The wrybill is a small, plump plover, measuring 20 to 21 cm (7.9–8.3 in) in length and weighing between 43 and 71 g (1.5–2.5 oz). The plumage is slightly sexually dimorphic . The male has a white forehead and pale grey crown, nape, back, wings and tail and a white throat, breast, belly and rump, with a thin black band across the breast.

The wrybill is a small pale plover which breeds only in braided rivers of the South Island. It is the only bird in the world with a laterally-curved bill (always curved to the right), which it uses to reach insect larvae under rounded riverbed stones.

Basic facts about Wrybill: lifespan, distribution and habitat map, lifestyle and social behavior, mating habits, diet and nutrition, population size and status.

Free, global bird ID and field guide app powered by your sightings and media. A small, pale plover endemic to New Zealand. Gray above, white below. Note distinctive black bill with tip curving to the right, unique to this species, used to forage under stones for invertebrates.

Wrybill, (Anarhynchus frontalis), New Zealand bird of the plover family, Charadriidae (order Charadriiformes), with the bill curved about 20° to the right. This unique bill configuration is present even in the newly hatched chicks. The wrybill feeds by probing under stones and by sweeping its bill.

No other bird in the world has a bill like New Zealand’s wrybill. Its bill curves to the right, allowing it to probe for insects under river stones.

The wrybill or ngutuparore (Māori) Anarhynchus frontalis is a species of plover endemic to New Zealand. It is unique in that it is the only species of bird in the world with an asymmetrically bent bill, which it uses to dig around river stones for freshwater invertebrates.

Wrybill, Anarhynchus frontalis, New Zealand, bird, found in New Zealand Birds' bird gallery section, includes general information about the bird, taxonomy, description, where to find them and other useful and interesting information.

Feb 8, 2023 · The Wrybill is an insectivore. Its main prey are mayflies and their larvae as well as other small invertebrates. They also eat fish eggs. On river banks, their curved beaks allow these birds to collect their food under stones without having to turn them over.

Anarhynchus was previously considered monotypic, consisting only of the wrybill. Studies in 2015 and 2022 confirmed that Charadrius is polyphyletic , with some species more closely related to the wrybill rather than the common ringed plover .