SENSE OP TASTE. 33 



not only do their actions on the wing demon- 

 strate this, but the fact also, that the insect- 

 food of many species is microscopic, and thii 

 they seize while darting to and fro upon the 

 wing. The habits of migration peculiar to many- 

 species, shew, as far as these species are con- 

 cerned, that the extent of vision is very great, 

 while the power of discriminating and capturing 

 microscopic insects, during flight, is a sufficient 

 proof of extraordinary clearness and strength of 

 perception. 



The sense of taste, or of discrimination by the 

 tongue, must be enjoyed also in a high degree 

 of perfection. Birds that rifle the flowers of 

 their sweets, and pick from the nectary the 

 minute insects which there seek food and shelter, 

 the tongue being the instrument used for this 

 purpose, must have this organ in a most sensi- 

 tive condition, otherwise, whatever its mobility 

 or capability of extension, its utility would be- 

 come circumscribed ; and this the more so, as 

 while probing deep tubular flowers, the eyea 

 can be of little assistance in promoting the maio 

 object namely, the acquisition of food. 



There is, perhaps, no organ, among birds, 

 which varies in its sensibility more than the 

 tongue ; in granivorous birds, as finches, or 

 fowls, its sense of discrimination is very limited : 

 but in the duck, the flamingo, the parrot, in the 

 honey-eaters of Australia, and the honey-suckers 

 of South America, the tongue enjoys the 



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