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Beak
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bald-eagle beak Beak and claw structure of representative caprimulgiforms. Illustration showing the heads of six falconiform birds: a black vulture (Coragyps atratus), a lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotus), a common buzzard (Buteo buteo), a Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), a hook-billed kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus), and a gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), each labeled with their common and scientific names. passerine bills Variations in beak structure among ciconiiform birds. bill variations among the Lari and Alcae bill variation in shorebirds Variations in the bills of shorebirds (order Charadriiformes).
The video thumbnail image shows a brown-speckled bird perched on a branch, singing with an open beak.
The unique animal life of the Galapagos Islands
Quick Facts
Also called:
Bill
Related Topics:
Bird
Keratin
cere
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bald-eagle beak
bald-eagle beak The hooked beak of a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Beak

zoology
Also known as: bill
Written and fact-checked by
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•History

Beak, stiff, projecting oral structure of certain animals. Beaks are present in a few invertebrates (e.g., cephalopods and some insects), some fishes and mammals, and all birds and turtles. Many dinosaurs were beaked. The term bill is preferred for the beak of a bird, platypus, or dinosaur. Many beaked animals, including all birds and turtles, lack teeth.

A bird’s bill is composed of the upper and lower jaws covered by a horny sheath of skin. The nostrils are found dorsally, usually at the base of the bill. Bills take many shapes and sizes, adapted for food-getting, preening, nest-building, and other functions. Feeding modifications alone include the pouched fish-netting bill of pelicans; the serrated grazing bill of geese; the long, slim nectar-sipping bill of hummingbirds; and the sturdy, curved nut-cracking bill of parrots.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.