Beaks and Bills 25 i 



All this is expressive rather of the mental than the i)h}s- 

 ical life of the l)ird. 



Within a period of five minutes I have observed the 

 following uses of the beak of a parrot perching in my 

 stud3^ With its mandibles it picked up a siuiflower 

 seed and comminuted it; it then liooked the upper man- 

 dible into a wire and swung itself along; gnawed at a nest- 

 ing-hole it had begun to excavate; nibbled gently at 

 my finger, showing affection; bit fiercely in anger and 

 fear at a dead snake which I presented; preened several 

 feathers of one wing, smoothing out all the dislodged 

 barbs; rattled its beak along the wires to make a sound 

 to attract mv attention; and finalh' seized its water-pan 

 and turned it over in pure pla}'f ulness ! 



