英文科学读本 第三册·Lesson 11 Birds and their Beaks

Lesson 11 Birds and their Beaks

What do you think of the lions and tigers of the air, Will? asked Fred one evening.

Lions and tigers of the air! said Norah. "Whatever do you mean, boys?"

We mean that teacher has been giving us another lesson on birds, and he calls some of the birds the lions and tigers of the air, said Fred. "I think it is a very good name for them too."

He commenced the lesson by showing us a picture of a bird's head. The first thing that struck us about this head was the great, hooked, and pointed beak. It looked very strong, and seemed just suited to the piercing eyes and the fierce, cruel-looking face of the bird.

Teacher says this bird is as fierce and cruel as it looks. It lives on the flesh of other animals, and its strong, hooked, pointed beak is just fit for the work of tearing them to pieces.

You may be sure I thought at once of the fierce flesh-eating beasts, and their sharp, cruel teeth; and it was just then that teacher told us we might call all birds of this kind the lions and tigers of the air, or birds of prey. He says they hunt their prey in the air just as the beasts of prey hunt their victims on the earth.

It was the picture of an eagle's head that teacher showed us. The eagle is the king of birds. Amongst the other birds of prey are vultures, hawks, falcons, and owls.

I think Norah would have been pleased with those fishing birds, said Will,

What are they like? asked Norah. "Are they fierce and cruel too?"

Well, I don't know that they are fierce, said Will, "except perhaps to the fishes, frogs, and other creatures of that sort, which they catch in the water for their food. But they seem to be fitted in a very wonderful way for the life they have to lead."

These birds are always found in marshy, swampy places, or by the banks of rivers, because it is only in such places that they can find the animals on which they feed. They have long, slender, pointed beaks.

They are very keen of sight, and most clever at their fishing. No sooner does the bird catch sight of its prey in the water than it darts upon it like lightning, pierces it through with that sharp, pointed beak, and brings it to the surface.

The stork, heron, and crane are fishing birds.

I think the woodpecker is a very wonderful bird, said Fred. "This is a bird that feeds on worms, grubs, and insects, which eat their way into the trees. It cannot, of course, see these little creatures inside the stem of the tree, but it seems to know exactly where to find them."

It has a long, straight, pointed beak, very hard and strong. It finds out its prey by tapping on the bark of the tree with its beak and then listening.

As soon as it is sure of finding its prey, it begins to bore through the bark with its strong beak till it comes upon the spot where they are. No other beak would do this boring work so well. Then the woodpecker's tongue becomes a wonderful help to him. The tongue is long, narrow, and pointed, and the bird is able to thrust it out suddenly a long way beyond the beak.

When the beak has bored the hole, the tongue instantly darts forward and seizes the worms before they can escape. This is how the woodpecker feeds.

SUMMARY

Birds of prey have hooked, pointed beaks, for tearing flesh; fishing-birds have long, sharp beaks, for stabbing the fish in the water; the boring-birds have strong, pointed beaks, for boring into the bark of the trees to find insects.