186 THE PARROT. 



they are all formed alike, having toes, two before and two be- 

 hind, for climbing and holding ; strong hooked bills for break- 

 ing open nuts, and other hard substances, on which they 

 feed ; and loud, harsh voices, by which they fill their native 

 woods with clamor. 



But there are further peculiarities in their conformation j 

 and, first, their toes are contrived in a singular manner, which 

 appears when they walk or climb, and when they are eating. 

 For the first purpose they stretch two of their toes forward 7 

 and two backward ; but when they take their meat, and 

 bring it to their mouths with their foot, they dexterously and 

 nimbly turn the greater hind toe forward, so as to take a 

 firmer grasp of the nut or the fruit they are going to feed on, 

 standing all the while upon the other leg. Nor even do they 

 present their food in the usual manner ; for other animals 

 turn their meat inwards to the mouth ; but these, in a seem- 

 ingly awkward position, turn their meat outwards, and thus 

 hold the hardest nuts, as if in one hand, till with their bills 

 they break the shell, and extract the kernel. 



The bill is fashioned with still greater peculiarities ; for the 

 upper chap, as well as the lower, are both moveable. In most 

 other birds the upper chap is connected, and makes but one 

 piece with the skull ; but in these, and in one or two species of 

 the feathered tribe more, the upper chap is connected to the 

 bone of the head by a strong membrane, placed on each side, 

 that lifts and depresses it at pleasure. By this contrivance 

 they can open their bills the wider ; which is not a little use- 

 ful, as the upper chap is so hooked and so overhanging, that, 

 if the lower chap only had motion, they could scarcely gape 

 sufficiently to take any thing in for their nourishment. 



Such are the uses of the beak and the toes, when used sep- 

 arately ; but they are often employed both together, when 

 the bird is exercised in climbing. As these birds cannot 

 readily hop from bough to bough, their legs not being adapted 

 for that purpose, they use both the beak and the feet ; first 

 catching hold with the beak, as if with a hook, then drawing 

 up the legs and fastening them, then advancing the head and 





