mighty beak

[bert.dol@philips.com]

Hallo experts,

Last friday I went to the Teylers museum in Haarlem (the Netherlands) with my 
friend Ilja Nieuwland. We were going there to look at the Archie over there, 
but I was very impressed by the beak they have of Phorosrhacus longissimus 
(forgive me any 
misspellings - monday is never my best day). I noticed something which struck 
me as strange and we could not find a logical or any explanation for it. When 
you look at the end of the beak (just before it turns into the hook) you see a 
little knob on the 
upper part of the beak. The lower beak has a little 'hole' where the knob would 
normally touch the beak when it would be closed. Does anyone have any clue what 
this little knob is and what it's function might be? Are there any living birds 
which have 
these kind of knobs?

Bert Dol                                                                    
"Where the winds cannot reach, the tyrant's might was born"
Fysisch analist-2                                                   "And often 
I look back, with tears in my eyes"
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