Wrybill

It lays its eggs among the rocks along rivers and distracts intruders by pretending to be in distress and moving away from its nest.

Picture of the Wrybill has been licensed under a GFDL
Original source: John Hill
Author: John Hill
Permission: GNU Free Documentation License

The Wrybill is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

The wrybill nests along rocky rivers in South Island, laying two eggs. Sizable flocks winter along the coasts of North Island. Learn more about wrybill with a free trial on Britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Cite This Source Search another word or see wrybill on Thesaurus | Reference FacebookTwitterFollow us: About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · API · Careers · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · Contact Us Dictionary.com, LLC. More

Wrybill sitting on eggs Conservation status Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae Genus: Anarhynchus Quoy and Gaimard, 1830 Species: A. More

Wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis Pluvier anarhynque = Pluvier anarhynque Comment : De profil, la courbure du bec est invisible... More

The endemic Wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis, is the only shore bird in the world to have a right curved bill. More

Videos and images Wrybill in breeding plumage The wrybill is a distinctive wading bird, which possesses a uniquely bent bill. The tip of the black bill is curved to the right, this adaptation allows these birds to forage under stones for insect larvae. The plumage is ash-grey above with white ... More

Wrybill flock in flight Video credits © NHNZ Moving Images Audio credits © Films@59 © BBC Natural History Unit Wrybills foraging Video credits © BBC Natural History Unit Audio credits © Films@59 © BBC Natural History Unit Wrybill foraging Video credits © NHNZ Moving Images Audio credits © More

Wrybills (Anarhynchus frontalis) are small endemic shorebirds that are highly specialised for breeding in braided rivers. Their unique bill is adapted to finding mayfly and caddisfly larvae under riverbed stones. They migrate north each year, with most wrybill wintering in the large harbours around Auckland. Within their current breeding range, wrybill have disappeared from most small rivers, and are now confined to several large catchments. About 5000 remain, and the species is classified as nationally vulnerable. More

The wrybill is the only known bird to have a bill that curves to one side More

In the wrybill, however, the bill, which is one and a quarter inches long, is bent to the right in the middle, the end being offset at an angle of 12 degrees to the base. This is claimed to be an adaptation to its existence on the shingle river-beds of Canterbury, where it nests, the bent bill supposedly enabling it to get its food the more readily from under stones. More

wrybill: Encarta® World English Dictionary, North American Edition 4. Wrybill, wrybill: Dictionary.com 5. Wrybill: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia 6. Wrybill: Online Plain Text English Dictionary 7. wrybill: Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition 8. Wrybill: AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary 9. wrybill: Free Dictionary 10. More

The wrybill bears a superficial resemblance to the related and common banded dotterel: both are approximately the same size; there is the appearance of a cap to the head; the upper surface of the body is dark and the under surface white; and the chest is banded during the breeding season. There are, however, important differences in detail. More

Wrybills roosting (1st of 2) Wrybills roosting (1st of 2) Wrybill feeding at a stream (1st of 2) Wrybill feeding at a stream (1st of 2) New Zealand shore plover New Zealand shore plover New Zealand shore plover juvenile New Zealand shore plover juvenile Spur-winged plover Spur-winged plover Wrybill plover Sporting a sideways turning bill, the endemic wrybill More

Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Charadriidae
Genus : Anarhynchus
Species : frontalis
Authority : Quoy and Gaimard, 1830