33 Examples of Animals with Beaks (A to Z List +Pictures)

Examples of animals with beaks include American Avocet, American White Pelican, Atlantic Puffin, Black Skimmer, and Chickens.

The beak of a bird is called the rhamphotheca. It is used for eating, preening, and grooming. Birds use their beaks to help them hold onto food while they are eating it or use it as a tool to manipulate other objects.

Beaks are also used by many birds to dig into the hard ground in search of food items such as insects or worms.

The animal kingdom is full of interesting creatures with all sorts of unusual adaptations. One such example is animals with beaks. Beaks come in many shapes and sizes.

Examples of Animals with Beaks

1. Allonautilus

The allonautilus is a marine cephalopod that possesses an impressive and elaborate shell.

It might be hard to see, but this cephalopod actually has a parrot-like beak. The beak is thin and sharp, perfect for slicing up prey. Allonautilus’ diet consists primarily of shrimp and small fish.

2. American Avocet

American Avocet has a long, thin beak that is upturned at the end. This beak is specially adapted to help the bird catch and eat small fish.

3. American White Pelican

The American white pelican is a large aquatic bird and the only member of the genus Pelecanus. It breeds in North America from Alaska to Mexico, as well as on an extensive European-Saharan population around Eurasia (particularly southern Russia and Ukraine) during spring migration.

4. Atlantic Puffin

The beak of the Atlantic Puffin is adapted for catching fish. The upper and lower mandibles are about the same length and are hooked at the tips.

The sharp, slender upper mandible is used to catch the fish and draw it into the largemouth. The lower beak works like a knife to slit open the stomach of the prey and then hold it in place while tearing out entrails with its strong neck muscles.

5. Black Skimmer

This black and white seabird has a long, narrow beak with an arched culmen. It uses its bill to search for fish underwater by swimming backward just under the surface of shallow water while its head is held aloft.

The bird stops when it detects movement in the water or mud at the bottom; then it darts forward quickly to catch its prey.

Related Article: Do Black Skimmer Eat Fish?

6. Chickens

Chickens have a beak that is both thin and sharp. It is used for slicing up prey, such as small animals or insects.

The beak is also used for pecking at items in the environment, such as seeds.

7. Common Octopus

This is another marine animal that surprisingly has a beak, despite the fact it’s hard to see. The Common Octopus uses its beak to crush the hard shells of its prey. It is highly flexible and can reach out to grab food.

8. Cuttlefish

The cuttlefish has a unique beak that is composed of two parts. The upper part is tough and sharp, while the lower part is soft and used for grabbing prey. The beak also contains venom glands that can paralyze prey.

9. Ducks

The duck is a small waterfowl that can be found throughout the world. When we think of animals with beaks, they’re probably the first animal that comes to mind.

10. Duck-Billed Platypus

The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to Australia. It is the sole member of the monotreme family Ornithorhynchidae, and one of only two extant species in the order Monotremata, the other being the echidna.

The duck-billed platypus is one of the few venomous mammals: it has a pair of claws on each hind foot that deliver toxins capable of killing small prey such as insects, worms, and aquatic invertebrates embedded in the mud.

11. Flamingo

The long, red-colored beak of the Flamingo is a filter-feeder which means it has high amounts of keratin and not much muscle. This makes their bill strong enough to break open crustaceans but soft for crushing shellfish as well as filtering algae from the water.

12. Geese

Geese are found around the world, with some species such as the Canada Goose enjoying particular fame. They’re known for being quite rude and pesky creatures. Like their cousins the ducks, geese have beaks that they use to eat insects out of the grass.

13. Giant Pacific Octopus

The giant Pacific octopus has a parrot-like beak that it uses to pry open clams and mussels. This octopus can also use its beak to inject venom into its prey, which stuns or kills the animal.

14. Great Hornbill

The beak of the great hornbill is huge and heavy, with a deep notch in the upper mandible. This adaptation helps to break open hard nuts and fruits.

15. Green Sea Turtle

A green sea turtle is a large, reptile found in warm and tropical waters throughout the world. The sea turtles have an ancient lineage that dates to over 100 million years ago (mya) when they first evolved from terrestrial ancestors.

16. Indian Star Tortoise

The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a species of tortoise found in India and Sri Lanka. They have a high, domed shell with radiating yellow or black markings on a brown background. The beak is thin and sharp, adapted for slicing up prey.

