54 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



sleep. As a matter of fact, the muscles and tendons of 

 a bird's hind -limb are so arranged that, to use the 

 words of Mr. F. W. Headley, "when the leg bends 

 at the ankle, there is a pull upon the tendons, the 

 muscles are stretched, the toes are bent and grasp the 

 perch on which the bird sits. Thus he is maintained 

 by his own weight, which bends the leg and so causes 

 the toes to grip." Thanks to this feature of their 

 anatomy, passerine birds are able to sleep on branches 

 of trees out of reach of prowling beasts of prey. 



The great force with which a bird grasps its perch 

 is worthy of note. As every hawker is aware, a falcon, 

 when carried on the wrist, grips the leather gauntlet so 

 tightly as to almost stop the circulation of the blood in 

 the hand of the carrier. A fox cannot open its mouth 

 when once its snout is in the iron grip of an eagle. 

 Examples of the power of the grip of the foot of a 

 passerine bird will occur to every one who has had much 

 to do with our feathered friends. Crows habitually 

 roost in the topmost branches of trees, which must be 

 very violently shaken in a gale of wind ; yet the birds 

 never seem to lose their hold. 



I have said that the habits of the spotted munia are 

 those of the amadavat ; what was said of the latter 

 applies to the former, with one exception. The spotted 

 munia is no songster. Those who keep the bird must 

 have seen him go through all the motions of singing, 

 with a considerable display of energy, but scarcely a 

 sound seems to issue. You may perhaps hear the 

 feeblest noise, like that made by a wheezy and de- 

 crepit mosquito. When you see the bird's mandibles 



