Shovels, spears, and nutcrackers
A roseate spoonbill wades by the seashore with its head underwater. Its
bill is like a shovel. It swings its head from side to side and shovels
tiny fish and other food from the mud and water.
A heron’s bill is like a spear. It is long and pointed. A heron may
stick its sharp bill into fish, lift them out of the water, and swallow
them.
A parrot’s bill is like a nutcracker. A parrot can easily crack open
nuts and seeds with its big, strong bill.
Robins and sparrows eat things they find on the ground. Robins’ and
sparrows’ bills are like tweezers. Their bills make it easy for them to
pick up things.
A woodpecker’s bill is like a chisel. A woodpecker eats insects that
live under the bark of trees. The woodpecker pounds its bill against a
tree and the sharp, pointed bill makes a hole in the bark. Then the
woodpecker can get at the insects.
A hummingbird’s bill is long and narrow, like a straw. The hummingbird
sticks its bill deep into a flower and uses its long- tongue to sip up
nectar.
Most birds’ bills are special tools. They are shaped to help the bird
get the kind of food it eats.
Rufous Hummingbird
Pileated Woodpecker
