beaks
Toucan facial features
Beaks are the hard, projecting mouth parts of birds, consisting of upper and lower mandibles covered in keratin.
The shape varies by species and diet—hooked for tearing meat, long and thin for probing flowers, flat for filtering water.
Beak extends to similar structures on turtles, squid, and octopuses.
Informally, a person's beak is their nose, especially a prominent one.
In British slang, a beak is a magistrate or schoolmaster.
Amount owed, written
- mandibleLower facial bone
- rostrumRaised speaker's platform
- naresNasal cavity entrances
- cereBird bill membrane
maxilla · keratin · hooked · curved · pointed · conical · tubular · serrated
Deeply dependent or bent
- curvedSmoothly bent, not angular
- conicalTapering to a point
- pointedTapering to a tip
- flatLacking vertical variation
long · short · slender · stout · crossed · spatulate · recurved · needle-like
Of or concerning birds
- plumageBird's complete feather coat
- feathersBird's lightweight covering
- wingsLimbs for flight
- talonsHooked bird claws
ornithology · pelican · toucan · parrot · hawk · eagle · finch · sparrow
Jabbing with beak
- nibblingEating in small bites
- pluckingRemoving by tugging
- tearingForcibly separating material
- crackingBreaking without separating completely
probing · sifting · grasping · preening · hammering · drumming · stabbing · snapping
bill
Amount owed, written
cere · maxilla · keratin · hooked · curved · pointed · conical · tubular · serrated · lamellae
hooked
Deeply dependent or bent
flat · long · short · slender · stout · crossed · spatulate · recurved · needle-like · wedge-shaped
avian
Of or concerning birds
talons · ornithology · pelican · toucan · parrot · hawk · eagle · finch · sparrow · hummingbird
pecking
Jabbing with beak
cracking · probing · sifting · grasping · preening · hammering · drumming · stabbing · snapping · clicking
peck
Dry measure or quick kiss
crush · filter · sip · tear · preen · regurgitate · seeds · insects · nectar · fish
pliers
Hinged metal gripping tool
- tweezersPincerlike gripping instrument
- forcepsMedical grasping instrument
- tongsHinged grasping utensil
snips · nippers · pincers · grip · clamp · pointed · precision · surgical · jewelry · craft
- animal featuresscales, antlers, fur, ears, eyes
- ornithologyornithology, ornithologist, birding, bird watching, bird species
- hard tissuesbone, skeleton, skull, teeth, enamel
- boarding schoolsboarding school, boarding house, dormitory, dormitories, dorm
- Eton CollegeEtonians, tug, fagging, fags, housemaster
- Angry BirdsRed, Chuck, Matilda, Stella, Terence
- large beakSizable bird mouth
- eagle beak
- wet one's beakTake illicit share
- sharp beakKeen avian mouthpart
- hooked beakBent bird mouthpart