What is this other thing lying here? That! Why, it is a bird’s bill, or beak. You see that it is made in two pieces, of a hard, bony substance. Now from the beak and the bill, can you go on and build up the bird for me? Can you tell me what kind of bird it was; where it lived; what it did; what it ate? [Illustration: BEAKS.] “No,” you say, “of course not.” But let us see. Are all beaks alike? Think. “No,” you say, “they are not alike.” The duck’s bill is flat, and soft, and spoon-shaped. The parrot’s bill is hard, not wide, but high. The upper part bends over the under. It is curved like a hooked nose. The hen has a much smaller beak; it is thick, short, hard, pointed. The two parts join evenly. The swallow has a very short, pointed bill. It can open its mouth very wide. It is a three-cornered bill,--like a triangle in shape. But the humming-bird has a very long, slim bill; almost as slim as a knitting-needle. Once I saw a kingfisher. He had a thick, strong bill. It was nearly as large as his body. I wondered how he could carry it. In a museum I saw a bird with a bill as wide as my hand, and longer. It looked heavy enough to make the bird fall down. Now I think you have told me a good many things about beaks. Let us take a little look at them, and see what kinds of feet go with them. How does the duck live? He lives mostly in the water. On land, if he walks, he waddles, but he swims with grace. He dives down in the water, thrusts his bill into the mud, and feels about for things to eat. There, you see, he needs a wide bill, shaped like a spoon, or shovel. He does not need a very hard bill, as mud is soft. But he needs a bill that can feel the right kind of food, and pick it up, just as your fingers feel things for which you search in a bag. Now what kind of feet has a duck? It has large feet, with three long front toes, and one short hind toe, rather high up on the foot. What you notice in the feet is a web, or skin, joining the toes together quite up to the nail. Have you watched the duck in the water? Have you seen him use these webbed feet for paddles? Now the swimming birds, to which ducks, geese, and swans belong, all have webbed feet. They all have the broad, flat, rather soft bill. Thus, when you find a wide full-webbed foot, you say, “This bird was built for swimming. It had a light, wide body, shaped much like a boat. Its feet were its paddles. Its wings were not very large. It had very thick feathers, to keep it warm. They were oily to keep it dry. It fed on water plants, seeds, grain, and things that it found in the mud.” Sometimes you will find the beak of a swimming bird telling a different story. It will be a very strong beak, with notches along it. It is a fish-eating swimmer. Its rough bill is to hold fast to the slippery fish.