THE CLASS BIEDS. 319 



have a reference to the mode of life and habits of the animal. 

 In the cassowary (Fig. 282) and ostrich (Fig. 296), birds as 

 rapid in running as the horse, the paws are not only robust, 

 but long, and the feet comparatively small.* In the messenger 

 (the falco serpentarius, or secretary bird), which pursues 

 serpents as his food, following them with long strides, this 

 conformation of the foot is also observed. In the eagle (Fig. 

 295), falcon, vulture, &c., these organs are not merely robust, 

 but strong, and the toes are armed with talons, large, hooked, 

 and sharp, with which they seize, tear, destroy, and carry off 



Fig. 298. Cassowary of New Holland; the Emeu. 



their prey. Birds destined to live by the margins of rivers, 

 and to hunt for worms and fishes in shallow waters, or by 

 wading, have the limbs (pattes) slender, of great length, and 

 naked, or without feathers as far as the knee (Fig. 297) ; hence 

 their name of echassiers, or waders. Finally, in some species 

 the feet (pattes, digital part of the foot) are palmated, and 

 thus converted, by an expansion of the integuments, into a 

 kind of oar. The laxity of this membrane permits of the 

 full expansion of the foot, as may be seen in ducks (Fig. 300), 

 swans, and in a great number of aquatic birds. 



* In the original it is, " Les pattes sont non seulement robustes, mais 

 tres-longues, et le pied comparativement petit." But in the word foot 

 (pied), anatomists include always and in every animal the three regions of 

 the toes, tarsus, and metatarsus. K. K. 



