INDIVIDUALITY OF BILLS 19 



are the magpie, the crow, the jackdaw, and all of 

 that ilk ; and these are the birds that are found 

 in all countries and climates, and prosper wherever 

 they go. 

 But all birds cannot play that part. One is timid, 



NO DOUBT EACH BIRD SWEARS BY ITS OWN PATTERN. 



another fastidious, another shy but ingenious. So, 

 in the universal competition for a living, each has 

 taken its own line according to the bent of its nature, 

 and its one tool has been perfected for its trade until 

 it can follow no other. The thrush catches such 

 worms as rashly show themselves above-ground ; 

 but an ancient ancestor of the snipe found that, 



