16 Mr. Swainson on the Typical Perfection 



of the Ducks, we see all these qualifications in the utmost 

 perfection. By means of their broad bill, as they feed upon 

 very small and soft substances, they capture at one effort 

 considerable numbers. Strength of substance in this member 

 is unnecessary : the bill is therefore comparatively weak, but 

 great breadth is obviously essential to the nature of their food. 

 As these small insects, also, which constitute the chief food of 

 the Anatidae, live principally beneath the surface of the mud, 

 it is clear that the bill should be so formed that the bird should 

 have the power of separating its nourishment from that which 

 would be detrimental to the stomach. The use of the laminae 

 thus becomes apparent : the offensive matter is ejected be- 

 tween their interstices, which, however, are not sufficiently 

 wide to admit the passage of the insect food at the same time. 

 The mouthful of stuff brought from the bottom is, as it were, 

 sifted most effectually by this curiously-shaped bill ; the refuse 

 is expelled, but the food is retained. It is probable, also, that 

 the tongue is materially employed in this process ; for, unlike 

 that of all other birds, it is remarkably large, thick, and fleshy. 

 From being so highly developed it must be endowed with an 

 unusual degree of sensation ; and, indeed, a very exquisite 

 sense of taste must belong to any animal which has to sepa- 

 rate its food from extraneous substances, without deriving any 

 assistance in the process from its powers of sight : against this 

 deficiency Nature has wisely provided, by heightening and in- 

 creasing the senses of taste and touch. I am acquainted with no 

 family of birds where this organ is similarly formed, excepting 

 that of the Psittacida. The tongue of the Parrot, as every body 

 knows, is so thick and fleshy as to resemble that of man. It is, 

 however, much shorter and less delicate than that of the Duck ; 

 and, although endowed, in all probability, with sensations 

 somewhat similar, the more immediate purpose of its struc- 

 ture is very different. Those who are familiar with the man- 

 ners of Parrots, in their native regions, well know that they 

 feed not only upon soft fruits, but upon others of the hardest 

 texture. The seeds, for instance, of the numerous palms of 

 Brazil are the most favourite food of the Macaws ; and the 

 thousands of Parraqueets swarming in tropical America always 

 prefer nuts to fruits. This, in fact, is clearly evinced by the 



