194 THE STORY OF THE BIRDS 



the Larks we come to the graminivorous section 

 of the Passeriformes, and the stouter bill plainly 

 indicates that hard seeds as well as insects are 

 sought. As we approach a more exclusive 

 seed diet the bill as surely becomes modified 

 to cope with it. The Buntings have the palate 

 furnished with a hard, bony knob, and the 

 bill modified to fit it, which enables these 

 birds to crush and shell hard seeds with the 

 greatest precision. The Finches also have a 

 hard bill more or less similarly modified for 

 the purpose of cracking seeds ; whilst the hard, 

 strong conical beak of the Crows is well 

 adapted to the almost omnivorous diet of those 

 birds. One of the most remarkable modifica- 

 tions of the bill in this group is presented by 

 a New Zealand species, the Huia, scientifically 

 called Heteralocha acutirostris. In the male of 

 this species the bill is short, stout pointed, 

 and nearly straight, whilst in the female it is 

 long and curved almost like a sickle. Now 

 the favourite food of this bird is the grub of 

 a certain timber-boring beetle. To obtain this 

 the bill of both sexes is brought into use. The 

 male with his short strong bill digs away as 

 much of the wood as possible that conceals 

 the grub, then the female with her long slender 



