252 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



to those which possess them ; for instance, ithe 

 Nightjars of the genus Chordeiles ^have none, nor 

 do the Swallows or Swallow-Shrikes exhibit them. 

 Yet they are particularly well developfed in ifhe 

 Barbets of the genus Xantholeema, of which the 

 Coppersmith {X. hamatocefhcda) 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 ; Ijut generally speaking they are, ilike the lower 

 animals generally, -veiy 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— tin the 

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

 Ducks 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 requiredtoclip its wing 

 annually is slovenly 'management, and no peraon 

 who will not take trouble over them is justified in 

 keeping birds at all, especially as ithe birds which 

 are kept under restraint by pinioning them are 

 exactly those which are not maintained for practical 

 purposes; the operation would be pardonaible if 

 npeded to be applied to poultry, for instance. 

 t,With regard to the taste-perceptions of birds, 

 there are some puzzling problems. They often 



