FORM AND IIABIT: TIIE BILL. 



33 



ble, which better enables them to grasp object? while 

 probing. In the Avocet the bill is curved upward, and the 

 bird swings it from side to side, scraping the bottom in 

 its search for food. The New 

 Zealand Wrybill has its bill 

 turned to the right for the ter- 

 minal third, and the bird uses 

 it as a crooked probe to push 

 under stones in hunting for its 

 prey. The Siberian Spoonbill 

 Sandpiper has a most singular 

 bill, which is much enlarged at the end, suggesting a 

 flat -ended forceps. The Roseate Spoonbill, an entirely 

 different bird, has a somewhat similarly shaped bill, a 

 striking instance of the occurrence of the 6ame form in 

 families which are not closely related. 



But probably the most remarkable instance of relation 



Fig. 21.— Bill of Spoonbill Sand- 

 piper. (Natural size.) 



Fig. 22.— Curved bill of female, straight bill of male Huia-bird. (»/ a natural 

 size.) 



between the form of the bill and feeding habits is fur- 

 nished by the Iluia-bird of New Zealand. The male of 

 this species has a comparatively short, straight bill, while 



7 



