Researchers have modelled a pair of tweezers to mimic the shape of the 4.3 centimetre average beak of the New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) – an intelligent species of bird known to use ...

Tweezers based on the shape of a crow’s beak can work better at picking up objects than the types people have used for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found tweezers dating back to 2450 ...

After all, most birds snatch prey just fine using only their beaks and feet. Toolmaking among crows may have happened by chance, and then tool use become ingrained in their biology.

These birds don’t just use their beaks for eating or survival; in many cases, their colourful bills play important roles in communication, mating displays, ...

Now that Dr. Ortega-Jiménez’s curiosity about flamingo-instigated fluid dynamics has been satisfied, he plans to turn his attention to what is going on inside the birds’ beaks during feeding.