i6 



GENERAL DEFINITIONS. 



leg of a quadruped as far down as the ankle-joint. 

 The first joint which appears is one the convexity of 

 which looks backwards ; this is the ankle-joint. The 

 slender, naked, and scaly part thence downward, is 

 anatomically the foot of the bird, ending in the toes, 

 on which latter alone the bird rests. Recallincr the 

 appearance of a fowl as usually brought to table, the 

 reader will perceive that the wholeybc/ of the bird has 



FrG. 4. — Feet, c, ordinary passerine foot (tarsus and toes), with tarsus scuiellate in 

 front, " booted " on the sides and behind, b, foot of Pigeon, scutellate in front, 

 rettculate on sides, a, foot of Plover, entirely reticulate- 



been removed ; the "drumstick,'' as it is called, is that 

 part of the limb between the ankle and the knee, cor- 

 responding to the " shin " of man, while what is known 

 as the "second joint" in carving, is the thigh, or that 

 part between the knee and the hip. The terms "leg" 

 and "foot" are very loosely applied to birds. In some 

 birds, especially the Waders, the lower part of the leg 

 or shin is naked, and protrudes from the general cov- 

 ering of the body; but ordinarily the whole leg, as 

 well as the thigh, is hidden in the feathers. ^ 



