﻿art.. 
  19 
  CONCERNING 
  BIRDS 
  ' 
  TONGUES 
  GARDNER 
  5 
  

  

  present 
  in 
  some 
  individuals, 
  or 
  if 
  present 
  is 
  not 
  very 
  deep, 
  although 
  

   Anthreptes 
  is 
  rather 
  deeply 
  cleft, 
  forming 
  two 
  fringeless 
  tubes. 
  

  

  Curling 
  and 
  fraying 
  of 
  the 
  lateral 
  margins 
  is 
  illustrated 
  by 
  the 
  

   Drepanididae. 
  In 
  Hemignathus 
  (fig. 
  19), 
  Himatione, 
  Ghlorodre- 
  

   panis, 
  VesHaria, 
  and 
  Heterorhynchus 
  it 
  is 
  long 
  and 
  slender, 
  curled 
  

   into 
  a 
  complete 
  tube, 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  delicately 
  frayed, 
  with 
  

   the 
  tip 
  ending 
  in 
  a 
  much 
  frayed 
  but 
  not 
  bifid 
  brush. 
  

  

  Finally, 
  beginning 
  with 
  Dendroica 
  tigrina 
  (fig. 
  2), 
  an 
  interesting- 
  

   series 
  of 
  split 
  and 
  frayed 
  tongues 
  can 
  be 
  demonstrated. 
  In 
  this 
  

   warbler 
  the 
  maximum 
  of 
  curling 
  in 
  the 
  Mniotiltidae 
  is 
  reached, 
  

   Baird 
  4 
  going 
  so 
  far 
  even 
  as 
  to 
  suggest 
  a 
  separate 
  genus 
  for 
  it. 
  

  

  From 
  this 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  near 
  step 
  to 
  the 
  curled 
  tongues 
  of 
  Zosterops 
  

   simplex 
  and 
  Z. 
  japonica, 
  which 
  are 
  described 
  by 
  Beddard 
  5 
  as 
  being 
  

   curled 
  into 
  almost 
  a 
  complete 
  tube 
  with 
  a 
  much 
  frayed 
  tip. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  step 
  can 
  be 
  traced 
  through 
  the 
  Icteridae, 
  where 
  in 
  Icterus 
  

   (fig. 
  3) 
  it 
  is 
  curled, 
  in 
  the 
  anterior 
  one-third 
  to 
  one-half, 
  with 
  

   elaborately 
  frayed 
  edges 
  and 
  somewhat 
  split 
  to 
  form 
  two 
  semi- 
  

   tubular 
  fringed 
  tips. 
  The 
  Coerebidae 
  carry 
  this 
  still 
  further. 
  

   Glossoptila 
  {Euneomis) 
  makes 
  no 
  advance, 
  with 
  only 
  moderate 
  

   curling, 
  splitting 
  and 
  fraying 
  at 
  the 
  tip. 
  G 
  hlorophanes 
  (fig. 
  4) 
  is 
  

   curled 
  in 
  the 
  anterior 
  one-half 
  and 
  is 
  split 
  and 
  frayed, 
  but 
  the 
  

   tongue 
  is 
  not 
  yet 
  tubular 
  nor 
  has 
  it 
  reached 
  that 
  stage 
  in 
  Gyanerpes. 
  

   But 
  in 
  Diglossa 
  and 
  Coereba 
  (fig. 
  5) 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  have 
  become 
  a 
  

   complete 
  tube 
  by 
  the 
  overlapping 
  of 
  the 
  upcurled 
  edges 
  and 
  the 
  

   splitting 
  involves 
  the 
  entire 
  anterior 
  one-half 
  of 
  the 
  tongue, 
  so 
  that, 
  

   instead 
  of 
  one, 
  we 
  find 
  two 
  complete 
  tubes 
  highly 
  fringed 
  and 
  

   frayed. 
  Finally 
  this 
  splitting 
  has 
  reached 
  its 
  maximum 
  in 
  the 
  

   Meliphagidae, 
  so 
  that 
  in 
  Myzomela 
  rubratra 
  (fig. 
  6) 
  it 
  has 
  become 
  

   a 
  completely 
  curled 
  tongue 
  in 
  the 
  anterior 
  half, 
  splitting 
  into 
  four 
  

   tubular 
  frayed 
  tips. 
  

  

  The 
  examples 
  might 
  be 
  unnecessarily 
  multiplied. 
  Suffice 
  it 
  to 
  say 
  

   that 
  such 
  a 
  study 
  brings 
  to 
  light 
  a 
  most 
  interesting 
  series 
  of 
  elabo- 
  

   rately 
  modified 
  tongues, 
  the 
  exact 
  correlation 
  of 
  diet 
  with 
  which 
  

   offers 
  material 
  for 
  future 
  study. 
  

  

  Returning 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  pattern 
  we 
  can 
  see 
  a 
  close 
  resemblance 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  it 
  and 
  the 
  tongues 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  motmots 
  and 
  todies 
  (see 
  

   fig. 
  74), 
  in 
  which 
  birds 
  it 
  is 
  rather 
  flat 
  and 
  the 
  thin 
  horny 
  trans- 
  

   lucent 
  tip 
  constitutes 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  one-half 
  of 
  the 
  organ. 
  

  

  A 
  curious 
  little 
  variation 
  is 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  titmice 
  (see 
  fig. 
  123). 
  In 
  

   these 
  birds 
  the 
  cartilaginous 
  tips 
  of 
  the 
  ceratohyals 
  project 
  through 
  

   the 
  tip 
  of 
  the 
  tongue 
  and 
  with 
  two 
  lateral 
  projections 
  form 
  what 
  

   has 
  been 
  likened 
  to 
  a 
  four-tined 
  pitchfork. 
  The 
  nuthatches 
  (fig. 
  

  

  * 
  Baird, 
  S. 
  F. 
  Review 
  of 
  American 
  Birds, 
  November, 
  1864, 
  pp. 
  161-162. 
  

   5 
  Beddard, 
  F. 
  E. 
  Ibis, 
  ser. 
  6, 
  No. 
  3, 
  1891, 
  pp. 
  510-512, 
  Tongue 
  of 
  Zosterops. 
  

  

  