Evolution: Why do birds have beaks and not mouths?

Question

I am trying to design characters for a shor film I am making. I want to know why animals have their bodies the way they do. For example, horses, in a way, have knees on their hind legs and in their front legs unlike tigers and lions; they have elbows in their front legs. I wonder what benefit does one have against the benefits of the other.

Answer 1

because they need beaks to catch the food they are adapted to eat. Some are seed eaters, therefore they have a short, thick bill for cracking them open, many shorebirds have long, curved bills to be able to probe mudflats to catch the invertebrates that hide it in, hawks and other birds of prey are hunters and therefore have hooked bills for tearing flesh, etc.

Answer 2

Why Do Birds Have Beaks

Answer 3

Think about the shape of the different beaks, some are long and thin, some are very strong ang large, some curved, some flat...They all have a different function. A strong beak like parrots is good to crush nuts, a long thin beak will go into small holes to get insects and worms. A strong beak like the woodpecker, allows him to make holes in the bark to remove the larva underneath...and so on. I hope this gives you some ideas.

Answer 4

of course, evolution... adaptation to the environmental pressures and just plain luck. i've never thought of it before, but specifically with beaks i imagine that it is because it answers the weight vs. functionality issue, since most birds have to fly and whatnot, perhaps it is due to a bird's posture too, since a heavier skull=stronger neck muscles=heavier overall. also, the beak is usually most forward part of the bird when in flight, so that it would tend to have to be the most aerodynamic (shape) but also durable (no feathers or scales to get in the way) ...secondly, i believe it may have something to do with temperature regulation and just plain breathing while moving at fast speeds. all in all, if you are designing characters and you decide to put something like horse legs on it, think of it holistically and how it benefits the character in the environment it lives in.

Answer 5

Beaks evolved because they are very light compared to teeth. Horses actually walk on their toes, I beleive, as do cats. Lions need greater strength and flexibility in their front legs whereas horses need more strength and flexibility in their hind legs?

Answer 6

Cows and horses are grazers. Tigers and lions are hunters. Birds have a sharp versatile beak for grasping food and building materials for nesting. A Parrot uses it's tongue like we do a thumb!

Answer 7

Because mouths are inconvient for what birds need. Birds need to catch food in midair and crack open nuts and seeds. Beaks provide both

Answer 8

They are from different places so they have different adapt ions. In that place, they gradually change and that is called evolution.

Answer 9

they do not have thumb.s, so if they had a mouth they couldnt brush thier teeth, and if they didnt do that eventually they wouldnt have teeth..etc.

Answer 10

evolution. better for survival[each adapt to enviornment]