Photo by Sarah Hadley
Species of the day – March 10, 2013 – Brown-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus pusillus)
Clearly hummingbirds are not the only species of birds with long curved bills! This scythebill has an incredibly long, slender bill that it uses to probe into hard to reach places (deep into moss, cracks in bark, into clusters of vines etc.) to get prey items such as insects and spiders. The scythebill is a type of woodcreeper. It has a very strong tail like that of a woodpecker that supports it on the trunks of trees as it searches for food.
A magnificent bird and a great example of evolution. That “form follows function”, although a phrase attributed to modern architecture, is in clear evidence here.
There is surprisingly little information to be found on the internet about this bird.
But for probing deep into it’s habitat for food, I can see where a curved beak would be most handy. With a straight beak, the bird would have to bend it’s neck at an extreme angle to reach food that wasn’t on the surface, while tilting it’s rump upwards and it’s head downwards. That curved beak allows it to maintain a normal balanced posture while reaching deep into crevices or moss to forage for insects etc. A truly fascinating bird.