36 



TWENTIETH CENTUBY CLASSICS 



they are still fed for a time by the parent, who puts the 

 insect morsel into the beak " of the young while both are 

 in the air. 



The birds which, in the adult state, feed upon seeds, 

 need often to change the diet for their young, and provide 

 them with more easily digested food, so that for a time 

 the seed-eaters become insect- or worm-eaters. 



If we were to cross the ocean, we could find some very 

 singular ways in which lunch is served to the nestlings. 

 The male Hornbills, for example, carry food to both 

 mother and young, who have been shut in the hollow 

 of a tree by means of mud, with only a small opening 

 left through which they are fed. The diet of fruit eaten 

 by the male bird is ejected from his stomach, lining and 

 all, into the hungry mouths at home. 



