1 Hawks, owls, and other birds which catch and kill live prey have sharp, curved beaks. These are used to bite the skull or neck and also to tear the body into pieces small enough to swallow. This Bob-white Quail has a short stout bill which is used mainly for picking seeds and insects from the ground and biting tender shoots and buds from shrubs. 1 Crossbills are finches which have very specialized bills for removing pine seeds from cones. By inserting the bill into the cone and opening it, the cone scales are forced apart, allowing the bird to extract the seed.
Some birds have the bills crossed one way, and some the other way.
2 Birds which catch fish, such as this bittern and other herons, have long, straight bills. The edges are very sharp for holding the slippery fish. Some fish eaters, such as this cormorant, have a hook on the end of the bill for holding the fish. Mergansers, ducks specialized for eathing fish, have sharp tooth-like structures on the edge of the bill to hold fish tightly. 2 Ducks such as the Shoveler feed mainly by filtering out animal or plant material from the water.