230 THE ANIMALS AND MAN 



concerned of course with the feeding habits. Note the 

 strong, hooked, and dentate bill of the birds of prey; they 

 tear their prey. Note the long, slender, sensitive bill of the 

 sandpipers; they probe the wet sand for worms. Note the 

 short, weak bill and wide mouth of the night-hawk and 

 whippoorwill, and of the swifts and swallows; they catch 

 insects in this wide mouth while on the wing. Note the flat, 

 lamellate bill of the ducks; they scoop up mud and water 



FIG. 122. Young ostriches just from egg, at ostrich-farm at Pasadena, 

 California. (Photograph from life.) 



and strain their food from it. Note the firm, chisel-like bill 

 (fig. 123) of the woodpeckers; they bore into hard wood for 

 insects. Note the peculiarly crossed mandibles of the cross- 

 bills; they tear open pine cones for seeds. Note the long, 

 sharp, slender bill of the humming-birds; they get insects 

 from the bottom of flower-cups. Note the bill and foot of 

 any bird you examine, and see if you can recognize their 

 special adaptation to the habits of the bird. 



The most casual observation of birds reveals differences 

 in the flight of different kinds so characteristic and dis- 



