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Sir David Attenborough presents the New Zealand wrybill.

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Sir David Attenborough presents the New Zealand wrybill. The wrybill is an inconspicuous wader yet it is unique. It is the only bird in the world whose bill is bent sideways , and as it happens, always to the right. In the shingly, gravelly world it inhabits alongside fast flowing rivers, the wrybill's beak is the perfect shape for finding food. With neat, rapid movements, it sweeps aside small stones to reveal insects beneath. Endemic to New Zealand in winter dense flocks gather and display, their highly co-ordinated aerial movements having been described as a flung scarfe across the sky.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

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2 minutes

Last on

Tue 21 Feb 202305:58

Wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis)

Webpage courtesy of Andrew Walmsley / naturepl.com

NPL Ref 01266416 © Andrew Walmsley / naturepl.com

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