A STUDY IN BIRDS' CLAWS, TALONS, AND FEET. 265 



and comical, so they say, but for all that it is a noble 

 looking bird, and a formidable one. The Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild showed me some marvel- 

 lous specimens of both the bird 

 whose foot I have illustrated, and 

 the Emperor, which he has located 

 in his wonderful collection at Tring 

 Park. One member of this family, 

 is called the Jackass Penguin, a name 

 that will be appreciated when my 



rr e J FOOT OF RHEA. 



remarks as to the strange attitudes 

 the bird throws off are understood. 



The mimicing, chattering Starling is worthy of a place in 

 the concluding stages of this article, if, for no other reason, 



because of its usefulness to man, 

 though its foot is of so simple 

 a character that, placed side by 

 side with some of the nobler 

 examples I have dealt with, 

 variance is noticeable of a very 

 interesting description. But just 

 a word on its behalf as a boon to 

 the Agriculturist and the Horti- 

 culturist. A single pair of these birds will get rid of more 

 than 12,000 grubs in 4 months, and most destructive grubs too! 

 He tries hard to sing, indeed possesses the art of mimicry in 

 a marked degree. One I had in 

 my possession imitated the Cuckoo, 

 Woodpecker and Duck to perfec- 

 tion but, alas, poor ' Nigger ' has 

 now gone over to the great majority. 

 The last bird on my list is the 

 Osprey, or Fishing Hawk. A 

 truly wonderful foot does it 

 possess, which it uses to great 

 advantage in its fishing exploits. 



A few pairs still breed in the British Isles, but the bird is 

 becoming very scarce, another reason for wonderment, unless 

 it is to be attributed to the eagerness of Collectors who hunt 



FOOT OF KING PENGUIN. 



FOOT OF STARLING. 



