Different types of beaks in birds.

Seed-eating(Granivorous) beak

Granivorous Beak of a House Finch.

Image Credit: NationalScienceFoundation

Seed-eating beaks are short, stout, conical and pointed. They are used to break open seeds.

eg: Sparrows, cardinals, grosbeaks and finches

Fruit-eating(Frugivorous) beak

Left: Toucan; Right: Crossbill

Fruit-eating beaks are short or long, sharp, powerful, curved and movable. The upper beak of frugivorous birds is movable.

Cutting and biting beak

Cutting and biting beaks of crow(left) and raven(right).

It is long, sharp and strong. Provided with sharp edges, it can be used for various purposes such as tearing prey or carcass, breaking eggs, cutting fruits, etc. The best examples of birds with this type of beak are crows and ravens.

Insect-catching(Insectivorous) beak

A hoopoe in the left and a frogmouth in the right.

The beak of insectivorous birds come in various shapes. The beak is slender, long and slightly curved in hoopoe and kiwi. The beak is small and wide to catch flying insects in birds such as swallows, frog-mouth and swifts.

Piercing and tearing beak

Vulture(left), Eagle(middle), Falcon(right).

The piercing and tearing beak is short, curved and powerful and is operated by well developed mandibular muscles. Birds such as eagles, hawks, owls, kites and vultures possess this type of beak which they use to tear apart small prey or large carcasses.

Fish-catching beak

A cormorant(left) with serrated ridges on the side of the beak and a puffin(right) with a triangular beak.

This type of beak is generally long, powerful and sharply pointed as seen in storks, herons and kingfishers. Cormorants have long, narrow and slightly curved beaks with tooth-like processes on the sides of the beak to better handle the slippery fishes. Puffins have short, triangular beaks to tightly grip the fish.

Wood-chiselling beak

Chisel-like beak of woodpecker.

The best example of a bird with a wood-chiselling beak is the woodpecker. This type of beak is long and straight like a chisel. The beak is strongly articulated with the skull and skull bones themselves are thick and shock-absorbent. The neck muscles are also strong.

Mud-probing beak

Yellowleg; Black and White Stilt; Crowned Lapwing.

Mud-probing beak is long, slender and slightly curved to probe the mud deep. It is found in stilts, yellowlegs, snipes, sandpipers, jacanas, lapwings and curlews.

Water and Mud straining beak

An image of lamellae of a duck's beak.

The beak lamellae of whio.

Image Credit: Te Ara

The beak lamellae of flamingo.

Image Credit: Birdorable

It is long, stout, broad and flat with comb-like margins called lamellae along the margins. The lamellae act as a sieve. The birds with this type of beak take mouthfuls of debris, close the beak and then squeeze out mud through the marginal slits or lamellae, retaining the food.

Flower-probing beak

It is long, narrow, pointed and slightly curved for probing flowers and for sucking the nectar. It is found in sunbirds and hummingbirds.

Spatulate beak

Image Credit: Mabel Amber

The spatulate beak is a characteristic of spoonbills, The beak is flat throughout the length at its end where it ends in a spoon-like expansion. It is used for dabbing in mud and water in search of small aquatic animals.