Those big birds with big beaks -- like Macaws and large Cockatoos -- look scary. It's easy to look at them and be scared of being bit. But, the fact is, these big birds are less likely to do awful things to you with one bite than are their smaller-beaked brethren.

The reason is simple-- the different-sized beaks are made to eat different sizes of food (well, that is, if you believe in evolution). Small birds eat small seeds; big birds eat big seeds and nuts. A big macaw is excellent at opening walnuts -- but it does that by crushing. Crushing takes a powerful beak, but not a sharp one.

A small cockatiel is good at opening a tiny millet seed, by prying apart the shell on the seed around its tiny, delicate seam. This action takes a sharp beak. A bite from this beak may be less strong, but it will be much more likely to break the skin than the bite from a large beak.

So don't fear the big beaks. Meet a bird and make a new friend!