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The amazing
planning that goes into creating each species of life, be it
animals, birds, insects or human beings, is wondrous. Every part
of the body is carefully created with a purpose. It is a
fascinating study.
Let’s take a look at birds. There are about 8,600 varieties of
birds in nature. And different kinds of birds have different
kinds of beaks. Every variety has been designed carefully by
nature to suit the bird’s needs. Feeding habits are different in
different species. Generally, a bird can eat anything, but
except the crow there are very few that do eat what’s available.
Many stick to a certain variety of food only. The shape of the
bill or the bird’s beak decides what their food is.
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The
woodcock, for instance, has a long and thin bill. It uses it
perfectly for digging into the soft earth, where it finds
its staple food - worms. In the case of the spoonbill, as
its very name suggests, it utilizes its bill for scooping
out a wide variety of water plants, small fish and water
insects. It also uses the bill as a sieve to sift and clean
its food.
Finches
have hard conical beaks and they are seedeaters. It’s so
easy to pick the seeds with their beaks. Among the variety
of finches too, the beaks are slightly varying in shapes.
The hawfinch, for instance, has a hard beak that can break
open cherry stones.
Wading
birds that live at the sea shore and in damp places have
long beaks that they use to probe the sand for shellfish and
worms. Birds of prey like eagles, falcons and owls, have
strong hooked beaks with which to tear their prey.
Woodpeckers
have sharp beaks with which to chisel into trunks of trees
to get insects, while parrots and toucans have strong beaks
to feed on tropical fruits, while swans and geese tear up
grass and water plants with their broad bills.
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