10 BIRDS IN GENERAL. 



If he wishes to know whether his bird feeds on 

 flesh or grain, this is determined by another examina- 

 tion. If the bill is hooked, with a sharp point, the 

 upper mandible* curving over the lower one, and the 

 ^eet are furnished with sharp claws, it is a carnivorous 

 bird, and lives by the destruction of other animals. 



If the bill is of moderate length, and nearly straight, 

 and the feet are without sharp claws, it is a bird that 

 feeds on grain and insects. 



Again, suppose the student is presented with a bird 

 whose legs and neck are of uncommon length, or 

 which is web footed, he may be sure that it is a Water 

 Bird. 



If the legs and neck are very long, the bill sharp, 

 and the toes divided, it is a Wader. But if the legs 

 are short, the neck of moderate length, the bill flat, 

 and blunt, and the toes are connected by a membrane, 

 it is a Swimmer. 



These general descriptions, although they will ap- 

 ply to the Classes and Divisions at large, do not hold 

 true, in every individual case. Thus the Crow and 

 the Jay, though their bills are not hooked, sometimes 

 destroy small animals and eat their flesh ; and the 

 Darter and Rail, both swim in the water, though the 

 first has a long neck, and long sharp bill, and the 

 second has its toes divided to their roots. 



These, and other exceptions, do "not, however, af- 



Hew can you tell whether a bird lives on grain, or flesh ? 

 What is the difference between the Waders and the Swimmers:* 

 Do these distinctions hold true in all cases? 

 What birds are mentioned as exceptions? 



* The mandibles are the jaws of birds. 



