By the coastal wetlands and shallow ponds in spring, there will be a different kind of bird, called pied avocet. It has a slender body and long legs. If you take a closer look, you will see that its beak is very special. The beak is black and slender, and the end is upturned like a machete.

The pied avocet is a medium-sized wading bird. Unlike natatores and ratites, they mainly wade on the water. They are suitable for living in shallow water, swamps and shores and they are not good at swimming. This living habit makes them have not only long mouths but also a pair of enviable long legs. They have high requirements for habitat environment and are called "wetland elves"

Among the many waterfowls, why is the pied avocet "unconventional" with an upturned beak?

This is mainly to adapt to its special eating habits. Unlike most waterfowls, which like to prey on fish and shrimps, the pied avocet likes to eat invertebrates such as insects, small fish, shellfish, crustaceans and other invertebrates hidden in the bottom sediment. The upturned beak makes it easier to "fish in troubled waters". When preying, it sticks its mouth into the water or mud, and while walking, it stirs back and forth with its mouth, digging up food in the mud like a dredger.