312 HINTS TO ORNITHOLOGISTS. 



the study of internal anatomy to be the basis of the 

 zoological system. 



We may measure the feet of preserved bird-skins 

 \vith rule and compasses, and then draw the conclu- 

 sion, from external appearances, that this foot, for- 

 sooth, is gifted by Nature fo r grasping, and that, for 

 perching : but it will not do. Internal anatomy must 

 be consulted. It alone can let us into the real secret, 

 why all birds which frequent the trees can grasp a 

 branch with the utmost facility, and sit securely 

 there, without any fear of falling from it. 



See the barn-door fowl walking before us ! No 

 sooner does it lift its foot from the ground, than the 

 toes immediately bend inwards. From this natural 

 tendency to contract we draw the conclusion, that a 

 bird is in absolute security when it perches upon a 

 branch. By means of this admirable provision of 

 Nature, the little delicate golden-crested wren can 

 brave the raging tempest, on the top of the loftiest 

 tree, in as perfect safety as the largest bird of the 

 creation. 



Nothing can be more illusory than an attempt to 

 judge of a bird's powers of perching by an external 

 admeasurement of its feet and claws. Our specula- 

 tion is unprofitable, and our judgment is of no avail 

 whatever ; for, after we have laid our rule and com- 

 passes down upon the table, and have left the house 

 to take a walk into the fields, with a full conviction 

 that we have learned our lesson from the dried skin 

 of a bird, we find that the habits of one bird are 

 utterly at variance with those of another, although 

 the proportional anatomy of their feet and claws 



