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other to the rear ; and these toes are articulated to the tarsus on the same plane, 

 while the union at the base of the front ones, and the enlargement at that of the 

 hind, form a base of considerable extent. The foot is thus a resting foot — a pas- 

 sive foot, as it were — and not an active one. The backward articulation accords 

 well with this use of the foot ; for when the bird rests on its feet, the axis of the 

 body is much elevated forwards, and the weight, by that means, is concentrated 

 upon the feet, which gives greater stability with the same extent of base than if 

 the axis of the body were horizontal. The shortness of the tarsus further contri- 

 butes to the same purpose, and the strength of that part of the leg is calculated 

 for enabling the bird to bear its standing position for a long time. The syndac- 

 tyly foot, ill-formed as it appears to be for active purposes, is the very model of a 

 foot in its way ; and whether we examine its own structure, or the manner in which 

 its position concentrates the weight of the bird, we cannot help noticing that, 

 among all the variously formed feet of the feathered race, this is the one best cal- 

 culated for enabling the owner to erect the wing and yet keep vigilant watch for 

 its prey. Of all syndactylic birds, the Kingfishers are the most aquatic in their 

 feeding, and the shortest and roundest winged ; and, therefore, we might be pre- 

 pared to find this foot in the greatest perfection in them. 



And the habit is beautifully true to the structure. For in those warm and 

 stilly days when not a breath of wind rustles the foliage or breaks the glassy sur- 

 face of the brook, the Kingfisher may be observed sitting, for hours together, 

 upon some withered branch or water-encircled stone, until a fish comes within 

 the range of its vision. Then off it darts, with the rapidity of an arrow and the 

 radiance of a meteor, and seldom misses its aim. If the fish is small it is swal- 

 lowed during the flight, but if it is too large for that purpose, (and the bird in con- 

 sequence of the breadth and hollowness of its wings can rise, even from amidst the 

 water, with a larger fish than one would be apt to suppose), then the bird betakes 

 itself to some rock, stone, or firm portion of the bank, where it speedily kills 

 the fish by hewing into the skull with its strong and powerful bill. After this, 

 the trenchant edges of the same instrument may soon divide the fish into such 

 portions as can be swallowed, and the feast is then over. As is the case with 

 almost, if not quite, all birds that can bear abstinence for a long time, the King- 

 fisher is very voracious when food can be obtained ; and it seems to be a pretty 

 general law that birds which feed on fish eat more than those which feed on most 

 other animal substances. 



Though the Kingfisher often plunges fairly into the water after its prey, its 

 plumage is not wetted or ruffled. Beautiful as its colours are, its plumage partakes 

 much of the nature of that of the aquatic birds properly so called, which launch 

 themselves upon the water, or dive and duck through its substance. We have 

 already said that it brings the connection of the syndactylic birds down to the 

 water, were the chain appears to be taken up by the Terns among web-footed 



