110 MR SELBY ON THE PERN IS AP1VORUS. 



mage is white, and a thick clothing of down closely invests the whole of 

 the body. The tail hair-brown, with bars of a deeper colour. The skin 

 I found to be tough and thick. Upon opening the body, the craw and 

 stomach were found filled with wasps, as well full-grown as in the nymph 

 and grub state ; no remains or feathers of birds, or bones and fur of mam- 

 malia were to be seen, so that, at this season at least, its food would ap- 

 pear to consist entirely of insects, and particularly the hymenoptera and 

 their larvae. The trunk and gently curved bill, as well as the straight 

 claws of this bird, shew its departure from the typical Falconidae, and 

 its decreased predatorial habits. It was in tolerable condition, though 

 not in the fat state of the individual killed at Tlmrston, and described 

 by the Honourable Mr Liddell in the Transactions of the Northumber- 

 land Natural History Society. While alive, it shewed no irascibility of 

 disposition, and did not attempt to strike with its talons, and made no 

 outcry. It was infested with that unpleasant looking parasite Hippomya 

 viridis, several specimens of which were secured. 



I have also to notice a beautiful specimen of the Yunx torquilla 

 (wry-neck) shot by our associate Captain Mitford on the 1st of Septem- 

 ber, near Lucker. It was seen by him, threading in various directions 

 a thickset hedge, and frequently exhibited the gesticulations and twist- 

 ings of the head and neck peculiar to this pretty bird. It was in high 

 condition, and loaded with fat, and, upon dissection, proved a female. 

 The stomach was filled with ants, of the species Formica fusca, Steph.? 

 mixed with their pupae : no other insects, or food of a different kind, was 

 observable. The tongue of this bird, as in the woodpecker tribe, is ex- 

 tensile, and, except the tip, in the form of a cylindrical sheath, composed 

 of elastic rings ; it is kept moistened with a gluey saliva, secreted by 

 large and appropriate glands ; and, as in that family, the fuma? of the 

 os hyoides are greatly prolonged, and after extending down to the 

 nape of the neck, are then bent upwards, and, crossing over the crown 

 of the head, above the orbit of each eye, are brought in contact imme- 

 diately above the base of the bill. 



The wry-neck, is a very rare bird in this district, and this is the se- 

 cond instance only of my having met with it north of Morpeth. In the 

 spring, when it first arrives, it is easily recognised by its loud and pierc- 

 ing cry, which somewhat resembles that of some of the small Falconidas. 

 It breeds in the holes of trees ; but its soft fan-like tail shews that its 

 scansorial powers are confined, and that its zygodactyle feet, like those 

 of the cuckoo, are rather calculated for firm prehension in certain atti- 

 tudes, and when the centre of gravity is frequently thrown considerably 

 forwards, than for ascending the trunks or arms of trees. 



