Birds Online
     
  Home > Health and diseases > General topics > Anatomy: beak
     
  Anatomy of the beak The budgie's beak consists of so called keratin which is placed around a solid bony core; delicate blood vessels run though the keratin. Like all parrots, budgies have a bent beak. Their upper and lower mandible differ from each other in shape and length.

Most of the time, only the longer upper mandible is visible (see figure above, 1a). The lower mandible (1b) is immovable since it is adnate to the jaw-bone. One can see the lower mandible when a budgie opens its beak, thus when it moves the upper mandible upwards.

 

Gap beneath the lower mandible If one takes a closer look at the lower mandible from below, one can see naked skin and a gap between the throat and the lower mandible. This gap is a normal characteristic of a budgie's anatomy, it is not pathological! Particularly during preening or after taking a bathe when the feathers are wet, one can see this naked skin and the gap. The photo on the right shows a female budgie who puts her head back while her partner is feeding her. The gap is shown by the marking.

Link tip: Do you want to discuss with experts and other bird owners about your bird's health? Then please feel free to visit the English forum external link of Welli.net. Of course you will meet me there, too. My nickname is "Feenseeschwalbe".

 
 
All photos and the text on this page are protected by the copyright law. In case you'd like to use photos or texts for your own non-commercial purpose, please contact the author.