. The bird; its form and function . ch of space between theshield and the feathers of the birds breast. When, inhis native haunts, the Ruff has conquered his rival, histriumphant dances before the female are most these facts are not exactly pertinent to the physical yjjM ^^^HH^^BI 1 (H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 1 \ ^^^^H \ 1^ Fig 224.—Breast ornament of a Wild Turkeycock. life of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac-tical, as well as aesthetic, uses the development of someportion of the birds plumage may be devoted. What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pecto
. The bird; its form and function . ch of space between theshield and the feathers of the birds breast. When, inhis native haunts, the Ruff has conquered his rival, histriumphant dances before the female are most these facts are not exactly pertinent to the physical yjjM ^^^HH^^BI 1 (H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 1 \ ^^^^H \ 1^ Fig 224.—Breast ornament of a Wild Turkeycock. life of the bird, yet I mention them to show to what prac-tical, as well as aesthetic, uses the development of someportion of the birds plumage may be devoted. What a contrast to the cloak of the Ruff is the pectoraldecoration of the Wild 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 length from thecentre of the breast! The length of the neck of l)irds is often correlatedwith that of the legs,—a long-legged bird of necessity re-quiring a long neck to permit its bill to reach the and swans are an exception, and in their case we. Ftg 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 uniformly so light of body that the} wouldhave difficulty in steadying themselves in the air, wereit not that, when in flight, their necks compressedto an incredible thinness, thus acting as does the cut- 282 The Bird water of a ships prow. The perpetual 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: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1906
