. The bird, its form and function . Fir, 224.—Breast ornament of a Wild Tiirkeveock. Ufe of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac-tical, as well as aesthetic, uses the development of someportion of the lairds plumage may l^ie devoted. What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pectoraldecoration of the ^^ild Turkeycock: a great tuft ofcoarse, black hair-like feathers, like the tail of a horse Heads and Necks 281 in miniature, growing almost a foot in lengtli from thecentre of the breast! The length of the neck of birds is often correlatedwith that of the legs,—a long-legged bi
. The bird, its form and function . Fir, 224.—Breast ornament of a Wild Tiirkeveock. Ufe of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac-tical, as well as aesthetic, uses the development of someportion of the lairds plumage may l^ie devoted. What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pectoraldecoration of the ^^ild Turkeycock: a great tuft ofcoarse, black hair-like feathers, like the tail of a horse Heads and Necks 281 in miniature, growing almost a foot in lengtli from thecentre of the breast! The length of the neck of birds is often correlatedwith that of the legs,—a long-legged bird of necessit\- re-quiring a long neck to permit its bill to reach the and swans are an exception, and in their case we. Fig 225 —Flamingoes Correlation of long neck with long legs find that the long, mobile neck is of great use in makingup for the awkwardness of their waddle when on land,and in allowing them to reach beneath them while floatingin shallow water, thus feeding along the bottom. Herons are uniformJy so light of body that they wouldhave difficulty in steadying themselves in the air, wereit not that, when in flight, their necks become compressedto an incredible thinness, thus acting as does the cut- 282 The Bird water of a ships prow. The })erpetual crook in the necksof these birds is significant of their method of fishing—apatient watch until the prey comes within striking distance-In the snake-bird this crook, or Z-shape, has, by the
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbeebewil, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1906
