12 OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS. 
notice that they do not really scratch, as at first sight 
they seem to do, but hop quickly on both feet with 
their toes spread far apart. They hop so fast that you 
can scarcely see their feet through the flying chaff. 
It is hard to be quite certain whether a bird walks 
or hops when it is after its food on the ground. Some 
of them, like the sparrows and towhees, have a quick, 
jerky pace that looks like a very fast run. 
Some birds never run or hop on their feet. The fly- 
catchers and humming-birds belong to this class. Yet 
these birds are not cripples. ‘Their tiny legs are fitted 
only to hold them on the perch. If they wish to catch 
an insect the length of their bill away, they will fly to 
get it, just as if it were across the yard. Their wings 
are so strong and move so quickly that these birds do 
not need to walk or run. They sip their honey or 
snatch flies and spiders while on the wing. 
All birds are alike in many habits, just as people all 
over the world have some ways in common. Yet there 
are some birds who are very different from all others. 
Indeed, there are so many things to know about them, 
that it is difficult to know just where to begin. 
What kind of clothes do birds wear? What do they 
eat, and when is their meal-time, and how do they fly? 
How do they make their nurseries or nests, and how do 
they know just how large these ought to be? Do birds 
talk and laugh and play at games? What sort of a 
mother does a bird make, and what do the father birds 
think of the babies? Do birds have a childhood after 
