224 



The Bird 



More than a single vohime could be filled with in- 

 teresting facts about the bills of birds and the uses to 

 which the}^ are put, — hardly any two species using their 

 beaks in a similar manner. The general way in which 

 the vast subject of the adaptation of the bird to its needs 

 and to its surroundings is treated in this volume will, 

 it is hoped, be a stimulus to the reader to observe for 

 himself, — to discover the thousand and one facts to 



Fig. 162. — Beak of Snapping-turtle. (Courtesy of N. Y. Zoological Society.) 



which Nature has not yet given us the key. Our lan- 

 guage is too often lacking in phrases expressing delicate 

 shades of meaning, and thus we are compelled to identif}' 

 structures among the creatures which rank below us 

 wuth portions of our own anatomy corresponding onl}^ in 

 relative position or a general vague likeness of function. 

 We are accustomed to speak of the mouth of a starfish, 

 the arms of a sea-anemone, the foot of a snail: in these 

 respective cases, structures specialized for receiving food, 



