COLYMBID.I:. '231 



short : the legs arc placed very far back on the ab- 

 domen : the tarsi are much compressed : the feet arc 

 either entirely webbed, or the margins only of the 

 toes are furnished with lobes : the toes are three in 

 number in some of the genera, and four in the others: 

 the tail is very short. 



This family may be readily divided into two sec- 

 tions, from the structure of the feet ; the first having 

 them entirely palmated, and the toes terminated 

 by pointed claws : in this section are included the 

 genera Colymbus and Uria, the former of which 

 only possesses a hinder toe, which is furnished with 

 a lobe. The second section comprises the genera 

 Podiceps and Podoa, and the feet are constructed 

 similarly to those of the Coots, the toes being united 

 at the base only by a web, and ornamented on their 

 edges with lobes ; the Podose having the hinder toe 

 simple, and the Podicepes lobated. The backward 

 position of the legs of these birds renders their walk 

 very inelegant, and obliges them, when on land, to 

 stand nearly upright ; but this is amply compensated 

 by the facilities that structure renders them while 

 swimming or diving, at both of which they are very 

 expert. The birds of the second division fly very 

 badly, from the brevity of their wings, but the rest 

 fly well though rarely. 



