Birds 4/25

Overtime birds have become more specialized in the way they eat their food. Typically birds swallow their prey whole, whether the bird is consuming seeds, fruits, or insects whole. However raptors are a category of bird that cannot do this. Raptors hunt larger prey than other types of birds, so their sharp, hooked beaks allow them to pierce prey, tug away skin, pluck out feathers, tear meat into smaller-sized chunks that are easier to swallow. Insectivores use their slender, tweezer-like beaks enable them to catch insects midair, pick insects off leaves, or probe between small crevices of tree bark, or for drilling holes into wood. This contrasts with seed-eating birds have short, thick, and strong beaks equipped for cracking open hardy seeds. The size of the beak can indicate the type of seed or nut the bird is adapted to eat. The variation in beak size within the raptors, seed-eaters, and insectivores observed across grasslands, woodlands, and marsh habitats can be explained by the specialized diets in different habitat types.