"There's not a better steerer in the realm, I hope, my lord, you'll call him to the helm."-SWIFT. stand by the slippery edges of the water, and to steady themselves on sloping banks of wet grass, neither of which could they effect securely were their feet formed with a narrower base. 892. Why do short-tailed birds generally throw their legs behind them when flying? Because, being destitute of the steerage power usually afforded by the tail, they find a substitute in their long legs, which they throw back to occupy its place: thus they get rid of the inconvenience of long legs while flying, and are compensated for the absence of the tail. 893. Why have fish-eating birds in general no crop? Because all they swallow, however large it may be, enters at once into the stomach, and undergoes immediate digestion. 894. Why has the snipe a long tapering bill? Because it derives its food by penetrating its bill into the moist earth. This is exactly the instrument which the animal wanted. It did not require strength in its bill, which was inconsistent with the slender form of the animal's neck, as well as unnecessary for the kind of aliment upon which it subsists; but it wanted length to reach its object. 895. Why are the eyes of snipes placed more backward in the head, than in most other birds? Because these organs are not much wanted in the immediate capture of their prey, and are thus placed so as to best guard against enemies. And besides, the eyes being thus situated, enables the bill to bore its whole length in the mud, when searching for worms. "But if I knew when you come next a burding, 896. Why are birds of the snipe family without the long hind toe of other birds? Because in wading in the mud, where the feet must necessarily sink deeply, a long hind toe would be an incumbrance, and tend to throw the bird on to its head in the water. 897. Why do snipes and woodcocks gradually disappear from cultivated districts? Because the three essentials to the tribe are solitude, shelter, and humidity-consequently, population, clearance, and drainage drive them into more sequestered places. 898. The grand resort of woodcocks in summer is understood to be marshy woods to the north of the Baltic; and the farther north, so long as the place is wooded, the better, as the insect food for the birds is not only more plentiful, but the sludge of the marshes is more exclusively the nest of larvæ. 899. Why does the flamingo, when feeding, hold its head and beak upside-down in the water? The feet of the bird while feeding are moved in a trampling manner, in order to stir the sand or mud beneath the water; the food thus disturbed, whether insects, fish, or stones, are continually falling into their former position. The flamingo, by placing its head in that peculiar way, catches in its mouth, tests upon its tongue, and appropriates to its use whatever is suitable for food. 900. The structure of the flamingo's tongue is admirably adapted to its purpose. The spines with which the upper surface is armed are arranged in an irregular and alternate series, and act with the notches on the edge of the upper mandible, on which they press when the bird feeds with the head reversed. In this reversed position, the weight and size of the tongue supply a very efficient instrument for entrapping the food. The bird muddles and clutters the bill, and dabbles about; and the tongue receives, and holds as a strainer, whatever the water offers for food. Maunder's "Treasury." "What is this mighty breath, ye sages, say 901. Why does the flamingo make its nest upon mound-like elevations? Because the great length of the legs of the flamingo preclude the possibility of its conducting incubation in the ordinary manner. Inhabiting marshy places, the nests are thus raised above the wet soil, to a dry and warm situation, in which the process of hatching can more effectually be accomplished. 902. These elevated nests are constructed by the bird out of loose earth or mud, formed into the shape of a hillock, with a hollow cavity at the top; the eggs are two or three in number, white, and as large as those of a goose, but of a longer figure. The female sits upon her nest during incubation, the attitude being that of a person sitting upon a high stool-the legs resting on marshy ground, and sometimes even in the water. Sometimes, if the female finds a low projecting rock, she makes her nest on the edge thereof, and raises no hillock. 903. Why has the avocet a bill shaped like a scoop? Avocets are fen birds; but, in feeding, they frequent only those parts of the fens which are alternately flooded and left dry by tidal waters. Their bills are not adapted for taking any kind of food upon land; neither are they fitted for fishing in the waters. Their food is contained in mud, ooze, or light gravel; and consists of worms, larvæ, and small molluscous and crustaceous animals, which are there found in great plenty. The greater number of these are embedded to a certain depth, and are not seen by birds that feed by sight. "The machine, which we are inspecting, demonstrates by its construction, contrivance, and design. Contrivance must have had a contriver, design a designer; whether the machine immediately proceeded from another machine or not."-PALEY. 904. In searching for its food among various accumulated matters, the avocet moves along with slow but rather lengthy steps, and scoops ooze or mud in curves, right and left, as it proceeds. In performing this operation, it does not use the bill only, but the whole body. It alights in the middle with its head in the stream, and the one foot a little in advance of the other. It then stretches and depresses the neck, and gives it a twist, so that the extremity of the bill, which is on a level with the ooze, is turned to the other side. The foot farthest in advance is the pivot on which it is to turn, in making the stroke which sweeps one curve. Then it slowly advances the rearmost foot, which elevates the hinder part of the body, depresses the fore part, and throws the support on the advanced foot, while, supported by that, and moved by the lever power of the other as it is brought forward, the axis the body is caused to cross the stream obliquely in an opposite direction: by this motion the bill makes another scoop. The head and bill are then elevated for the purpose of conveying to the gullet the food which the bill has thus collected. 905. Why has the spoon-bill long, flattened mandibles? "The stork assembly meets; for many a day, Consulting deep, and various, ere they take Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky."-THOMSON. 906. Paley makes these general and interesting remarks upon the forms of the bills of birds:-In birds, the mouth assumes a new character; new both in substance and in form, but in both wonderfully adapted to the wants and uses of a distinct mode of existence. We have no longer the fleshy lips, the teeth of enamelled bone; but we have, in the place of these two parts, and to perform the office of both, a hard substance, of the same nature with that which composes the nails, claws, and hoofs of quadrupeds, cut into proper shapes, and mechanically suited to the actions which are wanted. The sharp and tempered point of the sparrow's bill picks almost every kind of seed from its concealment in the plant; and not only so, but hulls the grain, breaks and shatters the coats of the seed, in order to get at the kernel. In the same way it breaks the shells of snails, to get at the animal food within. The hooked beak of the hawk tribe separates the flesh from the bones of the animals which it feeds upon, almost with the cleanliness and precision of a dissecting knife. The butcher-bird transfixes its prey upon the spike of a thorn, whilst it picks the bones. In some birds of this class we have the cross bill-i.e., both the upper and lower bill hooked, and their tips crossing; and these bills are used for splitting the cones of firs, and other seed-vessels, harder than the ordinary grains and seeds which are dissected by the beak of the sparrow. The spoon bill enables the goose to graze, to collect its food from the bottom of pools, or to seek it amidst the soft substances with which it is mixed. The long tapering bill of the snipe and woodcock penetrates deeply into the bed of the moist earth. But the species of bill which belong to the birds that live by suction deserves to be described in relation to that office. They are what naturalists call serrated, or dentated bills; the inside of them towards the edge being thickly set with parallel or concentric rows of short, strong, sharp-pointed prickles. These form a filter. The duck, by means of them, strains the mud; examining with great accuracy the puddle, the brake-every mixture which is likely to contain her food. 907. Why is the stork an enemy to the cat species? Because probably their habits and tastes are too similar for them to reside peaceably together. The stork is fond of small birds; so is the cat, who loves young storks. The parent stork is partial to kittens, as an article of food, and finds them an easy and wholesome prey. enmity of the two species. Hence the 908. Why are birds of the stork tribe generally voracious eaters? Because they are subject to great vicissitudes of season; at |