THE BUILDING OF A BIRD 39 



" I know ! " exclaimed Dodo, " toe-nails ! Only I 

 tliink they need cutting ! " 



" Of course they are toe-nails," said the Doctor. 

 '' Don't nails grow on the ends of toes ? All kinds of 

 claws, on the ends of birds' and other animals' toes, 

 are the same as nails. Some are long, sharp, and 

 curved, like a cat's or a SparroAv's, and some are flat 

 and blunt, like ours. I could show you some birds 

 with claws that look just like our finger-nails. Toes, 

 too, are pretty much the same ; only this Sparrow, like 

 most other birds, has but four, with three of them in a 

 line in front, and the other one pointing backward. 

 That is what makes its foot as good as a hand to hold 

 on with when it perches on slender twigs. Almost all 

 birds have their toes fixed that way. Some, that do 

 not perch, have no hind toe; and birds that swim have 

 broad webs stretched between their front toes, like 

 Ducks. All the different kinds of feet birds have are 

 fitted for the ways they move about on the ground, or 

 water, or among the branches of trees and bushes, just 

 as all their shapes of beaks are fitted for the kind of 

 food they eat and the way they pick it up. Here are 

 two pictures that will show you several different kinds 

 of feet. Now you must answer the next question, 

 Nat ; what do toes grow on ? " 



" Feet I " said Nat promptly, then adding : " But 

 this Sparrow hasn't any feet except its toes ; they 

 grow on its legs, because the rest of the horny part 

 stands up — I've noticed that in Canaries." 



"But all this horny part is the foot, not the leg," 

 answered the Doctor, '' though it does stand up, as you 

 say. How could toes grow from legs without any feet 



