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Wrybill

Anarhynchus frontalis

The wrybill or (in Māori) ngutuparore (Anarhynchus frontalis) is a species of plover endemic to New Zealand. It is the only species of bird in the world with a beak that is bent sideways in one direction, always to the right (in the crossbills, e.g. Loxia pytyopsittacus, the tips of the upper and lower mandibles cross because they are bent sideways in opposite directions, sometimes left over right and sometimes right over left). A 2015 study found it to be within the Charadrius clade, with other New Zealand plovers its closest relatives; the nearest being the New Zealand dotterel or New Zealand plover (Charadrius obscurus), and then the double-banded plover or banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus). It lays its eggs among the rocks along rivers and distracts intruders by pretending to be in distress and moving away from its clutch. It is rated as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species.
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Wrybills on Birda

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Ed Jenkins
Monday 01 Jan 1900 - 12:00am
New Zealand
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