Red-tail hawk beak

[Mare]

I see red-tail hawks, frequently, but have never seen one close up. I found this pic of one's head and beak and was startled at it's departure from a parrot's beak! These are obviously tools for something other than cracking open seeds!

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Actually, I think it is quite similar to a parrots beak with its long hooked upper part. Seed eaters such as finches have short stubby beaks.
OMG Casper's a fruit hawk.

[Mare]

My cockatoo's have a lower beak almost the same size as their upper beak, weapons of mass destruction! :)

[plax]

I found this pic of one's head and beak and was startled at it's departure from a parrot's beak! These are obviously tools for something other than cracking open seeds!You're right. They're tools for slashing and tearing flesh :(

[Mare]

Tony, yes, they are kind of scary for that reason! What does Zaff use his long "can opener" for?

[plax]

What does Zaff use his long "can opener" for?Often for pecking poor Salsa squarely on the top of his head :th_shakehead:

[Mare]

Haha, sorry, didn't mean to laugh,,poor Salsa :( , that would hurt! I meant in the wild, that long top beak has got to have a purpose. I had Sassy in the outdoor aviary today and she got down in the grass. She used her top beak like a hoe in the dirt, she dug up roots and then started digging towards China, all with that part of her beak!

[plax]

Haha, sorry, didn't mean to laugh,,poor Salsa :( , that would hurt! I meant in the wild, that long top beak has got to have a purpose. I had Sassy in the outdoor aviary today and she got down in the grass. She used her top beak like a hoe in the dirt, she dug up roots and then started digging towards China, all with that part of her beak!In the wild, Hyacinths use the tip of their upper beak as both a pick and chisel to break apart and chisel out meat from the shells of the palm nuts they naturally consume. Zaf uses the tip of his beak in this same manner... he'll scrape out macadamia nut meat when it happens to be stuck to its shell. Fresh mac nuts that aren't yet very dry can be like that... and they're his favorite kind :)