seeds held within pinecones. Even tightly closed cones can be accessed thanks to the unusual shape of its bill.
Shoebill
Like the spoonbill, the shoebill's name has a rather obvious source. This stork-like bird has a bill shaped like a large shoe, which is the bird's most notable feature. The sharp edges of the mandibles help the shoebill kill its fishy prey and also discard vegetation caught along the way.
Long-Billed Curlew
The long-billed curlew is a North American shorebird that spends winters on the coast and breeds in grasslands. Its long bill is adapted for both places, catching shrimp and crabs living in deep burrows in tidal mudflats, and also snatching up earthworms in pastures.
Sword-Billed Hummingbird
The sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak relative to its body size of any bird in the world. In fact, it's the only bird that sometimes has a bill longer than its body. The bill is so long, this hummingbird must groom itself with its feet.
Great Hornbill
The great hornbill is another bird with a particularly impressive bill. This is one of the larger species, along with the rhinoceros hornbill. It sports a bright yellow and black casque on top of its already enormous bill.
Toco Toucan
We could never leave the toco toucan off this list. Its amazing bill accounts for between 30% and 50% of its entire body surface area. Good for reaching things that would otherwise be too far away, the toucan's bill may also be good for peeling skin from fruit, intimidating other birds, and scaring off predators.
#unbelievablebeaks #birdsbeak #beakbirds
Keel-Billed Toucan
Another species of toucan with a particularly amazing bill that comprises one-third of its entire length is the keel-billed toucan. It has the same functions as the bill of the toco toucan, but adds some rainbow colors in splashy patterns.
American White Pelican
Pelicans have truly amazing bills. With a pouch of skin, called a throat sac, connected to the lower mandible to act as a net, they are able to catch fish and filter out the water. They "upend" like a duck to hunt, rather than diving like a brown pelican.
Flamingo
The flamingo has one of the most recognized profiles around. But we don't often stop to celebrate that unbelievable beak. It's designed to be used upside-down and has a hairy, filter-like structure called lamellae lining the mandibles that help separate food from mud and water before expelling the liquid. It's a design similar to that of baleen whales and it allows the Greater Flamingo to capture prey like crustaceans, mollusks, and insects up to an inch long
Kiwi
The kiwi is the only bird to have its nostrils at the tip of its beak. Other birds have the nostrils higher up, usually near the base of their face. But not the kiwi. It has the second largest olfactory bulk relative to the size of its forebrain (the condor having the largest), meaning it has an exceptional sense of smell. By contrast, its eyesight is poor.
Atlantic Puffin
Flashy red-and-black stripes on its triangular beak are the source of this bird's nicknames: "clown of the sea" and "sea parrot." But the bold color pattern on the beak of the Atlantic puffin is only the beginning of what makes this beak so special.
American Avocet
The American avocet has an elegant, delicate appearance that extends all the way to its long, amazingly thin, and slightly up-curved bill. It swishes its bill from side to side through shallow water no deeper than eight inches, looking for crustaceans and insects.
