294 HINTS TO ORNITHOLOGISTS. 
would not want it; for it has tremendous spurs on 
its pinions, well adapted, and rightly placed, to 
punish an opponent. 
Were we to estimate the powers of walking in 
the coots by the outward appearance of their feet, 
we might inform the public that “they are such 
bad walkers that they appear to stagger in their 
gait, and that they walk with difficulty and un- 
steadiness.” But when we see them on land, every 
day throughout the winter, feeding on grass with 
the wigeons, except in a great fall of snow, we 
have proof positive, by their aptitude at walking, 
and by their velocity in running, that our judgment 
has been rash, and that our theory is unsound. 
We are informed that jays live more amongst 
trees than upon the ground; and the arboreal pro- 
pensity of this bird is inferred from the shape of its 
toes. Now, let it be remembered, that, with the 
exception of the short periods when garden fruits 
and acorns are ripe, this bird must be upon the 
ground to procure a maintenance. Here, where he 
is protected, he may be seen upon the ground at 
all hours of the day. 
The common wagtail, too, is pronounced to be a 
“ truly terrestrial bird,” on account of the formation 
of his toes. Come hither, and you shall see the 
common wagtail in the daily habit of resorting to 
the trees. 
Those who derive their knowledge of birds from 
the inspection of their external anatomy alone, may 
write on the use of bristles at the mouths of 
birds; and they may, tell us that, in proportion as 
