CHAPTER V 



FOOD : ITS CAPTURE AND UTILISATION 



§ I. Methods of Food-getting. § 2. Adaptations of Bills, Tongue, 

 and Feet. § 2. The Food-canal and its Annexes. § 4. Physio- 

 logical Summary. 



There are, after all, only two fundamental vital " urges " — 

 " hunger " and " love " ; but both terms must be thought 

 of "in inverted commas," for they include all the ways of 

 caring for self and all the ways of caring for others. As 

 the poet said long ago : " Why do the people so strive and 

 cry ? They will have food, and they will have children, 

 and they will bring them up as well as they can." So it 

 is with animals. " Hunger " and " love " are the motifs of 

 the drama of life. 



§ I. Methods of Food- getting 



There is a wide range of diet among birds and much 

 individuality in the methods of food-getting. 



I. Vegetarian. — Many birds eat fruits and seeds, and 

 some devour buds and leaves. Among the bud-destroj^ers 

 there are some, like tits, that are really seeking for small 

 insects in the vicinity. Some woodpeckers make holes in 

 a tree and tap the sugary sap ; humming-birds suck up the 

 nectar of flowers. The ptarmigan on the hills often eat 

 lichens. 



n. Carnivorous. — Birds play an important part in 

 keeping a check on small mammals, such as mice and voles. 

 The kestrel is a good example. Others, like the sparrow- 

 hawk and peregrine falcon, the owls and the carrion-crow, 



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