A taxonomic group or order of birds characterized by having curved beaks; plural of curvirostre.
From Latin 'curvus' (curved) and 'rostrum' (beak) in the plural form. Linnaeus and early taxonomists used this term to classify birds by bill shape in the 18th century.
Early bird classification was actually based on beak shape, so you had Curvirostres (curved beaks), Insessores (perching birds), and Natatores (swimmers)—they later realized this wasn't how birds actually evolved.
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