100 



THE WOODPECKERS 



come from? Does it stretch like a piece of 

 elastic cord ? Or is a part hidden somewhere ? 

 And if so, where is it kept ? 



These questions are answered by studying the 

 bones of the tongue, for without bones it could 

 not be guided as swiftly and surely as it is. In- 

 deed, all tongues have bones in them, as you will 

 discover by cutting carefully the slices near the 

 root of an ox-tongue; but no other creature 

 has such long and elaborate tongue-bones as 

 some of the woodpeckers. They are the slen- 

 derest and most deli- 

 cate little bony rods, 

 joined end to end, 

 but not really hinged 

 nor needing to be, 

 because they are so 

 elastic. Here are the 

 bones of a flicker's 

 tongue. The little 

 knob at the end, 

 marked a, bore the 



Tongue-bones of Flicker. "(After Lu- homy point of the 



tongue and directed 

 it ; the straight shaft 

 marked b was inside 

 the round part of the 

 tongue as it lay within the bird's mouth ; but 



cas.) 



a. Cerato-hyals, fused and short. 

 6. Basi-hyal, long, slender. 



c. Cerato-brauchials. 



d. Epibranchials. 

 Basi-branchial is wanting. 



