Beaks - What They Tell You
Some birds beaks are smaller thank your thumbnail, whereas others are as long as our arm.
All types of woodpeckers, from the little downy and the flicker to the striking black pileated, have large, stout beaks that are shaped like a chisel. Woodpeckers use their chisel beaks to peck at wood, with the goal of ferreting out insects under the bark or within the decaying heart of the tree. The power of that beak also can crack nuts and acorns to free up the tender nutmeat inside, or loosen dried corn kernels from a cob.
Large Conical Beak
The bright red feathers of a cardinal are so eye-catching that you may have never taken a close look at the bird's beak. It is short and wide, roughly conical in shape. That beak is built for cracking big, hard-shelled seeds. Rose-breasted, evening, and black-headed grosbeaks also have this type of beak. These birds are naturally seek out some of the biggest or toughest seeds around. In the wild, they nibble out the goodies hidden in the hard husks of tree seeds such as ash and catalpa. For a treat, try seeds such as pumpkin seeds, watermelon seed, dried corn kernels, dried peas and the hard-shelled safflower seeds.
Large All-Purpose Beak
The sturdy, medium-long mouthpiece of a crow, magpie, or jay is made for eating practically anything. Their beaks can crack, whack, rip, stab or nibble - whatever technique and eating utensil a meal requires. These birds load their beaks with as many seeds as they can cram in, then use those same sturdy tools to push seeds into soil or mulch. That habit of storing food may be why birds with this kind of beak tend to prefer hard, dry foods at the feeder. Sticky, soft, or juicy foods such as peanut butter, fruit, or suet aren't as appealing to large-beaked birds.
Small Conical Beak
This type of beak is tailored to small seeds. Birds that have a small conical beak include native sparrows, such as white-throated and song sparrows; finches, such as the house finch and American Goldfinch, Juncos and Buntings. Birds with small conical beaks are big consumers of weed seeds and grass seeds. These birds often feed on the ground, where such seeds drop, but they may also cling to the plants to get at the seeds.
Short Thin Beak
Chickadees, Wood Warblers, Bushtits, and a few other birds have these beaks that are made for eating tiny morsels of food. All of these small-beaked birds snap up an abundance of insects, but some of them also eat berries, and Chickadees are well-known lovers of sunflower seeds and nuts. Offer these birds a mix of treats, including soft foods, suet and peanut butter.
Long Thin Beak
A long thin beak is a sign that a bird is an insect of fruit eater. Flycatchers and orioles eat insects almost exclusively, and you probably won't be able to lure them to a treat feeder. The exception is that orioles will visit nectar feeders. Thrashers, tanagers, thrushes, mockingbirds and catbirds also have beans on the thin side, but they are adapting to eating at backyard feeders.