File:American homes and gardens (1905) (14782351015).jpg

Identifier: americanhomr03newy (find matches)
Title: American homes and gardens
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York, Munn and Co
Contributing Library: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
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cker which I collected. It hadsuffered an injury to the lower mandible near the base. Ap-parently, as this injury healed, the edges of the wound con-tracted, warping the mandible to that side, and tending toa corkscrew shaped growth. The bird was debarred fromhammering by the weak, misshapen bill, and thegrowthwhichnormally would have replaced wear abnormally prolongedboth mandibles, though why the lower so much more than theupper is not easy to understand. In this bird the uppermandible had exceeded the average length by about a thirdof an inch, while the lower mandible was nearly three timesthe normal length. The lower mandible made a half turn,so that what should have been its lower surface, was, at thetip, the upper. It would have been interesting to know ifthis bird was able to feed on seeds and fruit, which normallyform a large part of the food of this species, or whetherit was fed by the mate, which was with it when shot. Atthe time it was collected the stomach was empty, while
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Flickt Humming Bird Kingbird Red-Eyed VireoBay-Breasted Warbler Song SparrowBlack-Headed Grosbeak that of the mate contained the remains of a largedragonfly. As in the time of Noah, the dove returned to theark with an olive branch in its Bill as a token ofpromise, so now, each spring, the birds return to ourdooryards and shade trees, bearing nesting material,as though it were a sign of the delightful intercoursewe may have, and the study of the beautiful creatureswe may enjoy if we will but meet them in friendlyspirit half way. The horny sheath of the bill is called rhampothecaand is formed by the outer layers of the malpygiancells. It resembles in structure the other horny parts,such as claws, nails, and spurs. In some birds, assome of the ducks, this covering remains soft exceptnear the tip, which contains tactile organs. In thehawks and parrots the distal end of the upper man-dible is hard; basal portion, called the cere, is thickand soft. This latter is usually very sensitive, and

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