HOW THE WOODPECKER CATCHES A GRUB 13 



pole, is a point of iron. When a fish 

 was struck, the jaws sprung apart under 

 the force of the blow, guiding the iron 

 through the body of the fish, which was 

 held securely in the hollow above, that 

 just fitted around his sides, and by the 

 point itself. 



The tool with which the woodpecker 

 fishes for a grub is very much the same. 

 His mandibles correspond to the two mova- 

 ble jaws. They are knife-edged, and the 

 lower fits exactly inside the upper, so that 

 they give a very firm grip. In addition, 

 the upper one is movable. All birds can 

 move the upper mandible, because it is 

 hinged to the skull. (Watch a parrot 

 some day, if you do not believe it.) A 

 medium-sized woodpecker, like the Lewis's, 

 can elevate his upper mandible at least a 

 quarter of an inch without opening his 

 mouth at all. This enables him to draw 

 his prey through a smaller hole than 

 would be needed if he must open his Solomon 

 jaws along their whole length. Be- ei-'s 

 tween the mandibles is the sharp-pointed ^^^^^' 

 tongue, which can be thrust entirely through a 

 grub, holding him impaled. Unlike the In- 

 dian's spear-point, the woodpecker's tongue is 



