164 



HABITS OP BIRDS. 



when the chick comes forth. In pigeons, and pro- 

 bably in other birds which do not run about and feed 

 the instant they are hatched, the bill- scale does not 

 fall off for more than a week. Mr. Yarrel thinks the 

 hardness of the bill-scale may be proportioned to the 

 thickness of the shell, from its being very prominent, 

 hard, and sharp in a preserved chick of the Egyptian 

 goose (Anser Gambensis). 



The position of the chick in the egg appears no 

 less unfavourable to its breaking through the shell 

 than the softness of the bill ; for it is rolled up almost 

 like a ball, the neck sloping towards the belly, with 

 the head in the middle, and the bill thrust under the 

 right wing, as in birds when asleep. The feet also 

 are bent up under the belly, as chickens and pigeons 

 sometimes are when trussed for the spit, the claws 

 being so bent back that their convex part almost 

 touches the head. The forepart of the chick, as 



Position of the Chick in the Egg. 



