Marvels of the Universe 
in the Helmet Hornbill the horny 
beak-sheath, in all other species of 
great thinness and delicacy, is of 
excessive density, as hard as ivory 
and very thick, as is shown in the 
adjoining figure. 
The beak of the Raven can at need, 
it was remarked, be used as a pickaxe ; 
but in the Woodpecker it has become 
a far more efficient weapon, which can 
splinter even the hardest wood. By 
intuition, the Woodpecker knows 
which trees have fallen victims to the 
insidious trickling of rain down the 
stumps of broken boughs to the very 
heart of the tree, and strikes unerringly 
through the hard outer casing of wood 
to gain the desired hollow within, 
wherein he may make a nursery for 
his family. Another bird skilled in 
woodcraft is the strange New Zealand 
Huia bird: strange not so much, in- 
deed, from the form of the beak, as 
from the fact that the male and female 
have beaks of different types. In the 
female it is long, slender and down- 
wardly arched, or “ decurved,”’ while 
in the male it is short, stout, and only 
slightly arched. Now these birds are 
very fond of a fat beetle-grub which 
lives in decaying trees, and the female 
drags these forth by thrusting in her 
long, curved forceps. Occasionally she 
detects one of these morsels in a 
cavity too narrow for her beak, when, 
it is said, she calls her mate, who 
promptly enlarges the hole with his 
more powerful weapon—and bags the 
morsel for himself ! 
Some beaks make most efficient 
shears. Two very different types are 
those of the little Crossbill and the 
great Macaws. In the Crossbill the 
jaws are strongly arched in opposite 
directions, and the points cross to 
opposite sides of the beak. They 
prove most efficient instruments in 
wrenching open pine-cones and fruit. 
The Macaw’s beak is immensely 
The Scissor-bill—a fish-catcher. 
The Raven—a flesh-tearer. 
The Woodpecker’s beak is adapted for splintering bark. 
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