WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



perfectly adapted for searching in crannies and corners for 

 the insects and eggs that maybe hidden there, as the former 

 are for cutting and sheUing the seeds and grain on which 

 they feed. 



Look, too, at the eggs of lapwings and of all those birds 

 that hatch on the bare ground. Those that lay on fields 

 have their eggs of a brownish green, while those that lay 

 on the stones and pebbles have them of a sandy and brown 

 mottled colour.so likethe substanceswhichsurround them, 

 that it is most difficult for the passer-by to distinguish the 

 egg from the stone. In the same manner the young of all 

 birds which live on the ground resemble the ground itself 

 in colour, thereby eluding many of their enemies. Look 

 also at the birds whose residence and food are placed in 

 the marshes and swamps — the woodcocks and snipes, for 

 example, who feed by thrusting their bills into the soft mud 

 for the purpose of picking out the minute red worms and 

 animalcules which abound in it, have the bill peculiarly 

 adapted for this purpose. The upper mandible has a kind 

 of nob at the end, which overlaps the under mandible, and 

 not onlyprevents its being injured, but makes it quite easy 

 for the bird to pass its bill both into and out of the ground 

 without obstruction. How peculiarly well the bill of these 

 birds is adapted for this purpose is perceived at once by 

 drawing it through the fingers. The end of the mandible, 

 too, is full of nerves, which enables the bird to distinguish 

 the soft and minute substances on which it feeds without 

 seeing them. The oyster-catcher, which feeds on shell-fish 

 and similar food, has a bill with hard, sharp points, with 

 which it can dig into and break the strong coverings of its 



420 



