99 
wreathing, and many a timorous nest- 
finder has fancied them to be young 
serpents. 
This bird has likewise the power of 
erecting the feathers on the crown of its 
head. Its beak seems to be of little use 
in procuring subsistence, the tongue (as 
is the case with the woodpeckers) being 
the chief instrument used for that purpose. 
When it feeds it is astonishing with what 
rapidity it darts and retracts its tongue, 
and with such unerring aim that it seldom 
is returned without an ant (its principal 
food) or an egg of that insect adhering to 
it, not transfixed by the bony part, as 
some have imagined, but adhering to it 
by a peculiar tenacious moisture. While 
it is feeding (says Montagu) "the body 
is motionless, the head only is turned to 
every side, and the motion of the tongue 
is so rapid that an ant's egg, which is of 
a light colour, and more conspicuous than 
the tongue, has somewhat the appearance 
of moving towards the mouth by attrac- 
tion, as a needle flies to a magnet." 
The Wryneck holds itself very erect on 
