Richard Moore Outdoor Report: A Bill for Every Occasion

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — There is a bill for every occasion in the wonderful world of waterbirds, and with each specialized bill comes a fascinating behavior.

There are divers and dabblers, skimmers and schemers, drillers and dancers, probers and pierces…seiners and spinners.

Least grebes with short sharp bills are expert divers, and while not every dip delivers dinner they are very proficient in pursuing underwater prey.

Dabbling ducks possess flat bills that help them strain water from the sides as they busily consume plants and aquatic animals, and with teal, it is never too early to get tipsy.

Skimmers are unique among the world’s birds sporting a lower mandible longer than the upper. They gracefully glide just above the water skimming the surface for sustenance.

While skimmers skim, green herons scheme, disguised as reeds remaining still as statues before suddenly thrusting their long sharp bills.

Shorebirds like sanderlings drill and scamper, while reddish egrets dance for their dinner.

The long decurved bills of ibis enable them to delicately probe for aquatic creatures, while great blue herons pierce water with their formidable bills snatching wiggling fish.

Spoonbills are seiners, and these wonderfully pink birds immerse their spatula-shaped bill into the shallows swinging their heads in wide arcs from side to side as they grasp small fish and shrimp.

Then there are oystercatchers with their marvelously specialized bill that pluck, probe, and pierce hard shells while expertly extracting tasty morsels.

The peripatetic phalarope possesses one of the most distinctive behaviors of all. When feeding it frantically spins in a tight circle, forming a small whirlpool that raises minute aquatic life to the surface. The phalarope then feverishly plucks prey with its diminutive bill.

There is indeed a bill for every occasion and a dizzying array of fascinating behavior.