THE EQUIVALENTS OF THE HAND. 115 



bark of trees, in search of insects; ants are its 

 favourite food, and at these it launches forth its 

 tongue with wonderful rapidity, and also thrusts 

 it into their retreats. We have frequently- 

 watched the wryneck, in captivity, dart forth 

 its tongue and apply it to different substances 

 presented as food, keeping it all the time in a 

 state of rapid quivering. 



The tongue of the humming-bird must also 

 be regarded as a feeler or organ of touch ; it is 

 the instrument by which these gorgeous little 

 birds obtain their food, and is governed in its 

 movements by a peculiar muscular apparatus 

 resembling that in the woodpecker. The 

 tongue itself is very long, and composed of two 

 cylinders of a fibrous and muscular texture, 

 which are united together somewhat hke the 

 barrels of a double-barrelled gun; but towards 

 the tip these tubes become separated, and ter- 

 minate each in a little spoon-like expansion, 

 concave within and convex externally; and 

 these blades, when the beak is inserted into the 

 nectary of flowers, not only lick iipthe honey, but 

 also seize upon small insects, which are instant- 

 aneously drawn into the mouth and swallowed. 

 In the toucan, the large but light bill, the 

 internal part of which is composed of a delicate 



