102 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



edges being raised. From this peculiar form of tongue it may be observed that no 

 hindrance is presented by that organ to the sucking up of water ; the spines would 

 prevent the escape of the most slippery or minute prey, which could be crushed by 

 the closing of the beak and the pressure of the tongue against the upper mandible, 

 the water finding ready egress." 



The same gentleman, after having remarked that this bird is of frequent occur- 

 rence near the streams or back waters of almost any of the rivers, which in their 

 course disclose sandy spots and wide areas of shingle, continues thus : " A conside- 

 ration of the natural features of its favorite haunts permits us to indulge in surmises 

 as to the convenience and adaptation of its remarkable form of beak for obtaining its 

 food. Where we have seen this bird it has never been far from water ; and if, as I 

 presume, the species is peculiar to this country (New Zealand), I can point to our 

 larger river-beds as affording it desirable feeding grounds. These rapid shallow 

 streams are perpetually wandering and shifting in their course, cutting new channels 

 after every freshet, whether occasioned by heavy rainfalls or by the melting of snow 

 from the alpine crests of the ' back country.' Any one acquainted with our * plains ' 

 must have observed, here and there, how certain parts (termed by the geologists 

 * fans ') are thickly covered with stones, as, for instance, some miles below the gorges 

 of the Rakaia and Rangitata. However unpromising or useless they may appear to 

 the inexperienced, the practical grazier is aware that these stones assist in keeping the 

 ground cool, and in retaining beneath them a certain amount of moisture, which dur- 

 ing the drier portion of the year (when the parching northwest winds prevail) thus 

 invigorates the thirsty rootlets of many valuable grasses, and the result is the main- 

 tenance of a fair number of sheep on this rather barren-looking stretch of country. 

 When any of these stones are disturbed from their bed, who can have failed to notice 

 the commotion produced amongst the insect community thus suddenly disclosed to 

 view ? What scuttling ensues to gain fresh concealment from the garish light of day ! 

 In a somewhat similar manner, after a stream has deserted its temporary bed, numer- 

 ous forms of aquatic insect life, attracted, in all probability, by the moisture, are to be 

 found in the sand in which the shingle lies half embedded. The horny point of the 

 bill of this bird, from its peculiar form, is sufficiently strong to be used for thrusting 

 between and under stones and pebbles. The flexibility of the upper mandible, derived 

 from the long grooves and flattened form (extending to nearly half its length), tends 

 materially to assist the bird in fitting its curved bill close to a stone, and thus aids in 

 searching or fossicking around or beneath the shingle for its food, while at the same 

 time the closed mandibles would form a tube through which water and insects could 

 be drawn up, as water is sucked up by a syringe. As the flexure of the bill is lateral, 

 the bird is enabled to follow up retreating insects, by making the circuit of a water- 

 worn stone, with far greater ease than if it had been furnished with the straight beak 

 of the plover, or the long flexible scoop of the avocet. The inspection of these spe- 

 cimens must clear away any little cloud of doubt that might remain on the minds of 

 persons unfamiliar with the bird, and convince them that this singular form of bill, so 

 far from being an accidental deformity, is a beautiful provision of nature, which con- 

 fers on a plover-like bird the advantage of being able to secure a share of its food 

 from sources whence it would be otherwise unattainable." Concomitant with the 

 laterally deflected beak, is a curious asymmetry in the coloration of the plumage, which 

 has been pointed out by Dr. Buller in the following interesting account : " As 

 already explained, the curvature in the bill is congenital, being equally present in the 



