386 



The Bird 



great pads of water-lilies, which in places cover miles of 

 water, over whose trembling surfaces the birds are able 

 to run or walk. To enable them to do this without sink- 

 ing, both the toes and claws are remarkably long and 

 slender, so that in a bird which stands but ten or eleven 

 inches in height the weight is distributed over an area 

 of some fifty square inches. This makes it possible for 

 them to feed in places too deep for wading birds and too 



Fig. 302.- Gallinule holding food in its foot. 



tangled with aquatic vegetation for swimmers readily to 

 make their way. This is but another forceful example of 

 the successful adaptive radiation of birds. 



Gallinules have found that their long toes can be made 

 useful in other ways besides locomotion, and we find that 

 they are well-nigh as skilful as a parrot in grasping and 

 holding. One of these birds perhaps spies a tuft of 

 water-soaked reeds. He clasps it firmly, draws it up, 

 and, holding it in the air near his bill, picks the small 

 worms and snails from among the stems, finally discarding 



