Scooping

Scooping
Some beaks are big, with the ability to get bigger.
For example, the pelican has a pouch-like beak it can expand when it's trying to scoop up fish. Brown Pelicans are known for diving into the water to catch fish.

The pouch on the pelican's lower bill is usually folded up, but it can get bigger when the bird is fishing. A pelican's pouch can hold 11 liters of water.

Even though the pelican's tongue is tiny, a complex set of specialized tongue muscles control the pouch. By contracting these muscles, the pelican tightens the pouch after catching a fish, expelling water and forcing the prey down its throat.

Tongue muscles are also used in gular fluttering, a surprisingly effective evaporative cooling mechanism. The bird rapidly flutters the pouch by contracting and relaxing the muscles, kind of like a dog panting, sometimes at a remarkable flutter-rate of 200 times a minute.

Pelicans perform strange-looking exercises to stretch and maintain their pouch in a brand of pelican yoga. They will gape, holding their mouths wide open. In another pose, they point the bill straight up to the sky, stretching the pouch. Or most evocatively, a bird will turn its pouch completely inside out by forcing it over its breast.

Know more:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/pelican/
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/06/pelican-grace/did-you-know-learn

Photo via reddit

#biodiversity   #beaks   #coolcritters   #pelicans