AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRD. O17 
provided the bare shank is longer than the middle 
toe, not counting the claw; and it isa Dvuox if the 
shank is the shorter. Usually geese have the scales on 
the front lower end 
of the shank, netlike 
(reticulate) in pat- 
tern, and ducks have 
the scales on the 
front of the shank 
usually elon- 
gated  cross- 9 
wise and in 3 
not more than ¢ 
two rows (scu- 
i s. 
tellate). But aged (a) and serrate (4) bills of the goose forms 





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Ae 
fF 
the tree ducks (Dendrocygna, not wood ducks) are an 
exception to this, their shanks being reticulate. 
(12) But if the bill is fringed and bent down, the 
bird is a Framineo. Its legs and neck are unusually 
long, and with us it is found usually in Florida only. 
If the tubular nostril appears wzthout the webbed 
foot, go on to paragraph (41), where some goatsuckers 
show a similar nose, like a double-barreled shotgun. 
Sometimes a petrel shows a little fringe on its beak, 
but its style of nostrils prevents any confusion iG 
the goose-duck group. 
(13) Our bird may not have any of the foregoing 
peculiarities. Then we must see if the legs are feath- 
ered down to the joint at the upper end of the shank 
(or tarsus). Ifso, we pass on to paragraph number 
21, unless the bill is soft, long, and slim, for prob- 
