‘ al Ii really playing the part of an operating surgeon, who re- 
BZ Ud moves a morbid growth in order to save the life of a patient. 
ZS ee In bodily stature it is 
Z 
' 
yj)" 
y 
y 
yp 
Uy, 
=) = most wonderfully adapted 
Z Z2~ for its work. Its great 
splay feet, with two long 
3 a toes pointing forward and 
two backward, give it an 
extraordinary power of grip 
on an upright tree-trunk. 
The low breast-bone, 
scarcely keeled at all, en- 
ables it to keep its body 
closely pressed 
against the bark. 
The weight is 
borne almost 
entirely by the 
tail, the short, 
stiff feathers of 
which, 
bent 
sharply 
inwards, form a sort of natural campstool. And the 
tongue, which can be darted out of the beak to some little 
distance, has a curious brush-like apparatus at the tip, 
114 
