Bill Types

1. Bill Types • Length Characteristics • Shape Characteristics • Color

2. Long: the bill is decidedly longer than the head, as in a Ruby-throated Hummingbird or an American Woodcock Length

3. Short: the bill is decidedly shorter than the head, as in a Carolina Chickadee or a Tufted Titmouse Length

4. Comparison of Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs Comparison of Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers Length

5. Straight: the line along which the mandibles close is in line with the axis of the head, as in a Great Blue Heron Shape

6. Hooked:the upper mandible is longer than the lower, and its tip is bent over the tip of the lower, as in a hawk or a parrot Red-tailed Hawk Hawk-headed Parrot Shape

7. Depressed: the bill is wider than high, as in a duck Greater Scaup American Wigeon Shape

8. Spatulate, or spoon-shaped: the bill is much widened, or depressed, towards its tip, as in a Northern Shoveler or a Roseate Spoonbill Shape

9. Gibbous: the bill has a pronounced hump, as in a Black Scoter Shape

10. Compressed:the bill, for a good part of its length, is higher than wide, as in a puffin or a kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Atlantic Puffin Shape

11. Recurved: the bill curves upward, as in a godwit or an American Avocet Marbled Godwit American Avocet Shape

12. Decurved: the bill curves downward, as in a Long-billed Curlew, a Western Sandpiper, or a Brown Creeper Long-billed Curlew Western Sandpiper Brown Creeper Shape

13. Chisel-like: the tip of the bill is beveled, as in woodpeckers Red-cockaded Woodpecker Yellow- bellied Sapsucker Shape

14. Terete: the bill is generally circular either in cross-section, or when viewed anteriorly, as in a hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird Shape

15. Crossed: the tips of the mandibles cross each other, as in a crossbill Red Crossbill Shape

16. Bent: the bill is deflected at an angle (usually deflected downward at the middle), as in a flamingo Greater Flamingo Shape

17. Stout: the bill is conspicuously high and wide, as in a grouse or a partridge Gray Partridge Ruffed Grouse Shape

18. Swollen: the sides of the mandibles are convex, as in a tanager Scarlet Tanager Shape

19. Conical: the bill has the shape of a cone, as in sparrows or finches White-throated Sparrow Purple Finch Shape

20. Acute: the bill tapers to a sharp point, as in warblers Golden-winged Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Shape

21. with Angulated Commissure: the commissure forms a sharp angle at the point where the tomium proper meets the rictus, as in the Cardinal family Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak

22. with Gular Sac: the chin, gular region, and jugulum are distended, as in a pelican Brown Pelican

23. White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Field Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Color

24. CorvidaeJays, Crows, and allies • medium to the largest passerines • bristles pointing forward over the nares • bold, noisy, and gregarious • often nest predators • intelligent; cache food

25. ParidaeChickadees and Titmice • small, sociable, and energetic birds • short, stout bill • cache food • in winter, form mixed-species flocks

26. SittidaeNuthatches and allies • small, stocky forest birds • climb tree trunks; forage by gleaning • only birds that move down trunk head first • bill thin and pointed, typically straight • tail short and square

27. TroglodytidaeWrens • small to medium-sized, chunky, active birds • slender bill, often decurved • tail usually short • several species often have tail upright and cocked • often found in shrubby habitat

28. TroglodytidaeWrens • mostly small (to medium-sized) brown birds • almost always solitary • active & secretive; creep through vegetation • often found in shrubby habitat • forage for insects & fruit • narrow head & long slender bill, often decurved • tail usually short • several species raise tail above back • most nest in cavities; a few build globular nests of sticks & grass • aggressive towards predators, at least vocally

29. SturnidaeStarlings • medium-sized, stocky birds • short, square tail • gregarious • some are mimics • represented in NA by European Starling, a medium-sized songbird w/ the dark silky plumage & short triangular wings typical of members of this family

30. EmbirizidaeSparrows and allies • small to medium-sized birds • often brown and streaked • short, pointed, conical bills • forage mostly on the ground • often seen in shrubs

31. EmbirizidaeSparrows & allies • large group of mostly small (some medium-sized), streaked brownish birds of grassy & brushy areas • often seen in shrubs • short, conical, pointed bills • most switch their diet seasonally, from mostly insects & larvae in summer to mostly seeds in winter • many forage on the ground using a “double-scratch” method of kicking both feet back simultaneously to expose food • some species form large, pure or mixed flocks in winter, while others have very specific habitat requirements & do not flock

32. FringillidaeFinches and allies • small to medium-sized birds • sexually dimorphic • stout, conical bill (crossed in 2 species) • emarginate tail • undulating, fast flight • long, complex songs • often forest birds

33. FringillidaeSiskins, Crossbills, & allies • small to medium-sized birds • often forest birds • stout, conical (sparrow-like) bill (crossed in 2 sp.) • usually short emarginated (notched) tail • sexually dimorphic; males often brightly colored w/ patches of red or yellow; females drabber • constantly give distinctive calls in high, strong, fast undulating flight & often perch in treetops • long, complex songs

34. PasseridaeOld World Sparrows • introduced from Europe • similar to emberizine sparrows • small birds • stout, conical bill • no well-developed song; often repeat single elements