1004 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



plays the role of a finger. This use of the tongue may be very evi- 

 dent as when a parrot manipulates a nut, turning it about with the 

 tongue while holding it between the mandibles, and it seems quite 

 evident, too, that many graminivorous birds, like the crossbill and 

 goldfinch, must use their tongues in a similar manner to extract seeds. 

 But if not used as a finger, the indications are that the tongue does 

 play an important part either in obtaining food or in its subsequent 



Fig. 1. 



manipulation. As there are very many things still to be learned 

 regarding the food of birds, and as we can seldom watch them closely 

 in tLeir native wilds, it is in the majority of cases impossible to directly 

 prove the relation between the food and the tongue. If positive evi- 

 dence is lacking, however, circumstantial evidence is plentiful, and 

 there are numerous cases where it is difficult to account for the shape 

 of the tongue, if it does not have a direct bearing on the question of 

 food. 



Before passing on to a consideration of the tongue, it will be well to 

 look at the bones which support and form a part of it, for these have 



