04 



THE FOOD OF ANIMALS 



comes within 50 yards, and then continues his flights, which vary 

 from 100 to 200 yards, till the nearest nest is discovered. There 

 is pretty sure to be a dead bough about, or the bees would not be 

 there; and on this he settles with his eyes towards the bees' nest. 



. . . The nest is 

 generally plas- 

 tered up with 

 mud and not 

 very difficult to 

 extract ; and 

 while you are 

 engaged in this 

 operation the 

 Honey - Guide 

 sits quietly on 

 the tree, trust- 

 ing to your 

 honour to give 

 him a share of 

 the plunder, 

 which I need 

 hardly say is 

 always done by 

 the natives." 



A very curi- 

 ous specializa- 

 tion of the beak 

 in reference to 

 insect food is 

 exhibited by 



the Huia [Heteralocha Gouldi) (fig. 353) of New Zealand, a 

 member of the crow family. This bird feeds upon large beetle- 

 grubs inhabiting decayed wood, and while the beak of the male 

 is strong and pointed, that of the female is long, curved, and 

 flexible. The arrangement is a clear case of division of labour, 

 for the male is able to chip away the decayed wood so as to 

 expose many of the grubs, while the female can insert her slender 

 beak into holes which her partner is unable to reach. Between 

 the two of them it fares hard with the beetle-grubs. 



Shrikes, or Butcher- Birds, as regards beak and feet, closely 



Fig. 353. — Huias {Heieralocha Gouldi) 



