252 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



to those which possess them ; for instance, the 

 Nightjars of the genus Chordeiles ;have none, nor 

 do the Swallows or Swallow- Shrikes exhibit them. 

 Yet they are particularly well developed in the 

 Barbets of the genus Xanthol<zma, of which the 

 Coppersmith (X. h&matocephala) is a conspicuous 

 example well known to Anglo-Indians, and these 

 are chiefly fruitarians, while the more omnivorous 

 Barbets of South America have bristleless mouths. 



The feet of birds seem fairly sensitive to pain 

 at any rate they nurse a hurt foot by holding it 

 up ; but generally speaking they are, like the lower 

 animals generally, very indifferent to injury. Ducks, 

 for instance, after being pinioned and released into 

 the water, do not look at the mutilated member, 

 but throw water over themselves as usual after 

 being handled, and may even begin feeding in the 

 case of Tree-Ducks, which are far less nervous than 

 D neks generally. 



I do not, however, think this justifies the opera- 

 tion, as I consider mutilating a bird for life to save 

 the trouble and supervision required to clip its wing 

 annually is slovenly management, and no person 

 who will not take trouble over them is justified in 

 keeping birds at all, especially as the birds which 

 are kept under restraint by pinioning them are 

 -exactly those which are not maintained for practical 

 purposes ; the operation would be pardonable if 

 needed to be applied to poultry, for instance. 



With regard to the taste-perceptions of birds, 

 there are some puzzling problems. They often 



