138 SPECIES NOT 



serts into holes and chinks for the larvae of insects, 

 may, nevertheless, be frequently seen feeding on 

 the ground. Why should not a woodpecker in 

 America wander away from the forests, and do 

 likewise? Then again we are told that there 

 are upland geese, with webbed feet, that rarely 

 or never go near water. Now the word 'rarely' 

 is a saving clause, and may be said equally of 

 our domestic geese, which are seen feeding on 

 some common from morning to night, and as 

 rarely going into water. 



If civilization takes away our swamps without 

 destroying our water-hens or land-rails, why should 

 not the former abide by the rivers and ponds, 

 and the latter seek drains and ditches as a sub- 

 stitute? According to Mr. Darwin's theory, the 

 character of the wading legs in those birds ought 

 to be altering. Is it so? Certainly not! Mr. 

 Darwin says that nobody but Audubon has ever 

 seen the frigate-bird, a partially web-footed bird, 

 alight on the surface of the water. But Nuttall, 

 an equally good observer, says they frequently slim 

 the surface of the sea, or plunge into it after 

 fish, in both of which operations, there can be no 

 doubt, their webs are of the greatest use, and the 

 exceptional case mentioned by Audubon, proves 

 that they do sometimes, though rarely, alight on 

 its surface. Their destiny is not, however, either 

 swimming or diving, and many birds have their 

 toes more or less connected with membrane, as 

 the goshawk, which the frigate-bird may be con- 

 sidered to represent among aquatic birds. 



