28 FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. 
water-loving Divers, Auks, Gulls, Cormorants, and Ducks. 
In the wading Herons and marsh-inhabiting Rails and 
Gallinules the web is absent, but it reappears in the form 
of lobes on the toes of the aquatic Coots of the same 
family. 
Some shore-inhabiting Snipe have the bases of the 
toes united by webs, but the Phalaropes, of two species, 
have lobed toes not unlike those of the Coots, and are 
true swimming Snipe living on the sea for long periods. 
Length of foot is largely dependent upon length of 
neck. This is illustrated by the Herons, and is particu- . 
larly well shown by the 
long-necked Flamingo, 
which has a foot twelve — 
inches long. Its toes 
are webbed, and it can 
wade in deep water and 
search for food on the 
bottom by immersing 
its long neck and _ its 
head. | 
In the tropical Ja- 
canas the toes and toe- 
nails are much length- 
ened, enabling the bird 
to pass over the water 
on aquatic plants. I 
have seen these birds 
walking on small lily 
leaves, which sank be- 
Fic. 14.—Flamingo, showing relative length ; ° j 
of legs and’ neck in wading bird. neath their weight, giv- 
M duced. i i i 
(Much reduced.) ing one the impression 
that they were walking on the water (see Fig. 10). 
Many ground-feeding birds use the feet in scratching 
for food; Chickens are familiar examples. Towhees and 