17. Keel-Billed Toucan

The Keel-billed Toucan is a large colorful bird with an enormous beak. It has vibrant red and yellow feathers, black legs, and feet. Toucans are famous for their massive bills which can measure anywhere from five to nine inches in length.

18. Kiwi

The kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand. It has brown feathers with lighter patches, and its legs and short wings are pinkish-brown. The female lays just one egg; she then cares for it until it hatches.

19. Leopard Tortoise

Leopard tortoises are large tortoises having a high domed shell. Their distribution is limited to the arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa, and they live in desert scrubland habitats with sparse vegetation.

They have adapted by becoming excellent diggers—they excavate deep burrows for shelter from predators and hot temperatures during the daytime.

20. Loggerhead Sea Turtle

The loggerhead sea turtle has a large, hooked beak that is adapted to its carnivorous diet. The loggerhead feeds primarily on jellyfish but also eats crabs, shrimp, and other invertebrates. Its beak is sharp and thin, perfect for slicing through the tough skin of these prey items.

21. Long-Billed Curlew

The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus is a large shorebird species. It breeds in North America across the boreal forest and tundra of Alaska, northern Canada (with isolated populations as far south as central California), and Eurasia.

22. Nautilus

The Nautilus is a cephalopod mollusk of the family Nautilidae, the sole extant representative of that family and its only living species. It comprises six different recognized subspecies.

23. Ostrich

The ostrich is the largest living bird species. They have two toes on each foot and a long, powerful beak. Ostriches use their beaks to break open seeds, as well as for defense and aggression towards predators.

Read Also: Do Ostrich Eat Rocks?

24. Red Crossbill

The Red Crossbill is a small passerine bird that is found in North America and Eurasia. The male has a bright red bill, while the female’s bill is duller. These birds get their name from the cross-like shape of their bills, which are specially adapted to prying open pine cones to extract the seeds inside.

25. Rhinoceros Hornbill

The rhinoceros hornbill is a large bird found in the forests of Southeast Asia. The beak of this species is very thick and heavy, adapted for crushing hard seeds.

26. Ring-Necked Pheasant

The male Ring-necked Pheasant has a long, reddish-orange neck with a black ring around it. The beak is relatively short and stout for crushing seeds.

27. Roseate Spoonbill

The beak of the Roseate Spoonbill is long and thin with a slightly down-turned hook on the end. This bird feeds mainly on small fish, frogs, and aquatic invertebrates.

28. Shoebill

The shoebill is a large bird that lives in tropical east Africa. It has a huge, broad beak that is flattened at the tip and hooked on the end. This beak is specially adapted to catching fish, which make up most of the shoebill’s diet. The bill is also used to jab at small prey items.

29. Squid

The squid’s beak is located at the front of its head and is used to catch prey. The beak is made up of two parts: the rostrum (upper part) and the mandible (lower).

The rostrum has a sharp, horny point that is used to stab prey, while the mandible has rows of sharp teeth that are used to grip and tear the prey.

30. Sword-Billed Hummingbird

This hummingbird has the largest bill of any bird, but it is not large enough to be a danger. The bill is so long that it makes up one-third of the bird’s total length.

The Sword-Billed Hummingbird feeds mainly on nectar, but sometimes eats insects as well.

31. Toco Toucan

The toco toucan is a large, colorful South American bird. It has a very big beak that is mainly orange with a red band running along the lower mandible.

The beak is so big and heavy that it makes up almost one-third of the toucan’s weight. The toco toucan uses its beak to break open fruit, nuts, and seeds.

32. Tuatara

The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand. It has two well-developed rows of teeth in its upper and lower jaws and a beak-like snout. The tuatara’s diet consists mainly of insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, birds, and small mammals.

Related Article: How Long Can Tuatara Live?

33. Turkey

Turkey is the common name for a group of mid-sized birds native to North America, Europe, and Asia. The word turkey was derived from an anglicisation of their Latin name – Meleagris gallopavo (wild guineafowl).

Garreth

Hi, I’m Garreth. Living in South Africa I’ve had the pleasure of seeing most of these animals up close and personal. When I was younger I always wanted to be a game ranger but unfortunately, life happens and now at least I get to write about them and tell you my experiences.