38 



THE BONES. 



necessities of the bird ; thus, the Sparrow, which can 

 perch and reach its food close before him, does not re- 

 quire such pliability, or length of neck, as the Swan, 

 which floats on the water, and must seek its food at a 

 considerable depth beneath ; accordingly, we find, that, 

 whereas the Sparrow has only nine of these neck-joints, 

 the Swan ha a twenty-three, the advantages of which 

 must be evident to all who have observed the ease and 

 grace with which this stately bird turns its neck in every 

 direction, or buries its head in sleep beneath the soft 

 down of its wings. 



The Toucan, the bird with the large beak mentioned 

 in p. 33, affords a still more curious instance of this 

 power of movement in the neck, nestling its head so 

 completely among the feathers of its back, as entirely 

 to conceal its enormous beak, and nearly assume the 



The Toucan. 



