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Bills are a bird's primary
feeding tool and they are as varied as the birds that use
them. They can be long, straight, short, curved, bent, or
hooked. They can probe, spear, crush, tear, dig, or drink.
And many variations in between. There are no firm categories
for naming bill types, so they are loosely grouped by their
primary characteristics. Six common types are discussed in
this tutorial. We use the term "bill," but "beak" means the
same thing.
There are two parts to the bill.
The upper mandible is part of the skull so it
doesn’t move independently, but the lower mandible is separate from skull so can be opened and closed at
will.
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