102 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



is curious that the rapid and efficient method of 

 continuous drinking above mentioned is confined 

 to such a few birds, especially as there is nothing in 

 the form of their bills and tongues to account for 

 it ; similarly birds which swallow food under 

 water have no special machanism for facilitating 

 this — it is merely a matter of " having the knack , 

 of it " in both cases, evidently. ' 



The Sand-Grouse, though essentially desert-birds, 

 have never become independent of water like the 

 Bustards, no doubt having been spoilt, so to speak, 

 by their wonderful wing-power, which makes it 

 easy for them to visit even distant watering-places 

 twice a day ; and they even water their chicks 

 in a perfectly unique way, first observed and re- 

 corded in captive birds by Mr. Meade- Waldo. The 

 male bird, which undertakes this duty, soaks his 

 lower plumage in water and then goes to the chicks, 

 which suck his wet feathers. The aviary bird of 

 course had Only to walk to his chicks, but the wild 

 one must surely not have very far to fly to them if 

 the device is to be of any use, since flying in the 

 dry atmosphere of the places these birds frequent 

 would soon dry the plumage. Generally speaking 

 only birds which disgorge food for their young, like 

 Pigeons, Parrots, Gulls, etc., can give them water, 

 and it is not given in a special dose by these, so 

 far as I am aware; the young get it incidentally, 

 so to speak, with the food administered. 



Birds often feed their nestling young on food 

 different from that which they ordinarily eat 



