106 
When, by means of this piercer, it has 
reached the ceils of the insects then 
comes the office of its tongue: which 
tongue is, first, of such a length, that the 
bird can dart it out three or four inches 
from the bill— in this respect differing 
greatly from every other species of bird;* 
in the second place, it is tipped with a stiff, 
sharp, bony thorn; and in the third place, 
(which appears to me the most remarkable 
property of all,) this tip is dentated on 
both sides, like the beard of an arrow, or 
the barb of a hook. The description of 
the part declares its uses. The bird, 
having exposed the retreats of the insects 
by the assistance of its bill, with a motion 
inconceivably quick, launches out at them 
this long tongue, transfixes them upon 
the barbed needle at the end of it, and 
thus draws its prey within its mouth. If 
this be not mechanism, what is? Should 
it be said, that, by continual endeavours 
to shoot out the tongue to the stretch, the 
Wood pecker species may by degrees have 
lengthened the organ itself, beyond that 
* The Wryneck excepted. 
