ii8 



The Bird 



changing starch to sugar and in many other ways making 

 ready the food, that the important changes which take 

 place in the stomach may begin at once. In birds, how- 

 ever, the sahva has but little chemical effect on the food, 

 its principal use being to moisten the substances before 

 they are swallowed. 



It is not often that Nature, when she has produced 



Fig. 90 — Nest of Chimney Swift; twigs glued together with saliva. 



an organ or special tissue by tlie elaborate synthesis of 

 evolution, confines its use to any one function. If birds 

 were provided with salivary glands intended onl}' for the 

 purpose mentioned above, they soon found other uses for 

 them. In a woodpecker we will find ver^- large salivary 

 glands on each side of the mouth. These secrete a sticky 

 liquid which covers the long, many-barbed tongue and is 

 an efficient aid in picking out insects from their holes in 

 the bark and wood of trees. 



