. The bird book. Birds. 96 STRlCrrRE AND COMPAllISOX. one foDt, sticking the other up behind. To keep a straight course a swan swimming with one foot must ''bear off" with every stroke, just as a canoeman does wlien using a single- bladed paddle; otherwise he woukl swim in a circle. Some of the totipalmate birds are said to swim with both feet together. We can see that such a stroke would be a very- strong, effective one. The feet would be held together like an inverted triangle; and the loi^est, strongest toes, the outer ones, would form the lower edge of a V where the greatest resistanc
. The bird book. Birds. 96 STRlCrrRE AND COMPAllISOX. one foDt, sticking the other up behind. To keep a straight course a swan swimming with one foot must ''bear off" with every stroke, just as a canoeman does wlien using a single- bladed paddle; otherwise he woukl swim in a circle. Some of the totipalmate birds are said to swim with both feet together. We can see that such a stroke would be a very- strong, effective one. The feet would be held together like an inverted triangle; and the loi^est, strongest toes, the outer ones, would form the lower edge of a V where the greatest resistance would be met. With feet so placed a powerful backward and downward stroke would bring every part of the webbing into full use, and give a great impulse to the Fig. 25. Zygodactyl (or Yoke-toed) Foot of Woodpecker (Life Size). After we get into the higher orders the feet differ less noticeably; yet many oddities occur. Notice the yoke-toed foot of the woodpeckers, the cuckoos, and the parrots, or the still odder foot of the kingfisher, in which two of the toes are grown together for a part of their length. What is the origin or use of such a foot never seems to have. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Eckstorm, Fannie Hardy, 1865-1946. Boston, Heath
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
