. The bird; its form and function . FiG. ISO. —Boat-billed 179 and ISO represent birds with slightly different feeding habits. less and holding it captive despite its struggles, untilthe rising tide has ended its life. But along comes a bird, well named Oyster-catcher,and woe to the mollusks now. It allows them to closetightly upon its bill, the mandibles of which are thinlike blades, many years antedating mans mollusk is wrenched free by the sturdy bird, car-ried from the water still gripping the birds bill, and is Beaks and Bills 239 J0^ Fig. 181.—Spoonbill, wit
. The bird; its form and function . FiG. ISO. —Boat-billed 179 and ISO represent birds with slightly different feeding habits. less and holding it captive despite its struggles, untilthe rising tide has ended its life. But along comes a bird, well named Oyster-catcher,and woe to the mollusks now. It allows them to closetightly upon its bill, the mandibles of which are thinlike blades, many years antedating mans mollusk is wrenched free by the sturdy bird, car-ried from the water still gripping the birds bill, and is Beaks and Bills 239 J0^ Fig. 181.—Spoonbill, with spatuiatemandibles. Fig. 182.—White Ibis, showingcurved Fig. 183. —Bill of Avocet, recurved for probing. 240 The Bird then pried open and eaten. The bill of this bird showsthe wear and tear of forcing apart the shells, and it issometimes slightly bent to one side. The short-billedgulls are denied the power of opening these oysters andmussels, but they sometimes get an unlawful feast by fol-lowing up and robbing the Oyster-catchers of the shellswhich the latter have opened. The bill of the Shell Ibis of India may be likened toan ordinary lemon-squeezer, having a cavity in which
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1906
