Credit: @jackjohnturner on IG.

Wild bee pollinating a roadside crab apple while collecting nectar. N.E. Ohio

I took this shot a couple days ago in the St Petersburg, Florida area. Although I see about 8 - 12 Spotted Eagle Ray jumps every year, it's almost impossible to have the camera ready and pointing in the right direction when the magic happens. Unlike dolphins they don't give any indication when they're going to jump. In over 10 years of filming I've only managed to capture 3 eagle ray jumps on camera. By comparison I've caught about 1,000 dolphin jumps on camera.

1. Crossbills (Loxia spp.): These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, enabling them to extract seeds from conifer cones.

2. Skimmers (Rynchops spp.): These birds have the lower mandible longer than the upper, allowing them to fish in a unique way, flying low and fast over streams. Their lower mandible skims or slices over the water's surface, ready to snap shut any small fish unable to dart clear. Sometimes, they fracture their lower mandible if they hit something too hard or misjudge their strike. And they're sometimes found with a broken bill (couldn't find a photo of any skimmer with a broken jaw in nature, but I could find one in "captivity", and since this subreddit's about nature, I'm afraid I cannot show it).

3. Wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis): It is the only species of bird in the world with a bill that is bent sideways in one direction, always to the right. They use their laterally curved bills to probe under stones and along riverbeds, accessing insect larvae and other prey hiding in crevices that a straight bill might miss.

4. Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex): Their oversized shoe-bill (hence the name) isn’t just for show. It's a powerful hunting tool used to grab large, slippery prey like lungfish, eels, and even baby crocodiles. A sharp hook at the tip helps it to grip and kill prey often with a violent headshaking motion. With their slow statuesque movements, shoebills are deadly ambush predators. It also plays a role in communication, producing a loud clattering sound during courtship or territorial displays (couldn't find any clattering footage in the wild and since this subreddit's about nature, I'm afraid I cannot show it).

5. Boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius): Their odd bill helps the heron scoop up small fish, insects, and crustaceans in the dark. Because unlike most of its relatives, the boat-billed heron is nocturnal. It uses its broad bill like a net sweeping through shallow water to catch prey by feel, aided by sensory pits on the bill's surface.

6. Openbill storks/Openbills (Anastomus spp.): Openbilled storks get their name from the distinctive gap between the upper and lower parts of their bill. Even when closed, both mandibles never fully meet, leaving a visible opening along much of its length. Despite looking like a deformity, it's actually a specialized adaptation for feeding on snails.Being slightly curved, the bill acts like a pair of pincers, perfectly shaped to grip and extract softbodied snails from their coiled shells. There are two species: African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) and Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans).

7. Saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis): Its long straight bill is vividly patterned in red, black, and yellow with a raised yellow saddle at the base that gives the species its name. This bright structural feature is unique among storks and likely plays a role in individual recognition or sexual signaling.

8. Long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus): Using the long bill, an individual probes the mud or other substrate for suitable food. The usual food consists of crabs and various other small invertebrates.This species exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism, as in many sandpipers, the female being larger and having a much longer bill than the male's.

9. Kiwi birds (Apterygidae spp.)): What makes these long slender bills unusual is the placement of their nostrils. Instead of being near the base of the bill like most birds, kiwis have nostrils located right at the tip. This unique feature helps kiwis sniff out insects, worms, and other invertebrates hidden underground or in the leaf litter. Since kiwis are nocturnal and flightless, their bills are essential tools for survival. Not only are their nostrils in a specialized location, but their bills are also highly sensitive, packed with touch receptors that aid them as they forage in the dark.

10. Sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera): It’s the only bird in the world with a bill longer than its entire body. This absurdly long bill allows it to feed from flowers with deep tubular corollas that most other birds can't reach.

11. Spoonbills (Platalea spp.): All spoonbills have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side. The moment any small aquatic creature touches the inside of the bill—an insect, crustacean, or tiny fish—it is snapped shut.

12. Knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos): Gets its name from a prominent black lump that rises from the top of the male's bill. This bulbous structure (which swells during the breeding season) gives the bird a strange appearance. It's thought to play a role in attracting females and asserting dominance among rival males. Females lack the knob, but both sexes share the same broad, heavy bill, which they use to graze on vegetation and sift through shallow water for food.

13. Musk duck (Biziura lobata): It has pretty much the exact opposite silhouette of the knob-billed duck. It isn't the bill of the bird that gives the odd shape, but a large leathery guller lobe that extends from the skin in the gap between the lower mandible. The males develop these strange sacks during the breeding season, inflating and wobbling it while performing elaborate displays that include splashing, whistling, and deep booming sounds (sound warning, you possibly have to activate the sound).

14. Andean goose (Chloephaga melanoptera): Unlike most geese which have long serrated bills for grazing or dabbling, the andean goose has a stubby triangular bill adapted for clipping tough grasses close to the ground. Despite its size, it's an effective tool for this specialized alpine herbivore.

15. Mergansers (Mergus spp.): Mergansers have serrated edges (similar like teeth) to their long and thin bills that help them grip their prey. Because of this feature, they’re often known as "sawbills". Other species outside the Mergus genus also present this feature.

• Hooded merganser

Wikipedia (Lophodytes cucullatus)

• Smew

Wikipedia (Mergellus albellus)

1. American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos): Although all pelicans have strange shaped bills, what makes this species distinct is a pronounced bump that both males and females develop during the breeding season (no other pelican species displays this feature). And its exact function isn't fully known. It's likely used for display during courtship or to signal breeding conditions to others in the colony, and it doesn't last for long. After the eggs are laid, the horn falls off, not growing back until the following breeding season.

2. Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros): This beautiful bird has a massive bill topped by a large curved cask. The cask is a hollow helmet-like structure (hence the name), and it isn't just for show. It amplifies the bird's calls, helping it communicate across dense jungle.

3. Helmeted hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil): Unlike rhinoceros hornbill, the helmeted hornbill cask is made of solid bone. This solid cask is used in dramatic aerial battles where males slam into each other headon as they compete for mates (sorry for the low quality). Unfortunately, this extraordinary cask has made the helmeted hornbill a target for illegal hunting and trafficking. The solid cask is carved into hornbill ivory, a highly priced material used in traditional carvings and jewelry, leading to severe population declines. As a result, the species is listed as critically endangered.

4. Great-billed parrot (Tanygnathus megalorynchos): It possesses one of the largest and powerful beaks among parrots. Its hefty curved beak appears almost disproportionately large for its body size. This impressive beak is a practical adaptation, perfectly designed for cracking open the tough seeds and nuts that form much of its diet.

5. Crested coua (Coua cristata): Unlike other species in this post, the adults aren’t the ones with weird beak shapes or features but rather their chicks. Crested coua chicks have markings inside their mouths that are highly unusual. The exact purpose of these isn't fully known. They may serve as a visual cue, helping parents target their feeding with precision. Or they may help the parents find their chicks mouths in the low light of the dark, dense forests where they build their nests (since I couldn't find any crested coua chick photo in the wild and since this subreddit's about nature, I'm afraid I cannot show it).

A huge part of this post information has been extracted form this YT video which I highly recommend to watch, as well as his YT channel of course.

And sorry if I couldn't show some imagery as you guys have read, but I did this just to make sure I'm not breking the rules of this subreddit.