A STUDY IN BIRDS' BEAKS. 221 



The next bird which receives attention is another extinct 

 bird, but not by any means gruesome-looking, like the Dodo. 

 There is to my mind a very superior look about the Great 

 Auk, and it seems a great pity that such 

 a fine bird should be lost to us for ever. 

 The white patch immediately behind the 

 beak - observable in my drawing is a very 



Cf . 1 L T 11 a 1 BEAK OF WOODCOCK. 



prominent set-off to what 1 call a first-class 

 beak for a bird of this character. The last 

 specimen obtained in Europe was at the islet of Eldey, in 

 June, 1844, and yet two centuries ago we read that the bird 

 was a regular Summer visitor to the lone 

 island of St. Kilda ! 



The beak of the Toucan is one which is 

 entirely different from any which have so far 

 been dealt with. It is a relatively enormous 

 BEAK OF CURLEW. beak> serrate d along the free edge, which 

 enables its possessor to obtain a firmer grasp 

 of the fruits upon which it feeds. The illustration should be 

 interesting to those unacquainted with the subject under 

 consideration. 



Again a great diversity presents itself in the case of the 

 re-curved bill of the gentle Avocet a slim, frail- 

 looking one by the side of some of the powerful 

 examples which have been illustrated. This is 

 one of our lost British Birds, and was wantonly 

 exterminated in Britain during the fore-part of 

 the Nineteenth century. It is a beautiful and 

 curious little bird, gentle and inoffensive. The BEAK OF PUFFIN. 

 long, upturned bill is worked by the bird from 

 side to side in the mud, where it obtains insects and larvae, 

 small crustaceans, and worms. Charles Dixon notes that the 



captured morsel is swallowed with 

 a toss of the head. 



I well remember the curiosity 

 I evinced in the Flamingo when 

 I first saw this bird alive, and 

 often realize why the youngsters 

 BEAK OF GUILLEMOT. stare with amazement when 



