68 



THE FEATHERS. 



But others there are, much stronger and stiffer than 

 the wing quill-feathers, as those, for instance, forming 

 the tails of the Woodpecker tribe. And the reason 

 would be evident to any person who watched a Wood- 

 pecker on the stem of a tree feeding. Its food consists 

 of grubs, usually concealed in the wood. In order to 

 get them, he must therefore remain fixed on the bark, 

 and make a hole with his beak, a tedious, if not an im- 

 practicable operation, were it not for the wiry stiffness 

 of the tail-feathers, which press against the tree, and act 

 like an additional limb. The tail, however, has another 

 use, applicable more or less to all birds ; it is to them, 

 what a rudder is to a boat, and in many cases acts like 

 a third wing. If we look at a Hawk hovering in the 

 air, when he remains in one spot, we shall see that the 



