102 NATURAL HI STORY OF RIRDS. 



edges being raised. From this peculiar form of tongue it may be observed that no 

 hindrance is presented by tliat organ to the sucking up of water; tlie spines would 

 prevent the cscaj)e of the most slipjjery or minute jirey, whicli couM be cruslied by 

 the closing of the beak and the pressure of the tongue against the u])j)er mandible, 

 tlic water finding ready egress." 



The same gentleman, after having remarked that this bird is of frequent occur- 

 rence near the streams or back waters of almost any of the rivers, which in tlieir 

 course disclose sandy spots and wide areas of shingle, continues thus : " A conside- 

 ration of the natural features of its favorite haunts permits us to indulge in surmises 

 as to the convenience and adaptation of its remarkable form of be;ik for obtaining its 

 food. Where we have seen tliis bird it has never been far from water ; and if, as I 

 presume, the species is peculiar to this country (Xew Zealand), I can point to our 

 larger river-beds as affording it desirable feeding grounds. Tliese rajiid sliallow 

 streams are perpetually wandering and shifting in their course, cutting new channels 

 after every freshet, whether occasioned by heavy rainfalls or by the melting of snow 

 from the alj)ine crests of tlie 'back country.' Any one acquainted with our ' ])lains ' 

 must liave observed, here and there, how certain j)arts (^termeil by the geologists 

 ' fans') are thickly covered with stones, as, for instance, some miles below the gorges 

 of the Rakaia and Rangilata. However uii]iromising or useless they may apjiear to 

 the inexj)erieneed, the practical grazier is aware tliat these .stones assist in kei.']>ing the 

 ground cool, and in retaining beneath them a certain amount of moisture, which dur- 

 in'j; the drier ))ortion of the year (when the parching northwest winds ])revail) thus 

 invigorates the thirsty rootlets of many valuable grasses, and the result is the m;iin- 

 tenance of a fair number of sheep on this rather barren-looking stretch of country. 

 When any of these stones are disturbed from their bed, who can have failed to notice 

 the commotion jtroduced amongst the insect community thus suddenly diseloseil to 

 view? Wiiat scuttling ensues to gain fresh concealment from tlie garisli light of d;iy! 

 In a somewhat similar manner, after a stream lias deserted its temporary bed, numer- 

 ous forms of aquatic insect life, attracted, in all probaljility, by the moisture, are to be 

 found in tlie sand in wliicli tlie sliingle lies half embedded. The horny ])oint of the 

 bill of this bird, from its jieculiar form, is sufficiently strong to be used for tjirusting 

 between and under stones and pebbles. The flexibility of the u]ii)er mandible, derived 

 from the long grooves and n:ittciie<l form (extending to nearly half its length)^ tends 

 materially to assist the bird in fitting its curved bill close to a stone, and thus aids in 

 searching or fossicking around or beneath the shingle for its food, while at the same 

 time the closed mandibles would form a tube through which water and insects could 

 be drawn u]), .as water is sucke<l u]) by a syringe. As the flexure of the bill is lateral, 

 the bird is enabled to follow up retreating insects, by making the circuit of a water- 

 worn stone, with far greater ease than if it had Ijcen furnished with the straight beak 

 of the ]>lover, or the long flexil)le seooj) of the avocet. The ins])ection of these spe- 

 cimens must clear .away any little cloud of doubt that might remain on the minds of 

 persons unfamiliar with the bird, and convince them that this singular form of bill, so 

 far from being an accidental deformity, is a beautiful i)rovision of nature, which con- 

 fers on a j)lover-like bird the advantage of Ijeing able to secure a share of its fooci 

 from sources whence it would be otherwise unattainable." Concomitant with the 

 later.ally deflected beak, is a curious asymmetry in the coloration of the jdumage, which 

 has been jiointed out bv Dr. Bnllcr in the following interesting account: — "As 

 already exjjlained, the curvature in the bill is congenital, being eipially present in the 



