BILLS AND FEET OF BIRDS. 



GEO. C. EMBODY. 



© 



Bill of the Hawk. 



Why is the bill of a hawk hooked? Why 

 is the foot of a duck webbed? Is it be- 

 cause the foot of a duck is webbed that it 

 swims about in search of food; or is it 

 because the bird swims about that its foot 

 is webbed? The latter is the likely case, 

 for the former is antagonistic to the theory 

 presented by Darwin. Again, the Galli- 

 nules of certain islands in Southern seas 

 can not fly. In those islands, where food 

 is abundant and no enemy is known, the 

 ducks have no further use for their wings ; 

 and in the course of many centuries, 

 through disuse the wings have become so 

 small that the power of flight is lost. 



The external features of the hawk (figs. 

 1-2), present admirable examples of 

 adaptation. He is ever on 

 the alert for some un- 

 suspecting field mouse, 

 squirrel, frog, chicken or 

 even snake. This prey 

 must first be sighted 

 from a distance, so we 

 find hawks possessing eyes far superior 

 to those of other creatures. The feet have 

 large, not too long, toes, 4 in number, 

 which support long, sharp, powerful claws 

 for holding the struggling victim after the 

 well aimed dash has 

 been made. One blow 

 from the huge hooked 

 bill makes the suffer- 

 er forever insensible 

 to pain. The hooked 

 bill was made for an- 

 other purpose also. 

 Since the hawk's food 

 consists largely of 

 small rodents which 

 can not be swallowed 

 whole, it is necessary 

 that he possess an 

 instrument for tearing and pulling away 

 the fur and flesh. To be sure, the bird is 

 generally too hungry to separate the fur 

 from the meat and thus swallows both with 

 apparently the same relish, the fur being 

 afterward cast out. What instruments could 

 be more economical than the 

 powerful clawed foot for strik- 

 ing and grasping and the hooked 

 bill for tearing? 



The sharp, chisel-shaped bill is 

 an instrument made purposely^ 

 for the use of the woodpecker in cutting 

 his home out of a partially decayed tree 

 and digging out the vermin which 

 infest the trees (fig. 4). The bird goes 

 at his task in a business-like way. ham- 

 mering first on one side and then on 



2. Foot of the Hawk. 



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3. Bill of 

 the Owl 



the other, causing the chips to fly in 

 every direction. When the insect is 

 reached the sharply pointed, barbed tongue, 

 backed by a pair of well developed muscles, 

 which encircle the 

 skull, darts out, 

 impaling the un- 

 fortunate insect. 

 The 4 toes (fig. 5) 

 2 in front and 2 

 behind, are well 

 placed for clinging *■ Bin of the Woodpecker. 

 to the bark, be it smooth or rough; and 

 the stiff, pointed feathers of the tail serve 

 as a brace for the heavy blows which are 

 dealt, and prevent the bird from falling 

 backward when resting. 



The nighthawk and the hummingbird se- 

 cure their food in a different way, the former 

 catching insects with 

 wide open mouth while 

 ' continually on the 

 wing, 1 he latter sus- 



5. Foot of Woodpecker, pendedon wings before 

 a flower, picking out 

 the minute flies and ants which are at- 

 tracted by the nectar and occasionally 

 helping himself to the sweet liquid. In 

 the nighthawk we find a short bill at the 

 extremity of a 

 mouth (fig. 7) so 

 wide that no in- 

 sect could hope to 

 escape, while many 

 might be taken at 

 one time. Very dif- 

 ferent is the bill of 6 Bill of the F i ycatc her. 

 the hummingbird 



(fig. 8). Long and slender, it will reach 

 an insect at the extreme end of the largest 



and longest blossom. This long, slender 





7. Bill of the Nighthawk. 



bill has still another use, that of feeding 

 the young. Most young birds could be 

 fed with short bills as well as with long 

 ones, but not so with young 

 hummingbirds. The food 

 must be regurgitated, dur- 

 8. Bill of the j n g which operation the bill 

 Hummingbird. of the parent must be 



thrust far down the little one's throat, 

 where it remains 4 or 5 seconds without 

 causing the least unpleasantness to the 

 young bird, These 2 species have no spe- 



