264 



A YEAR WITH NATURE. 



FOOT OF NIGHTJAR AND 

 PECTINATED CLAW ON MIDDLE TOE. 



claw, the outer toe being clawless. The carrying powers of 

 the Ostrich are well known, also the commercial use of its 

 feathers, but it may not generally be known that it can kick 



as hard as a mule, and that its kick 

 is always in a forward direction. 



From the foot of the Ostrich to 

 that of the Toucan is a far cry, 

 and the two examined closely present 

 a divergence which every true admirer 

 of Nature must enjoy. These birds 

 are noticeable perhaps because of 

 their extraordinary beaks, and the 

 smallness of the foot in comparison 

 certainly causes wonderment and 

 surprise. 



The foot of the Rhea Bird is 

 well worth inclusion in view of the 



fact that it possesses one more toe than the Ostrich, although 

 a bird of somewhat similar structure. The middle toe is 

 much the largest, and all three are 

 armed with stout claws. The plumes 

 of this bird are imported into 

 England in a similar manner to those 

 of the Ostrich, and may often be 

 seen fixed in a handle, so as to 

 form light and delicate dusting 

 brushes. The bird is about five feet 

 high ; it is shy, wary and fleet, and 

 it prefers to run against the wind. 



The King Penguin's foot is remarkable, and a close study 



of it will repay the reader. A 

 sharp claw exists in the place of 

 a hind toe. Travellers tell me that 

 they have waded through thousands 

 of these birds in the Falkland 

 Islands if my memory serves me 

 correctly and have seen them 

 knocked down wholesale. The 

 FOOT OF TOUCAN. grotesqueness of the birds is amusing 



FOOT OF OSTRICH. 



