Hunters and Hunters: The secret to becoming a good hunter is all in your observation skills: knowing how to observe is important in order to find the right position, to discover the habits of the wild you are hunting, to sense the arrival of rain. or a nice sunny day.
A pretty good exercise to train your powers of observation is to pay interest to the beak of birds. Often and willingly underestimated, the beak gives a flood of information, which can be useful, on the eating habits and not only of the bird. It's all about power. The conformation of the beak is determined above all by the feeding habits of the bird which over the centuries have imposed the formation of a certain beak rather than another. Have you ever thought about it? It is no coincidence that even very different birds, which feed on the same food, have substantially similar beaks. Scientifically, the phenomenon is called adaptive convergence: to put it simply, the same necessity imposes a form of identical development.
Beak yes but without teeth. A detail that should not be underestimated is in fact the lack of teeth in birds. The beak must therefore give the bird the possibility not only to catch food, but also to chop it properly to ingest it. It is no coincidence that the birds are endowed with the proventriglio, a glandular stomach whose function is to start the digestion of food thanks to the release of certain enzymes. To make up for the lack of teeth, however, the muscular stomach, the gizzard, takes care of it.
The seed eaters. They are commonly recognized as having a small and robust beak that must be able to break the hard skin of the seeds for the consumption of the fruit. It is no coincidence that these birds are endowed with a strong beak and also with a robust musculature that moves it, wrapped all around the skull. Suffice it to say that these tiny animals are able to generate barley over 35 kilograms just by putting pressure on their beak. Surprising when you consider that some of these little birds weigh less than a kilo. It is also important to remember that the consumption of seeds by birds is quite common: all thanks to the great energy power they are able to give and their low weight that does not interfere with the subsequent flight of the bird.
The fish eaters. Fish eaters are also quite common: in this case the beak will be equipped with rostral gills or hooks along the entire perimeter of the beak: in this way their main food, the fish, commonly slippery and slimy, will not be able to escape. The pelican is one of the best known ichthyophages: it fishes thanks to the use of its beak, large quantities of fish in shallow waters, filling the large pocket with food and water. The latter will then be thrown away by raising the head.
The worm eaters. It is quite easy to recognize them as they are equipped with rather long beaks with which it is possible to search the ground, often muddy. Woodcock, snipe and whisk are, for example, birds that probe the ground with the use of their beak, looking for a hearty meal.
The leaf and root eaters. Waterfowl usually feed on aquatic plants or insects. Their beak is therefore broad and flat: this allows roots, rhizomes, leaves, shoots and twigs to be easily torn and consumed. Through the beak, the food will also be separated from the water with a certain ease. A striking example of aquatic animals with a large beak are ducks, swans and geese.
The insect eaters. At least 60% of the birds that nature has wanted to have a rather thin and thin beak are insectivores: in this way it will be possible for them to probe the hedges and among the foliage of the shrubs. Those who, on the other hand, capture their prey in flight are normally able to widely open their beak, for easier hunting.
In short, by observing the beak the hunter will have the opportunity to learn something more about his prey, and an informed and attentive hunter is a hunter who always has something to teach.