38 



Bird Notes and News 



noticed before, has all 

 forwards, as practically 

 for which it uses its 

 to rough, perpendicular 



miscellaneous functions 



the majority of which 



made no personal 



bird sit singing for a quarter of an hour 

 on one leg only. 



(ix.) Grasping food. 



Birds of prey grasp their food with their 

 feet, that they may better rend it with 

 their beaks ; and Eagles are also said to 

 seize and carry off their prey in their 

 talons. In a similar way, Tits, both Blue 

 and Great, may often be seen grasping a 

 piece of food in one foot while standing 

 on the other. Crows are said to do the 

 same thing ; while the Blue Tit often goes 

 even further, and grasps the food with 

 both feet, while sitting back on its tail. 



(x.) Hanging. 



A Swift, as was 

 four toes directed 

 the only purpose 

 feet is for clinging 

 surfaces. 



Then there are 

 of birds' feet, on 

 the writer has 

 observations. 



(xi.) Domestic Fowls and Game-birds use 

 their feet for scratching, but most birds 

 use their beaks only for such purposes. 



(xii.) Grebes have a saw-like edge to 

 their feet, which they are said to use for 



Bird-and-Tree 



Before the next number of Bird Notes and 

 News is issued, all Essays for the 1914 

 Competition should be in the hands of the 

 Judging Committee ; but, as last year, 

 they may be written and forwarded, to 

 suit the convenience of schools and the 

 date of holidays, either before or after the 

 summer vacation. It is much hoped that 

 all Teams who have been at work will send 

 in papers ; forms to accompany them will 

 be circulated during July, and any School 

 accidentally omitted is asked to apply to the 

 Secretary of the R.S.P.B. 



* * * * 

 As an instance of the excellent work done 

 by some of the Society's Cadets, a letter 



cutting water-weeds when swimming in 

 water choked up with such growths. 



(xiii.) Cocks, of course, and also Coots 

 and some Game-birds, use their feet in 

 fighting ; and Coots are also said to 

 employ them for splashing water into 

 the face of an attacking bird of prey. 



(xiv.) Falcons, such as the Peregrine, use 

 their great hind claw — or heel, as it is 

 technically termed — for striking down their 

 prey, when they seize it in their talons 

 before it reaches the ground. 



(xv.) Finally, there is a comb on the 

 feet of Nightjars, the use of which has 

 occasioned much dispute. The most 

 probable explanation seems to be that it is 

 used for combing the legs of beetles and 

 such things from the bristles on the bird's 

 mouth. There is a similar comb on the 

 Bittern's foot, the use of which is not 

 evident. 



In a comparatively short essay it is 

 impossible to do more than touch upon 

 the many uses and forms of birds' feet 

 and legs, and to prove shortly how great 

 is their interest. But quite a brief con- 

 sideration of the subject will suffice to 

 show that it is a study far more interesting 

 than others which at first sight may appear 

 less commonplace. 



(Arbor) Day. 



may be quoted which has been received 

 from a school in a not very promising 

 urban district, where a large "Circle" has 

 been formed of what may be termed Bird 

 and Tree Scouts. One boy on his round 

 in the early morning came upon two 

 soldiers shooting birds. " He told them he 

 belonged to the 'Bird Society,' and they 

 stopped and walked away." Another boy 

 learned during the Easter holidays that 

 birds were being caught on the cliffs at a 

 certain seaside resort. In both cases fur- 

 ther steps were taken by the headmaster 

 on the boys' reports, and the satisfactory 

 results may save many hundreds of birds. 



