A STUDY IN BIRDS BEAKS. 



225 



BEAK OF PELICAN, SHOWING 

 POUCH OPEN. 



lengthened, both mandibles being edged with thickly-set white 



serratures. It is a bird of magnificent plumage, and no less an 



authority than Mr. Gould has said that it is impossible for the 



artist to do the bird justice. 



The bill of the Hoopoe appears to me to be of the exact 



construction for setting off to perfection the general structure 



of this remarkable and beautiful bird. The long beak suits 



the bird admirably for searching 



among rotten wood and the bark 



of trees for insects, upon which it 



feeds. Bechstein gives an interesting 



account of some of these birds kept 



in captivity, which were very fond 



of beetles and May-bugs; these they 



first killed and then beat them with 



their beak into a kind of oblong 



ball. Without doubt, this lovely bird 



would breed with us if not shot whenever seen, and that it 



is has bred of late years I personally have no hesitation in 



saying, for the reason that a friend once saw, a few years back 



in Sussex, two parent birds and three or four young ones just 



able to fly. 



The beak 'of Latham's Barbet always strikes me as being a 



very curious one, because of the presence of the hairs or little 

 feather-stems or whatever they may be 

 most accurately called as illustrated in 

 my sketch of this bird's bill. The beak 

 is conical, slightly compressed, and a little 

 elevated in the middle. 



The Adjutant is yet another bird which 

 calls forth amazement, which is probably 

 due to the bird's strange look as well 

 as its curious postures and attitudes. 

 The Adjutant with shoulders shrugged, 

 is certainly a very striking bird and its 



powerful beak adds to it in a marked degree. 



Visitors to St. James's and other London parks are well 



acquainted with the Pelicans there located, and an illustration 



of their wonderful bill is interesting. It is very long, broad, 



BEAK AND TONGUE OF 

 WRYNECK. 



