. Teachers' manual of bird-life : a guide to the study of our common birds . FiG. 12.—Lobed foot of a Coot, aswimininj; bird of tho Eailfamily. (1/3 natural size.) Fig. 13.—Lobed foot of a Phala-rope, a swinmiincc bird of theSnipe family. (Natural size.) matic action of certain tendons the birds are locked totheir perches while sleeping. A webbed foot implies abil-ity to swim, and we Und this character present in all the 28 FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. water-loving Divers, Auks, Gulls, Cormorants, and tlie wading Herons and marsli-inhabiting Kails andGallinules tlie web is absent, but it
. Teachers' manual of bird-life : a guide to the study of our common birds . FiG. 12.—Lobed foot of a Coot, aswimininj; bird of tho Eailfamily. (1/3 natural size.) Fig. 13.—Lobed foot of a Phala-rope, a swinmiincc bird of theSnipe family. (Natural size.) matic action of certain tendons the birds are locked totheir perches while sleeping. A webbed foot implies abil-ity to swim, and we Und this character present in all the 28 FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. water-loving Divers, Auks, Gulls, Cormorants, and tlie wading Herons and marsli-inhabiting Kails andGallinules tlie web is absent, but it reappears in the formof lobes on tlie toes of the aquatic Coots of the samefamily. Some shore-inhabiting Snipe have the bases of thetoes united by webs, but the Phalaropes, of two species,have lobed toes not unlike those of the Coots, and aretrue swimming Snipe living on the sea for long periods. Length of foot is largely dependent upon length ofneck. This is illustrated by the Herons, and is particu-larly well shown by the. long-necked Flamingo, which has a foot twelveinches long. Its toesare webbed, and it canwade in deep water andsearch for food on thebottom by immersingits long neck and itshead. In the tropical Ja-canas the toes and toe-nails are much length-ened, enabling the birdto pass over the wateron aquatic plants. Ihave seen these birdswalking on small lilyleaves, which sank be-neath their weight, giv-ing one the impression that they were walking on the water (see Fig. 10). Many ground-feeding birds use the feet in scratching for food ; Chickens are familiar examples. Towhees and Fig. 14.—Flamingo, showing relative lengthof legs and neck in a -wading bird.(Much reduced.) FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. 29 Sparrows use both feet in Bearcliing for food, jumpingquickly backward and throwing tlio leaves behind them. Parrots use their foot as a hand. Some Hawks carrynesting material in it, and all birds ofprey strike their quarry with theirstrongly curved claws, which ar
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsunitedstates
