FOR A MUSEUM. 



115 



September, 1830, p. 449; and by H. B. of Dublin, at p. 373 of the 

 Field Naturalist's Magazine :— that it is formed for the purpose of 

 detaching- the sharp hooked claws of beetles, which hitch to the sides of 

 the bird's mouth, and impede its swallowing- of them. Certainly no 

 kind of structure could answer such a purpose better, as may be readily 

 seen, by bending- the foot of a dead evejar to the mouth, and observing 

 how extremely well it is adapted for removing- whatever might adhere 

 to it or to the vibrissae. I have never been able, however, to find 

 the remains of beetles in this bird's stomach ; the few that I have 

 opened having- contained nothing but moths, principally, if not entirely, 

 the different yellow under- wing-s {Tryphama). A very simple method 

 will go far towards determining whether or not this is the true use of 

 it. The bird is often noticed, when flying, to bring its foot to its 

 mouth ; I have frequently seen it do so myself ; and if, immediately 

 after doing this, it were to be shot, and the just swallowed beetle found 

 in its stomach, there would be no reason for hesitating to admit this 

 to be the use for which it was designed. Perhaps your correspondent 

 S. W. of the Isle of Wight will favour us with the result of some 

 experiments on this subject, if his bird be still living. I may observe 

 here, in reference to that gentleman's observations on the evejar, that 

 the common swallow (Hirundo rustied) and martin (H. urbica) 

 feed readily, and thrive well in confinement ; and that, according 

 to a very interesting note in the quarto edition of White's Selborne, 

 by the Hon. and Rev. Mr. Herbert, the young swift (Cypselus mura- 

 rius) soon learns to snap food from the point of a stick, but that (I 

 think we may almost venture to infer negatively from the same note,) 

 this species has but little notion of pecking up its food from the ground. 

 If hunger cannot induce S. W.'s evejar to feed of itself, I fear that no 

 other kind of method will prove successful. 



To recur to the pectinated claw ; I have just observed a somewhat 

 similar structure in all the front claws of a bee-eater (Merops Euro- 

 feus ; M. apiaster, auctorum), now before me ; only, that not being- 

 serrated, it forms a sharp cutting edge, turned inward, like the comb 

 of the evejar. Can any correspondent suggest the use of this ? Its 

 consideration may, perhaps, throw some light on the much controverted 

 question of pectinated claws. Does the bee-eater perch lengthwise, 

 in the manner of the evejar ? An apparently still more curious struc- 

 ture in the latter bird are the two spaces of transparent membrane 

 inside of its capacious mouth, one in front of each eye, which would 

 seem to intimate that it possessed the power of directing its eyes straight 



Q2 



