30 THE BEAK. 



hook nor the overlapping could he omitted, since it 

 is hy the heak that Parrots so readily climb; for 

 which 1 purpose it is therefore fitted, as well as for 

 breaking nuts and other hard substances on which 

 they feed. 



The way by which the Parrot's beak is able to 

 answer both purposes is this: the upper mandible, 

 which in other birds forms one uniform piece or 

 continuation of the skull, is united to the bone of 

 the head by a peculiar membrane placed on each 

 side of it, enabling the bird to lift or depress it at 

 pleasure. The muscular power of this contrivance 

 is very great, for the truth of which all who have 

 incautiously exposed their fingers to the bite even 

 of a Paroquet will readily vouch. 



There is a bird, sometimes found in this country, 

 called the Cross bill, from the singular construction 

 of its beak, the mandibles of which, instead of shut- 

 ting together like those of other birds, cross each 

 other; at first sight, this might be supposed to be 

 an accidental deformity, and that the poor bird must 

 have great difficulty in picking up its food. But 

 this is by no means the case, for as the bird lives 

 upon the seeds or kernels of the hard fir-cones of 

 pine-trees, it would never be able to crack them, 

 and must soon die of hunger, if not furnished with 

 a bill of more than ordinary strength and peculiarity 

 of construction; exactly, in short, like the bill with 

 which nature has provided it; with this it can 

 instantly, and most dexterously, cut the hardest 

 cones asunder. But as Divine Providence guards 

 against every possible difficulty that might arise 

 from any unusual conformation, so, in this case, it 



