BIRDS. 
199 
Using a simple microscope, can you find that the 
barbs themselves bear branches (barbules) ? Sketch 
a magnified barb showing barbules. 
What seems to be the use of the barbules ? 
Do the feathers from different parts of the body seem 
to have the same parts ? 
Examine a downy feather and a pin-feather. How 
do those compare with the other feathers ? 
What is the appearance of the skin of a fowl from 
which the feathers have been plucked ? 
Are the pits from which feathers grow equally dis¬ 
tributed over the body ? 
Summary of Drawings, (a) Sketch of skeleton of 
a wing, naming humerus, radius, ulna, carpal, and 
metacarpal bones, and phalanges. 
(< b ) Sketch of a wing covered with feathers. 
(c) Side view of foot and leg, naming femur, fibula, 
tibia, tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges. 
(d) Sketch of whole feather. 
( e ) Sketch of a barb showing barbules (magnified). 
fiG. 155.— a, beak of snipe, fitted for probing in soft mud ; b, beak of 
sparrow, fitted for cracking seeds ; c, beak of eagle, fitted for tear¬ 
ing flesh ; </, beak of parrot, fitted for cracking nuts ; beak of 
swift, fitted for seizing insects while on the wing ; /, beak of duck, 
fitted for skimming the water. 
The Activities of the Bird. Taking Food. Very 
noticeable is the difference between the bill of a bird 
