Tag mandible

Red Wood Ant

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The Red Wood Ant (Formica rufa) is an insect in the Formicidae family of ants. It is also known as the Southern Wood Ant and Horse Ant.

The Red Wood Ant has a head, thorax, and abdomen. It is reddish, except for its brownish-black abdomen and dark patch on the back of its head. Its 6 legs are reddish-black. Its antennae are long. It has large jaws called mandibles. It has smoky-brown wings during the mating season – only the fertile female and adult male have wings.

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What is the difference between a beak and a bill?

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What is the difference between a beak and a bill?

A beak and a bill – mostly in birds – is used for eating. There are two parts of a beak and a bill: 1) upper mandible (jaw), which is also called a maxilla, and 2) lower mandible (jaw), which is called mandible. 

The beak and the bill are similar and it is considered acceptable to use the beak and the bill to mean the same thing. However, there is slight difference.

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What does a pelican’s beak look like?

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What does a pelican’s beak look like?

A pelican has a massive long beak. 

The beak has an upper mandible (top half of its beak) and a lower mandible (lower half of its beak).

The beak can grow to 47 centimetres (19 inches) in length. 

At the tip of the upper mandible is a hook, called a crochet or a bill-tip. The crochet helps the pelican grip onto slippery fish to eat. A pelican catches large fish with its crochet, tosses it into the air, and lets it slide down the gullet of its open mouth.  

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Eclectus Parrot

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The Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus) is medium-sized bird.

The Eclectus Parrot male and female look very different. The male is bright green and the female is mostly bright red. The male is bright green with blue primary feathers and red sides. Its short tail is edged with a narrow band of creamy-yellow, but is mainly green.

The female is bright red with a darker colour on her back and wings. Her underwing coverts are purple. Her short tail is edged with yellow-orange above and orange below. The male has an orange and black beak: orange on the upper mandible and black on the lower mandible. The female has an all-black beak. Both have yellow to orange eyes.

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African Grey Hornbill

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The African Grey Hornbill (Tockus nasutus) is a large big-beaked African bird.

The African Grey Hornbill has a grey-brown body with a long white stripe from its eye to the back of its neck (nape), and another white stripe down the centre of its back. It has brown wings edged in white. Its throat and chest are pale grey-brown, and its belly is white.

The male has a large downward curved black beak with a cream patch on its maxilla (upper beak), and narrow pale lines on its mandible (bottom beak). The female has a large black beak with a dark red beak tip, and half of the maxilla (upper beak) is a cream-yellow colour.

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Palm Cockatoo

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The Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large parrot from New Guinea and a small area of northern Australia. It is also known as the Goliath Cockatoo or Great Black Cockatoo. Probosciger means long, thin nose.

The Palm Cockatoo is grey-black with red cheeks that can change colour when it is frightened or excited. It has a very large grey beak. It has the second largest beak of all parrots in the world (the Hyacinth Macaw has the largest beak). The top mandible (jaw) and the bottom mandible do not meet. It has a large crest. It has black feet and large black claws. It has black eyes.

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