Baby duck... i suggest learning a bit more Maya, check this out:
Polygons - > Create polygon tool

as for you strykernet,
making a beak is more easier in nurbs, if you are a newbie than this might help:
Make a circle (duplicate it many times & move to the correct position) edit the point in each circle such that it has almost a primitive shape of a beak.. then loft them... if it is not good enough... tweak it a bit more... then you might get one... this is a newbie way there are a lot of other methods you could use..