WINGS AND FEET 



to be ready to seize their perch, and as far as 

 I know this is always the case. The crow is our 

 largest common perching bird, but its black 

 colour of plumage and feet alike make it 

 difficult to observe the point in question. A 

 crow in rising on the wing often lets its feet 

 hang at first, and then draws them up in front 

 in an exceedingly leisurely manner. When 

 well under way the feet are close against the 

 breast, and are held there I am inclined to 

 believe, even in long flights, for I have several 

 times observed crows from a point on a sea 

 beach where I could follow their flight for a 

 long distance, and, as they passed me, their 

 feet were always in front. The feet are some- 

 times dropped slightly so that daylight can 

 be seen between them and the breast, or held 

 so closely to the breast that only the clenched 

 toes can be seen, and these in some cases are 

 entirely buried in the feathers. If the bird 

 had only been so obliging as to have white 

 feet, these observations would have been much 

 easier. 



I have also seen the feet when the birds were 

 in full flight in the case of swallows, blackbirds, 

 robins, the familiar house sparrow of the 



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