19. The habits of an animal can be inferred from its teeth. To what extent is this statement true of (a) the cat, (b) the rabbit? (King’s Scholarship, 1905)
CHAPTER XV.
THE PIGEON: A TYPICAL BIRD.
51. HABITS AND STRUCTURE OF THE PIGEON.
1. General observations upon the dovecote pigeon.—Watch a group of pigeons. What is the shape of the body? With what is the body covered? What is the colour of the feathers? Does the bird walk or hop? How many walking limbs has it? Has it any other means of moving from place to place, in addition to walking? How many wings has it? Are the wings anterior or posterior ([p. 217]) to the legs? Watch a pigeon preening its feathers; why does it apply its bill so frequently to its tail? Can the bird bend its neck easily in all directions? On what do pigeons feed? How do they pick up their food? Do they chew the food? What is the voice of the pigeon like? At what time of the year do pigeons moult? How many eggs does the hen-pigeon lay? What is the colour of the eggs? What are newly-hatched pigeons like? How do the parent birds feed them?
Try to find a wood-pigeon’s nest. What is its shape? What is it made of? Is the top open or closed-in?
2. The external characters.—Closely examine a dead pigeon in respect of the following features:
(a) Feathers.—In what direction do the free ends of the feathers point? Where are the longest feathers?
(b) The head.—What is the general shape of the head? Notice the horny bill; is it blunt, pointed, or hooked? Does it bear teeth? Observe the cere, a whitish patch of swollen skin at each side of the base of the upper beak, and surrounding the nostril. Examine the large eyes, and notice the upper and lower eyelids and the transparent third eyelid. Find the ear-opening, a little below and behind the level of the eye, and hidden by the small feathers of the neck. Open the mouth and see the pointed tongue.