102 THE GAIT OF BIRDS. 



Larks, which all walk; then in the marsh birds, which are partially aquatic 

 only in their habits, there are tbe Peewit and Land-rail, which are good 

 runners; then the Bustards, which are now confined, however, within a 

 very narrow limit, and these are so fleet as nearly to distance a horse, and 

 were anciently chased with dogs. Our Stone Curlew, (Charadrius CEdic- 

 nemus } ) and the foreign Ostriches are instances of the same speed of foot, 

 and the Woodcock and Quail more moderate in their powers, but still able 

 to run and walk. I have merely specified the birds of game as instances, 

 but there are among them some which are unrivalled in speed of foot for 

 their size; I more particularly refer to the Partridge, but the Peacock, 

 Turkey, and Guinea-fowl are likewise endowed with this faculty. 



Of the birds of prey, all are, indiscriminately, perchers, and almost in- 

 capable, from the formation of their feet, which are the chief instruments 

 by which they take their prey, of moving on a flat surface. The Willow 

 Wrens, the Titmice, the Woodpecker tribe, and all our summer visitants, 

 are also perchers; but then the Pigeon tribe, although they cannot run, 

 walk very respectably; even among the pure perchers there are great 

 modifications; thus, the Swallow tribe, although they cannot move to any 

 extent on the ground, are also incapable of performing any evolutions of 

 activity on trees or buildings; this is also the case with a great many of 

 the perchers, among which we may include Hawks and Owls, the Cuckoo, 

 the Chats, and the Common Bunting; and although the Thrush and Pie 

 kind are remarkably active among the branches of trees, the Starlings sel- 

 dom stir from one position; and the Raven, Rook, Crow, and Jackdaw are 

 much more fond of quiescence when perching than of hopping from bough 

 to bough. These, however, all walk, though they cannot run. The Creepers 

 have feet which are a sort of compromise between the walking and clutching 

 formation, and move on the face of the bark of trees with extraordinary 

 facility. Some, as the Nuthatch, move in all positions, up and down, but 

 he takes a wider range, being also a percher, but the rest of his order 

 never perch. 



Now, among the water-birds, by far the greater number are runners, 

 for all the waders are runners also; and as their mode of life is much 

 more uniform than the land-birds, so when we come to consider their habits 

 in the mass, we always find the matter very much simplified. Thus it 

 may be stated broadly that all the waders which are of the Snipe or of 

 the Galliuule genus are walkers and runners, some very good, others with 

 a web on the foot partially developed, are greater adepts at swimming and 

 diving. The former, which are shore or marsh birds, are perhaps the best 

 examples, for the Common Gallinule, or Moorhen, is indeed a bad example, 

 for, like many of the same kind, his toes are too long to render him a 

 good pedestrian in proportion as they assist him in his natural element. 



