BIRD STUDY 19 



armed with long, curved, and very sharp talons, 

 perfect instruments, you would say, for striking 

 and holding their prey. These birds also have 

 long, curved beaks which serve as excellent 

 hooks for tearing. Wading birds, like Herons, 

 Cranes, Flamingoes and Snipes have long legs, 

 while with perching birds the legs are short with 

 slender toes having many joints, the better to 

 cling to the perch. Swimming birds have good 

 paddles in their webbed feet, while with diving 

 birds, like Loons and Grebes, the stout legs are 

 set at the extreme end of the body, a structure 

 which gives them great power in the water, but 

 renders walking on the land very awkward. In 

 consequence, their nests are always close to 

 the water. Swallows have long wings which they 

 use with great skill and much grace, but their 

 feet are so small that they are very poor walkers. 

 Some of the sea birds, the Albatross and the 

 Frigate-bird, have enormous wings and are thus 

 able to sustain themselves in flight for very long 

 periods. On the other hand, the Ostrich and 

 Cassowary have wings so small in proportion to 

 their large bodies that they cannot fly at all; 

 but both have long and well developed legs 

 which enable them to run with great speed. It 

 is probable that these were once flying birds, 

 but their wings have diminished in size because 

 of disuse. 



There is also great variation in the size and 

 shape of the bill. The hunters, as we have seen, 

 have sharp, hooked bills, well adapted for tear- 

 ing their prey in pieces. The Woodcock and 

 Snipe have very long and slender bills which 



