262 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



ened the organ itself, beyond that of other birds, 

 what account can be given of its form, of its tip 1 

 how, in particular, did it get its barb, its denta- 

 tion ? These barbs, in my opinion, wherever they 

 occur, are decisive proofs of mechanical contri- 

 vance.^^ 



^ What could have tempted BufFon to express his pity for this 

 bird as abject and degraded, it is not easy to conceive : nor why 

 it should be described as leading an insipid hfe, because con- 

 tinually employed in boring and hammering the old stump of a 

 tree. A late naturalist describes the woodpecker as enjoying the 

 sweet hours of the morning, on the highest branch of the tallest 

 tree, fluttering and playing with his mate and companions. No 

 doubt his diligence, perseverance, and energy in plying his beak 

 is very extraordinary. But, besides the wedge-like strength of the 

 beak, and the power of the neck to strike with it, there is some- 

 thing remarkable in its sensibility. That nerve, the fifth pair, on 

 which we have shown that all the sensibility of the head depends, 

 transmits a large branch along the inside of the mandibles : and, 

 as this nei-ve approaches the extremity, it perforates the bone by 

 innumerable small canals, so as to be given to the horny covering 

 of the beak, which is thus possessed of a sensibility to feel in the 

 crevices of the wood, and under the bark ; and the woodpecker is 

 enabled by this means to direct the tongue, which our author cor- 

 rectly describes as moving with extraordinary celerity, and with a^ 

 point like a barbed arrow. 



We have represented the dissection of the head of this bird 

 more accurately in its anatomy than is to be found in books. We 

 offer it because it eslhibits a very curious piece of mechanism, ad*- 

 justed to the tongue, to enable the animal to thrust it out far, and 

 with unusual rapidity. A, is the barbed tongue ; B, two slender 

 elastic ligamentous cartilages, of very peculiar structure and use. 

 On one extremity they are attached to the bone which supports 

 the upper mandible ; from this we trace them over the skull down 

 upon the sides of the neck ; and, with a large sweep, turnins; 

 under the lower mandible, and so continued into the tongue, and 

 not terminating until they reach the horny point. C C C, a long 



