50 ' CONDITIONS OF THE HIND TOE. 
rare; they are confined, among our birds, in any marked degree, to the two 
genera of Caprimulgide (gen. 114, 115) and the turkey buzzard ( Cathartes, 
gen. 166); but among other Raptores besides Cathartes, such as certain 
owls, and in some pigeons (lowest of Jnsessores, it will be remembered), 
the toe is not quite down, or is even perceptibly uplifted. Technically, how- 
ever, I take all these but the three first named, as having the toe down. It is 
elevated in all our Lasores or Galline (gen. 177 to 188) ; elevated in all our 
waders except the herons, ibises, and spoonbill; the elevation is least marked 
in the rail family, but still plain enough there. It is elevated in ay 
swimming birds, whether lobe-footed, or partly or wholly web-footed ; but 
in the Totipalmate order (Steganopodes, gen. 273 to 278) where it is lateral 
and webbed with the inner toe, the elevation is slight. Now since, curiously 
enough, the only three of our insessorial genera above mentioned (two of 
Caprimulgide, and Cathartes) that have the hind toe well up, have also 
little webs connecting the anterior toes; and since some Raptores are our 
only other Insessores with any such true webs; and since herons, ibises 
and spoonbills are our only birds with such true webs, that have the hind 
toe down, the following rule is infallible for all our birds: Consider the 
hind toe up in every bird with any true webbing or lobing of the front toes, 
except herons and their allies and some birds of prey. The converse, 
also, holds nearly as well; for our only birds with fully-cleft anterior toes, 
and hind toe up, are the rails and gallinules, the black-bellied plover 
(our only 4-toed plover), the turnstone, the woodcock, Wilson’s snipe, and 
most of the true sandpipers. Besides its versatility of position the hind 
toe has © 
§ 88. OTHER NOTABLE CHARACTERS. It is free and simple, in the vast 
majority of birds; in all Insessores, nearly all Cursores, and most WVata- 
tores. In length, it may equal or surpass (with its claw included) the 
longest anterior toe, and generally surpasses at least one or two of them. 
It is never so Jong as when down on a level with the rest; here also, it 
attains its greatest mobility, and among Passeres is virtually provided with a 
special muscle for its apposition with the others in the act of grasping. In 
general, it grows shorter as it gets higher up; and probably in no bird 
where it is truly elevated, is it so long as the shortest anterior toe. It is 
short and barely touches the ground in most waders: shorter still in some 
swimmers, as the gulls, where probably it is functionless; rudimentary in 
one genus of gulls, /issa (284), where it bears no perfect claw; represented 
only by an immovable sessile claw, liable to be overlooked unless carefully 
sought for, in the petrels; it disappears in the birds above named (§ 84), 
and some others. It is never actually. joined by direct soldering to either of 
the other toes, for any noticeable distance ; but is united to the base of the 
inner toe by a web in the loons, and to the whole length of the inner toe in 
all the Steganopodes (fig. 183). But it may be, as it were, independently 
webbed; that is, have a lobe or flap of membrane hanging from it; this con- 
dition is seen in all the sea-ducks (Fuligine, gen. 260 to 270), and in all 
