CLEANLINESS. 115 



Wilson remarked that in specimens which he pro- 

 cured of the night-heron (Nycticorax Europceus, STE- 

 PHENS), the middle claws, serrated on the inside with 

 from thirty-five to forty teeth, contained " particles 

 of the down of the bird, showing evidently from 

 this circumstance that they act the part of a comb, 

 to rid the bird of vermin in those parts which it can- 

 not reach with its bill."* With respect to the night- 

 jars, Wilson gives a similar statement. His night- 

 hawk, for instance, he says, has its " middle claw 

 pectinated on its inner edge, to serve as a comb to 

 clear the bird of vermin. "f Again he says, "the 

 inner edge of the middle claw of the whip-poor-will, 

 another of the nightjars, is pectinated; and from 

 the circumstance of its being frequently found with 

 small portions of down adhering to the teeth, is 

 probably employed as a comb to rid the plumage of 

 its head of vermin, this being the principal and al- 

 most only part so infested in all birds. "J He farther 

 proves this in the case of the Carolina nightjar, or 

 chuck-will's-widow, by actual observation of the 

 fact ; speaking of which species he says, " reposing 

 much during the heats of the day, they are much 

 infested with vermin, particularly about the head, 

 and are provided with a comb on the inner edge of 

 the middle claw, with which they are often employed 

 in ridding themselves of these pests when in a state 

 of captivity. " 



The main instrument, however, by which birds 

 trim their feathers is the bill ; and if any fluid is used, 

 it must be produced from the salivary, and not from 

 the rump-glands. By attending minutely to the op- 

 eration, indeed, the tongue may be perceived to be 

 as actively employed as the other parts of the bill, 

 and is certainly the organ which apprizes the bird of 

 any rumpling or clotting of the plumelets ; and when 

 such derangement is perceived, a pause is instantly 



* Wilson, Amer. Ornith., vii., 110, 2d ed. 



t Ibid., v., 70. J Ibid., v., 77. $ Ibid., vi., 97. 



