The size and shape of a bird’s beak usually give a person an idea of what it eats and how it catches what it eats. Birds such as cardinals have strong, conical bills that crack open nuts and seeds.

Photographer Ryan Wilkes captured a hummingbird from a perspective that’s typically unseen. This slow-motion close-up of a hummingbird’s tongue displays its uniqueness and versatility. In the same way ...

Under these drastically changing conditions, the struggle to survive favored the larger birds with deep, strong beaks for opening the hard seeds. Smaller finches with less-powerful beaks perished.

perfect for cracking open seeds and grains. The wide base of the beak provides the necessary strength, while the pointed tip ...

Modern birds, along with certain snakes and fishes, have skulls whose jaws and palates are not firmly fixed in place.