American Wigeon

American wigeons are migratory dabbling ducks that can be seen in San Diego’s wetlands in the winter. These ducks use their short and sturdy bills to forcefully uproot plants and eat. The strength in the bills comes from the dense, pleated structure of beta-keratins, a special type of keratin that is only found in birds and reptiles. With this durability, the wigeons can exert the greater force necessary to pull plants. To optimize strength, the shape of beta-keratin in the duck bills can be mimicked as a nanostructure in designs. Further research could examine if its beneficial properties are scalable (it can work on a larger scale).

On the sides of their bills are fine, comb-like lamellae. These structures are used in the duck’s filter-feeding process, in which it sucks a combination of water, mud, and food, then expels it, trapping just the small food. A large part of water pollution is physical, small particles. A device similar to lamaelle could filter water, preventing such pollution from flowing with the water.

Source:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/id
https://kaylafisk.com/2022/03/05/bird-anatomy-lamellae/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/beta-keratin