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Bird Photos: Oddities: European Starling with a deformed bill

This bird was photographed by Lou Beaudet in Mountain View, CA. I don't have the exact date. It may have been in the summer of 2000.

   
 

This starling provides a very odd profile, a short-tailed, black bird with a long decurved bill. Does this deformity prevent it from eating enough to survive?

 

   

In this image, the lower bill appears to end abruptly, as if it is broken off.

 

   
 

The deformed bill structure of this starling is reminiscent of one of the Hawaiian honeycreepers, the 'akiapola'au, to the left, which has a long, more decurved upper bill and a shorter, chisel-like lower bill. This bill adaptation has three functions: the upper bill as a probe to search for insects in bark, the lower bill as a chisel to peck with, and the two bills together, like a can-opener, to pry up bark.

It's doubtful that the starling could develop all of these functions in one lifetime. It might be able to get coins out of a vending machine more easily....

   

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