. A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory: including their organization, habits, and relation; remarks on classification and nomenclature; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical ornithology .. . y the neck and swimming and diving, at which they are extremely expert,their feet, being placed at the posterior extremity of the body, 248 rODlCEPS. seem to render a tail iiiineeessary, that organ being reducedto a diminutive tuft of downy feathers. The extreme com-pression of the tarsus, and the arrangement of the toes, -svhichfolds so
. A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory: including their organization, habits, and relation; remarks on classification and nomenclature; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical ornithology .. . y the neck and swimming and diving, at which they are extremely expert,their feet, being placed at the posterior extremity of the body, 248 rODlCEPS. seem to render a tail iiiineeessary, that organ being reducedto a diminutive tuft of downy feathers. The extreme com-pression of the tarsus, and the arrangement of the toes, -svhichfolds so as to have little more breadth than it, enable the footto be brought forward -without receiving almost any opposi-tion from the -water. The tibio-tarsal joint is so constructedthat the tarsus when extended is in a right line with thetibia, and on being contracted continues in the same planeuntil it comes to form a right angle, hut then inclines moreand more outward, so that it can not only be bent back so asto be parallel with the tibia, but to extend far beyond it, andtlms the sweep of the paddle is very much increased, and tofacilitate this the tibia rotates on the femur. In swimming,these birds propel themselves entirely by the feet, and in. diving never use the wiiigs. When molested they seldom riseon wing, but ])e by ])assing into the water. They riseheavily, but have a rather rapid, direct flight, performed byregular beats, and mIu n alighting on the water, come downwith fj^reat force, gliding along its .surface until (lu^ momen- GREBE. 2-iJ turn is overcome. This probably arises from tlieir want oftail, the great size of which in birds of prey and others en-ables them to alight without receiving any shock. It wouldappear that a Grebe cannot alight on land, at least on itsfeet, and that it even stands with difficulty, generally apply-ing the tarsus to the ground. Tliey feed cliiefly on fish, but also on insects, reptiles,mollusca, and sometimes seeds. It is very rem
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1830, bookidhistoryo, booksubjectbirds
