. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds . 32 FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. corolla. In tlie Tootli-billeJ Hummer {Androdon) bothmandibles are finely serrate at the end, the npper onebeing also hooked, and the bird feeds on insects wliich itcaptures on the surface of leaves and other places. Among the Woodhewers {Dendrocolaptidiv) of SouthAmerica there is fully as much variability, which reflects equally variable feedinghabits. Some sjsecies have short, stout, straight bills,others exceedingly long,slender, curved ones. Fig. 18.—Serrate bill of Merganser, a flsh- Mergansers, GaUUetS,

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. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds . 32 FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. corolla. In tlie Tootli-billeJ Hummer {Androdon) bothmandibles are finely serrate at the end, the npper onebeing also hooked, and the bird feeds on insects wliich itcaptures on the surface of leaves and other places. Among the Woodhewers {Dendrocolaptidiv) of SouthAmerica there is fully as much variability, which reflects equally variable feedinghabits. Some sjsecies have short, stout, straight bills,others exceedingly long,slender, curved ones. Fig. 18.—Serrate bill of Merganser, a flsh- Mergansers, GaUUetS, Au-eatiug bird, (/s natural size.) ^ ^ , hmgas, and other birdsthat catch fish by pursuing them under water, havesharply serrate mandibles, which aid them in holdingtheir slipjDery prey. Some shore birds {Llmicolm) use the bill as a jDrobe,.

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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidbirdlife, booksubjectbirds