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Beak technique

The openbill stork has a special technique for opening freshwater mussels. First a sharp squeeze makes the shell open slightly, then the lower beak is inserted to cut the mussel's body away from the shell. The stork also eats snails, which require a different treatment. It carries the snail onto land and delicately removes the disk that seals the snail into its shell. Next it severs the muscle that attaches snail to shell and out comes the snack.

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