Jun 27 2008
The Beak Tells It
As a beginning birdwatcher I focused almost exclusively on overall size and coloration. When attempting to identify a new bird I would need to flip through the whole gawd-darn field guide. Let’s see: brown and white, about six inches tall . . . .
After years of largely self-taught bird identification I have learned that perhaps the best way to narrow your search is to first look at the bird’s bill. The shape of the bill, as Darwin’s finches manifest, is a huge clue as to what the bird eats. Does it spear fish (like the great blue heron above), poke around the nook and crannies in bark for small insects, lick nectar, crack the husks off grains and seeds?
Similarly, by examine the jaw and teeth of hominid fossils, paleontologists have been able to deduce the food of our genetic forebears.
If you want to know something about a life-form, just look it. Even the characteristics of dogs tell something of the environment in which the genes originated. One of ours has very furry paws, with long tufts of it growing out between the pads. Almost like a hairy snow-shoe. And the dog’s coat is a multi-layer ball of a shedding mess. Get the dog wet and she shrinks in size so much you hardly recognize her. Hers is a breed for cold weather (mostly Tibetan spaniel.)
Want to understand more about the world about you? Look, wonder, and discover the clues.
