Identifier: birditsformfuncti00beeb (find matches)
Title: The bird, its form and function
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Birds -- Anatomy Birds -- Physiology
Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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^ one function. If birdswere provided with salivary glands intended only for thepurpose mentioned above, they soon found other uses forthem. In a woodpecker we will find very large salivaryglands on each side of the mouth. These secrete a stickyliquid w^hich covers the long, many-barbed tongue and isan efficient aid in picking out insects from their holes inthe bark and wood of trees. Organs of Nutrition 119 Many birds carry in their beaks the grasses andtwigs with which they construct their nests, and if a stickyfluid helped them to get their food, why would it notalso soften the twigs and make them easy to bend? Notonly this, but certain birds, such as our Chimney Swifts,are provided with saliva in such quantities, and of suchtenacious consistency, that the entire nest—a mosaic of
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Fig. 91.—Nest of Esculent Swiftlet (edible birds nest) composed entirely of saliva. small twigs, each about an inch in length—is set in salivacement, and fastened to the vertical side of a chimneyor charred tree-trunk by the same means. Even this isonly a step, or link, in the direction of the extreme use-fulness of saliva, for the little East Indian birds knownas Swiftlets (one of which ornithologists call Collocaliafuciphaga) make their nests entirely of saliva or mucus.The second part of the scientific name, which means aneater of seaweed, refers to the idea formerly held, that I 20 The Bird the nests consisted entirely of half-digested seaweed, butit has been proved that this is not the case. The homesof these birds are the edible birds-nests held in suchesteem by Chinese gourmands. The Tongue If we had a long series of birds tongues before us,we would be surprised at the great variety of shapes andsizes. Observing the good-sized tongues of sparrows andother small birds, we wo

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