INVESTIGATION - BRILLIANT BIRD BEAKS

(Investigation adapted from Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, n.d.; JohnnosScience, n.d.; Benton,
2012)
Birds eat many different types of foods, depending upon their environment and
availability. The shape of a birds beak (or bill) can be considered a structural
adaptation which enables each bird to access and eat the food it needs to survive.
Not all beaks are shaped the same:

Figure 1 Spoonbill Figure 2 Toucan Figure 3 Cockatoo Figure 4 - Sparrow
Objective: to investigate how different beak adaptations help birds find food in
specific environments by experimenting with model bird beaks and different bird
foods.
Materials:
Marshmallows thread on sticks (soft fruit)
Sunflower seeds
String (worms)
Lollies (fish)
Water
Sand
Paper cup (to represent birds stomach)
Slotted spoon
Tweezers Figure 5 materials (beaks)
Diagonal pliers
Peg with hooks
Wooden spoons
iPhone (timer and camera)
Figure 6 Materials (foods)
Procedure:
1. Predict Make predictions about which beak will be best for collecting each food
and justify reasons in prediction table
2. Record and Observe - With a partner, one person uses a beak to collect as much
food as they can in 30 seconds and place it in a stomach (plastic cup) while the
other person times them.
3. Record In the table, record how many pieces of food are collected for each
beak.
4. Explain Use your results to explain which beak works best for each food
Predictions: Which beak will work best for collecting each bird food?
FOOD BEST BEAK WHY?
Marshmallows (soft fruit)

Diagonal pliers It will be easy to clamp onto the
fruit and pull it off the stick. This
beak looks more powerful than
the others.
Sunflower seeds

Slotted spoon The spoon will have a scooping
action and be capable of picking
up more than one seed at a time.
String (worms)

Tweezers The worms will be buried in sand
and require precise actions of a
small tool such as tweezers to
uncover them.
Lollies in water (fish)

Wooden spoons Like a ducks beak, the wooden
spoons will scoop up and clamp
onto the fish.

Record: How many of each food item can you collect with each beak in 30
seconds?



BEAKS
FOOD
Marshmallows
(soft fruit)
Sunflower
seeds
String
(worms)
fish in water
Tweezers
0 17 18 0
Wooden spoons
0 36 3 10
Slotted spoon
0 52 2 12
Diagonal pliers
5 35 12 2
Peg with hooks
5 7 12 2
Explain:
Which type of beak was the best at picking up each food? Why?
The marshmallows were difficult to collect with all beaks except for the diagonal
pliers and the peg with hooks. These beaks were able to clamp down on the
marshmallows and tear them away from the stick.
The slotted spoon was most efficient at collecting the sunflower seeds as it was
able to scoop up more than one at a time.
The string worms were most easily collected by the tweezers, as they could be
used to sort through the sand, locate the worms and quickly pick them up.
The slotted spoon was most effective at gathering the fish in water because it
was able to use a scooping action to collect more than one fish at a time.
Why do birds have different shaped beaks?
The main function of a birds beak is to effectively obtain and consume food. As such,
all species of birds have beaks which have been shaped and structured through
adaptation to enable them to gather and consume the foods available to them in their
particular environments (Josephs, 2011). This process of adaptation ensures that birds
are best suited to the environment and conditions in which they live, enabling their
species to survive and pass on these favourable characteristics to their offspring (Loxley,
Dawes, Nicholls & Dore, 2014).
How might the shape and structure of a birds beak affect how and what it eats?
Different types of foods require birds to have different beak structures in order to obtain
and consume them. Birds with thicker beaks are capable of cracking large seeds, while
the finer, conical-shaped beaks of smaller birds, such as finches, have adapted to
crack smaller seeds (Massengale, n.d.). Birds of prey, such as owls and hawks, have
curved beaks which enable them to tear flesh, and some bird species have thin,
tweezer-like beaks which have adapted to form the perfect tool for capturing insects
(Massengale, n.d.). The structure and shape of some birds beaks enables them to
access a wider variety of foods; for example, the Australian Ravens strong, thick beak
gives it access to a wide-ranging diet which can include seeds, fruits, insects, refuse
and carrion (Birdlife Australia, n.d.).
How does the shape of a bird's beak affect its ability to survive and thrive?
A direct correlation exists between the size, shape and structure of a birds beak and its
diet (Loxley et al., 2014). In order to survive and thrive, bird species must be capable of
procuring and eating a sufficient amount of food from their environment. Birds rely on
beaks as their tool for obtaining this food. The more effective the bird's beak is, the
better the rate of survival will be. Van Pelt (2011) suggests, that if changes occur to a
birds food source, the birds with beaks which can adapt to a new food source survive,
while the birds with beaks which are not as functional in obtaining the new type of food
will eventually die off. Hence, the birds with an advantageous beak design will survive
to produce offspring, which will also acquire the more functional beak (Van Pelt, 2011).

Evidence of investigation:










Figure 7 Tweezer beak catching worms Figure 8 Wooden spoons beak catching fish

Figure 9 Diagonal pliers beak catching worms Figure 10 Wooden spoons beak catching seeds