Because, as those birds live by catching fish, they are enabled by the notches in their feet, to _hold the slippery creatures upon which they feed_. 1062. _Why have otters, seals, &c., web-feet?_ Because, while the feet enable them to _walk upon the land_, they are equally effective in their action upon the water, and hence they are _adapted to the amphibious nature of the animals to which they belong_. 1063. _Why do the external ears of animals of prey, such as cats, tigers, foxes, wolves, hyenas, &c., bend forward?_ Because they collect the sounds that occur _in the direction of the pursuit_, and enable the animal to _track its prey_ with greater certainty. [Verse: "Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?"] 1064. _Why do the ears of animals of flight, such as hares, rabbits, deer, &c., turn backward?_ Because they thereby catch the sounds that give them _warning of the approach of danger_. 1065. _Why has the stomach of the camel a number of distinct bags, like so many separate stomachs?_ Because water is stored up in the separate chambers of the stomach, apart from the solid aliment, so that the animal can _feed_, without consuming all its drink. It is thereby _able to retain water to satisfy its thirst while travelling across hot deserts_, where no water could be obtained. 1066. _Why do woodpeckers "tap" at old trees?_ Because by boring through the decayed wood, with the sharp and hard bills with which they are provided, _they get at the haunts of the insects upon which they feed_. 1067. _Why are woodpeckers' tongues about three times longer than their bills?_ Because, if their bills were long, they would not bore the trees so efficiently; and when the trees are bored, and the insects alarmed, they endeavour to retreat into the hollows of the wood; _but the long thin tongue of the woodpecker fixes them on its sharp horny point_, and draws them into the mouth of the bird. 1068. _Why have the Indian hogs large horns growing from their nostrils and turning back towards their eyes?_ Because the horns _serve as a defence to the eyes_ while the animal forces its way through the thick underwood in which it lives. 1069. _Why have calves and lambs, and the young of horned cattle generally, no horns while they are young?_ Because the presence of horns would _interfere with the suckling of the young animal_. When, however, it is able to feed itself by browsing, _then the horns begin to grow_. [Verse: "She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. "From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she."--JOB XXXIX.] 1070. _Why have infants no teeth?_