216 IRambles witb IRature Students 



An owl's skull, with its curved and sharply-pointed 

 beak reveals the fact that the bird is a flesh-eater, 

 catching its prey alive. One grip of an owl's claws 

 suffices to kill the captured mouse or bird, and then 

 the beak tears the prey into fragments. As a matter 



OWL'S SKULL. 



of fact the owl swallows mice whole, but when it 

 is kept in a cage and supplied with raw meat, 

 we see the powerful beak tearing the flesh to 

 pieces, just as an eagle would dismember its living 

 prey. 



DUCK'S SKULL. 



The broad, spoon-shaped beak of the duck has 

 a lining of horny ridges, which enables the bird to 

 mince and prepare its vegetable and fish diet. 



In the skull of the woodcock we may observe 

 that the eye orbit is placed far back, so that the 

 beak may be plunged up to its base in soft mud, 



