November 



187 



is pure white in 

 winter, so as not to 

 be readily seen upon 

 the snowy ground, 

 but in summer the 

 feathers change to 

 grey and brown, 

 colours which make 

 the bird inconspicu- 

 ous amongst grey 

 rocks and heather. 



Some trumpeter 

 pigeons 1 kept at 

 one time had oddly 

 feathered feet ; one 

 could not imagine 

 for what purpose the 

 feathers grew 

 along the toes ; 

 they seemed 

 neither 

 useful nor 

 ornament- 

 al; I 



came to the conclu- 

 sion that they must 

 be a freak of nature, 

 and one of the 

 results of domesti- 

 cation. 



Grain-eating birds 

 {gallinaceous}, such 

 as turkeys, fowls, 

 pheasants, and a 

 large number of other 

 species, are provided 

 with very strong 

 feet armed with 

 horny toe-nails, to 

 enable them to 

 scratch up the 

 earth in order to 

 find their food. 

 The foot of a 

 common 

 fowl will 

 afford us 

 an ex- 

 a m pie 

 of this 

 class of 

 birds. 



JACANA'S FOOT. 



