A WINGED CHUM 163 



**Why?" asked Bull, ''they perch." 



"Sure, they perch," the boy agreed, "but 

 they're built quite differently from a Raven, or a 

 Wren or a Sparrow. Their body is something 

 like a Swift, and they're put in the same Order, 

 though their toes and bills are different. The 

 Swift has his toes so arranged that he can hang 

 on to the inside of a chimney or a hollow tree." 



"I've wondered, sometimes, how they did it!'* 

 said Bull. 



"A good deal with their tails, so far as I can 

 make out," Shan answered. "The tips of the 

 tail-feathers of some species, the book says, pro- 

 ject into a stout spine, half an inch beyond the end 

 of the feather. With their four claws clenching 

 and the tail acting as a prop behind they can hang 

 on tight and climb up and down. ' ' 



"That's like a Woodpecker." 



"Not a bit," corrected the boy. "Woodpeck- 

 ers, all except one three-toed genus, have two toes 

 in front and two behind, and though they've got 

 the tail-feathers stiffened to act as a prop, the 

 feathers don't end in spines. Woodpeckers are an 

 Order to themselves, too, like Parrots. 



"The Humming-bird is different from both in 

 a way. He's got a tongue that he can stick out, 



