Tongue

If you look very closely, I think what you can see in the starling's beak is his/her tongue.

This starling was scaring a couple of others away from the coconut feeder that they all love. They're getting through one of these every 2-3 days, which is, frankly, ridiculous. On the plus side, though, they make so much mess eating these and dried mealworm that the blackbirds, robins and sparrows regularly hoover up on the ground below them.

Anyway, back to the tongue .... which is quite fascinating.

I checked and yes, most birds do have tongues. Unlike ours a bird's tongue has 5 bones that support and strengthen it, together called the 'Hyoid apparatus'; and their tongues are generally harder and less flexible than ours.

Most birds have a relatively simple tongue, a flat triangular blade in shape with a few backwardly pointing papillae at the back of the mouth which help to ensure food only goes in one direction. In some birds, however, the tongue has become highly evolved e.g. in penguins the whole tongue is covered in backwardly pointing spikes which help in swallowing fish; while in other fish-eating birds such as Cormorants, the tongue has been almost completely reduced.

In woodpeckers the tongue has become greatly elongated and is stored deep in the skull when not extended. Woodpeckers' tongues also have a sharp, pointed top to spear wood-boring insect larvae. The end of the tongue has backwardly directed barbs to help in drawing the food items out of their holes in the wood.

I had hoped to blip moss or liverwort growing in one of my pots but just couldn't get the focus right. I'd love to know what the delicate upright one is so if anyone's an expert please look here and advise!