In Beak Structure and Shape (Part 1) I described many of the morphological features that go to make up the miriad of bills we see in nature. In the last week an exciting project was launched at the University of Sheffield in the UK to scan in 3D and analyse the bills of all 10,000 bird species. What makes this project quite unique is the #citizenscience element. Through an excellent website resource https://www.markmybird.org/ birders from all around the world can participate in the project. In my spare time this week I catalogued 200 bills. It was a fascinating exercise which gave me a totally fresh insight into the amazing range of designs. If 50 people can spare a similar amount of time this project will quickly get over the line and very soon we will all benefit from the knowledge gained. More science should work like this!
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