196 Bird Comrades 



and flitting, his digits should be as free and movable as 

 possible ; and so we find that the toes of the perchers are 

 usually cleft to the base, are long and slender, easily 

 opened and closed, and possess the power to grasp an 

 object firmly. The same is true of the raptorial birds, 

 or birds of prey, which are strong perchers and depend 

 largely for their food supply on clutching their victims 

 while on the wing. In all these birds the hind toe is also 

 well developed, and is on the same plane as the anterior 

 digits a wise adaptation of means to ends. 



But there are other birds whose feet, as some one has 

 said, are good feet, but poor hands that is, they are 

 not intended for prehensile purposes, only for walking 

 and wading. Therefore, in these birds the hind toe is 

 small, and more or less elevated above the plane of the 

 other digits, or, as has already been said, is wholly wanting 

 The feet of some of these birds are partly webbed, so that, 

 if necessary, they can change their mode of locomotion 

 from running and wading to swimming. Birds whose 

 feet are partly webbed are said to be semipalmated. 



This introduces us to that interesting group of birds 

 whose toes are connected throughout their entire length 

 by a thin, membranous web. Their feet are said to be 

 palmated. We can readily understand why they are thus 

 formed, for their webbed feet answer the purpose of oars 

 to propel them over the water. Most of the swimmers 

 have feet of this kind. Watch them glide like feathered 

 craft over the smooth surface of the stream or lake. 



When a swimmer thrusts his foot forward, the toes 



