Birds come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their bills. Bills are a distinctive feature of birds, used for eating, grooming, probing, courtship, and defense. But which bird has the biggest bill? To find the answer, we need to look at some of the birds with the largest and most unusual bills in the world.
The bill size of birds is closely related to their feeding habits. Birds that eat hard nuts and seeds tend to have short, strong bills for cracking and husking. Birds like pelicans and spoonbills use their bills to scoop fish from the water. Hummingbirds have long slender bills adapted for sucking nectar from flowers. And birds of prey often have hooked bills for tearing meat.
When it comes to the longest bills relative to body size, the sword-billed hummingbird takes the prize. This tiny bird from South America has a bill that is around 4 inches long – that’s about as long as its body! The extremely long bill allows it to feed on nectar from flowers with long floral tubes. Other hummingbirds can’t reach the nectar in these flowers, so the sword-billed hummingbird has access to a food source others can’t exploit.
Birds with the Longest Bills
If we look at the longest bills in terms of total length, rather than relative to body size, the winners are larger birds in a few specific groups:
Pelicans
Pelicans are large water birds with huge throat pouches used for catching fish. The Australian pelican has the longest bill of any bird, measuring 0.5–1.3 m (18-51 in) long. That’s nearly the length of a full grown man! The massive bill holds more fish-filled water than the stomach itself. Pelicans work together to corral fish into shallow water before scooping them up in their bills.
Shoebill Storks
The appropriately named shoebill stork of Africa has a startlingly large bill that resembles a Dutch wooden shoe. Their bills are 0.5–0.9 m (20–35 in) long, which is both longer and broader than any other stork species. They use these gigantic bills to catch lungfish, catfish, and other prey in swamps and wetlands. The huge sharp bill allows them to decapitate and dismember fish.
Spoonbills
There are 6 species of spoonbills worldwide. As their name suggests, they have a distinctive spoon-shaped bill that is approximately 20–30 cm (8–12 in) long. The roseate spoonbill of the Americas is the most widespread. Their bills allow them to sift through mud for food and sweep the water side to side. The flattening of the bill into a spoon shape increases its surface area, allowing spoonbills to more efficiently filter small aquatic organisms from the water.
Ibises
Ibises are a group of wading birds found throughout the world, except for Antarctica. They have long, slender, downcurved bills that can reach 20–30 cm (8–12 in) in length. The Australian white ibis has one of the longest bills relative to body size. Ibises sweep their sensitive bill tips back and forth in the mud to locate prey like insects, crustaceans, and worms. The curvature of the bill allows them to probe more deeply in mud.
Curlews
Curlews are large shorebirds with extremely long, thin, curved bills. The long-billed curlew holds the record for the longest bill relative to body size of any bird. Their bills can be 20–30 cm (8–12 in) long. Curlews use their bills to probe deep into mud and pluck out buried crabs, worms, and other invertebrates. The bill’s slight upward curve allows curlews to more easily extract prey.
Birds with the Widest Bills
While specialized feeding techniques drive the evolution of long bills, the widest bills are often associated with diet too. Birds that crush hard prey typically need short, strong bills.
Here are some champions of width when it comes to bird bills:
Toucans
Known for their oversized, colorful bills, toucans are found in the rainforests of Central and South America. Their bills make up about 1/3 of their entire body length. The toco toucan has the widest toucan bill, measuring 20 cm (8 in) across, around the same width as the bird’s body. Their large bill is surprisingly light due to its honeycombed internal structure. Toucans use their bill to grab fruit and eggs from tree holes.
Hornbills
Found in Africa and Asia, hornbills also have massive bills with a large upper casque on top. The southern ground hornbill has the widest hornbill bill, measuring around 13 cm (5 in) across. They use this impressive bill to feed on insects, reptiles, mammals, and other birds. The bill casque acts as a resonating chamber, amplifying the sounds in their loud calls.
Crossbills
Crossbills are finches named for the crossed tips of their mandibles. This unique crossed bill allows them to efficiently pry and extract seeds from pine cones. The parrot crossbill has a bill width around 11 cm (4.5 in) wide to match its heavy cone diet. Crossbills bite the pine cones with the tip of their bill, then use the lateral projecting edges like a pair of tweezers to extract the seeds.
Bird | Bill Width |
---|---|
Toco Toucan | 20 cm (8 in) |
Southern Ground Hornbill | 13 cm (5 in) |
Parrot Crossbill | 11 cm (4.5 in) |
Birds with the Most Massive Bills
Some birds combine both length and width into truly massive bills. While maybe not record-breaking in either dimension independently, these mega-bills are some of the most impressive due to their sheer bulk:
Rhinoceros Hornbill
As their name suggests, these birds have a huge unicorn-like casque on their bill that looks like a rhino horn. Found in southeast Asia, they use this imposing bill to wrestle with other hornbills for fruit. Their casque generates up to 92 dB — as loud as a motorcycle!
Helmeted Hornbill
Related to rhinoceros hornbills, these birds have an even more enormous casque cresting their bill. Helmeted hornbills have the largest surface area of any bird bill. Their casque can account for 10% of their 3–6.3 kg (6.6–14 lb) body weight. The solid central casque is used as a battering ram in dramatic aerial jousts.
Pelagornithidae
These extinct seabirds are known for their massive bills that could grow even longer than the biggest species today. One genus, Osteodontornis, had a bill over 30 cm (1 ft) long with a wingspan around 5.5 m (18 ft). Their huge bills allowed them to catch large fish and squid in the open ocean.
So in summary, pelicans have the longest bills, toucans and hornbills boast the widest, and extinct pelagornithids had the most massive bills ever known. While it’s hard to definitively say which species has the “biggest” bill, these birds certainly have some of the most extreme bills for their specialized feeding niches. The diversity of bill sizes and shapes allow different species to take advantage of food sources that others can’t access. Next time you see a bird, take a close look at its bill to guess what food it might be eating and how it might use such a tool to survive.
Conclusion
Bird bills have evolved an incredible variety of lengths, widths, and shapes that allow different species to thrive on specialized diets. Though the longest bills belong to large wading birds like pelicans, the longest relative bills belong to hummingbirds like the sword-billed hummingbird. Toucans and hornbills boast the widest bills at up to 20 cm (8 in) across, which serves to grab fruit and amplify calls. But extinct pelagornithids may have had the most massive bills ever over 30 cm (1 ft) long. Bird bills tell the story of the diversity of feeding strategies and ecological niches birds can fill, making them one of the most unique anatomical adaptations in the animal kingdom.