The Blue Grosbeak I photographed on Sunday, had a set of “whiskers” over the inner portion of its beak.  My first guess was that the function of these “whiskers” was that they help the bird position seeds in its beak while husking them.

I’ve done a number of searches on the Internet, to try and learn the scientific name and purpose of these “whiskers” without finding any information.  If you know of a source of information about this anatomical feature, please leave a comment.