. The bird book. Birds. COMPAEING BILLS. To walk through a museum, looking at the different kinds of bills that the birds have, and wondering how they are used, is almost as much fun as choosing the pretty things in a store window. Until one tries it, it is hard to believe that there can be so many shapes, — noses that tip up and tip down, Roman-nosed and straight-nosed birds, and a hundred noses that we have no name for. For bills are noses — and mouths too. The bird's nostrils always open somewhere along the upper portion of the bill, so that the whole upper mandible forms an exaggerated nos
. The bird book. Birds. COMPAEING BILLS. To walk through a museum, looking at the different kinds of bills that the birds have, and wondering how they are used, is almost as much fun as choosing the pretty things in a store window. Until one tries it, it is hard to believe that there can be so many shapes, — noses that tip up and tip down, Roman-nosed and straight-nosed birds, and a hundred noses that we have no name for. For bills are noses — and mouths too. The bird's nostrils always open somewhere along the upper portion of the bill, so that the whole upper mandible forms an exaggerated nose. Indeed, one of our commonest names for describing a certain kind of nose, the word aquilirie, indicates the resemblance of a bold, humped nose to the hooked beak of aquila, the Fig. 28. Head of Swift. Among our North American birds the smallest bills of all are those of insect-hunters like the swifts, swallows, and night-hawks, which have merely a tiny triangle of bill pierced by the two nostrils. But what a mouth they have ! Open it 99. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Eckstorm, Fannie Hardy, 1865-1946. Boston, Heath
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Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
