THE BLACK BEAK. 



151 



He does not always wear a black suit ; sometimes he puts on 

 a brown one. When his coat is perfectly black, he has a cin- 

 namon patch on his muzzle. He varies, too, in shape. Occa- 

 sionally he is long and low, at others his body is short, — and 

 he has great length of limb. Under ordinary circumstances, 

 he restricts himself to a vegetable diet, but is veiy fond of 

 a small species of snail which feeds on the prairie grass ; and, 

 like othei's of his relatives, he is greatly addicted to honey. 

 As his feet are furnished with strong sharp claws, he is able 

 to make his way up the trunks of trees to reach his favourite 



THE BLACK BEAK. 



food. In this object he displays great perseverance and acute- 

 ness. However high up it may be, or in positions most 

 difficult of access, he will manage to reach the combs contain- 

 ing the sweet repast. Should the comb be hidden away in the 

 hollow of some aged tree, with an entrance too small for ad- 

 mitting his huge paw, he sets to work with his teeth, and 

 gnaws away the wood till he has formed a breach of sufficient 

 size to allow him to put it in. He is utterly regardless of the 

 assaults of the tiny inhabitants of the comb ; and scooping out 

 their honey and young together with his fore-paws, devours 



