TASTE. 91 



Another ingenious contrivance connected with the 

 woodpecker's tongue, appears to have been first 

 described by Mr. Bowman, ofWrexham. " In the 

 back part of the palate," he says, " is inserted a longi- 

 tudinal groove, which tapers to a point outwards, 

 and is fringed with stiff hairs pointing towards the 

 throat. Without this provision it would be difficult 

 to conceive how the bird could so easily and speedily 

 detach its food from the barbs of the tongue, as it 

 is known to do, particularly as the groove in the 

 palate is placed much too backward for the tip of 

 the former, in the natural position, ever to reach it ; 

 and even if it could draw it in so far, the peculiar 

 direction of the hairs would prevent their action. 

 We must therefore infer (though the motion is 

 performed with such celerity that we can never 

 expect to observe it), that the tongue is taken into 

 the mouth in a reflected position, like that of the 

 frog, and that the tip of it is drawn through the 

 groove, the sharp hairs of which scrape off the insects 

 from the barbs, while the deglutition is assisted by 

 the tubercles on the surface of the tongue during the 

 first part of the operation of drawing it into the 

 mouth*." 



During the summer of 1831 we had brought to us 

 a young wryneck (Yunx torquilla), whose singular 

 manner of feeding attracted our notice. Though it 

 was so old as to be able to fly, it made no attempt to 

 escape, and manifested no fear. We placed it in a 

 cage in which was the empty nest of a white-throat 

 (Curruca cinerea, BRISSON), and threw in a quantity 

 of ants with their pupae that it might fare abundantly. 

 Those who are not acquainted with this bird may be 

 told that it has a very long tongue, which it has the 

 power of pushing out far beyond the point of its 

 bill, an organ similar to that of woodpeckers and 

 * Bewick's Birds, i. Intr. xxiv, note, ed, 1826. 



