Bird Bills

Photo: By en:User:Talshiarr (Sean Breazeal) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0

Long:

Bill is longer than the head

E.g. Wilson's Snipe

Photo (c) Donna Dewhurst, USFWS

Short:

Bill is shorter than the head

E.g. Black-capped Chickadee

Photo (c) Googie man/Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0

Straight:

Line along which mandibles close is in line with head

E.g. Great Blue Heron

Photo (c) Arpingstone/Public Domain

Hooked:

Upper mandible is longer than lower, tip is bent over tip of lower; e.g. hawks, parrots, etc.

E.g. Bald Eagle

Photo (c) Ronald Laubenstein, USFWS

Depressed:

Bill is wider than high; e.g. ducks, geese, swans

E.g. Mallard

Photo (c) US Fish & Wildlife Service

Compressed:

Bill is higher than wide

E.g. Atlantic Puffin

Photos (c) Northern Shoveler: Alan D. Wilson, www.naturepicsonline.com, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5; Roseate Spoonbill: Mwanner/GFDL v 1.2

Spatulate:

Spoon-shaped; widened/depressed toward tip

E.g. Northern Shoveler, Roseate Spoonbill

Photo (c) American Avocet: US Fish & Wildlife Service; Pied Avocet: Ron Eggert

Recurved:

Curves upward

E.g. American Avocet, Pied Avocet

Photo (c): Long-billed Curlew: Alan D. Wilson, www.naturepicsonline.com, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5; Brown Creeper: Donna Dewhurst, USFWS

Decurved:

Curves downward

E.g. Long-billed Curlew, Brown Creeper

Photo (c) Donna Dewhurst, USFWS

Chisel-like:

Tip of bill is beveled, like a chisel. E.g. in woodpeckers; used for excavating cavities in trees

E.g. Hairy Woodpecker

Photos (c): Costa's: Jon Sullivan; Sword-billed: Michael Woodruff, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0

Terete:

Bill is circular in cross-section, like a drinking straw; e.g. hummingbirds

E.g. Costa's Hummingbird, Sword-billed Hummingbird

Photo (c) Tim Bowman, USFWS

Stout:

Bill is high and wide; e.g. grouse, ptarmigan, partridges, etc.

E.g. Willow Ptarmigan

Photos (c) Cassin's Finch: Dave Menke, USFWS; Fox Sparrow: James C. Leupold, USFWS

Conical:

Bill is cone-shaped; e.g. sparrows, finches, etc.

E.g. Cassin's Finch, Fox Sparrow

Photos (c): Wilson's Warbler: Michael Woodruff; Tennessee Warbler: Jerry Oldenettel; both Creative Commons Attribution License v. 2.0

Acute:

Bill tapers to a sharp, tweezer-like point; e.g. warblers

E.g. Wilson's Warbler, Tennessee Warbler

Photo (c) Elaine R. Wilson, www.naturepicsonline.com

Crossed:

Tips of mandibles are crossed over each other

E.g. Red Crossbill

Photo: Red-breasted Merganser, Peter Massas [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Common Merganser, ALAN SCHMIERER [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Common Merganser, Statistique [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Serrate:

Mandibles have saw-like edges; e.g. mergansers

E.g. Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser

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