i64 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



like a Woodpecker, only a Woodpecker's tongue is 

 like a spear to pull out the grub he 's found in the 

 hollow tree that he's been pecking, while the Hum- 

 ming-bird's tongue is made like a double tube so 

 that it can take honey from jflowers and also the 

 tiny insects that have been attracted to the honey. 

 That puts the Humming-bird in the same Order as 

 the Swifts, but in a different Family. That's the 

 second group." 



''Then every bird has an Order an' a Family, 

 eh?" 



"Seems so," the lad replied. "It says here 

 that 'members of a Family agree in minor internal 

 characters.' " 



"What do yo' suppose that means?" 



Shan plunged into the book anew. 



"I don't just know," he said. "I'll take one 

 Order and try to work it out." 



He puzzled for a few minutes, then turned to the 

 pot-hunter with a more satisfied air. 



"There's an Order called Gallinae," he said, 

 "which the Handbook describes as 'terrestrial, 

 scratching birds of hen-like form ; bill stout, short 

 and rounded ; wings short and rounded, the prima- 

 ries stiffened and producing a whirring sound in 

 flight ; tail variable ; feet strong, hind-toe short and 



