AV/v/.s and Marmnals 



li\vfrt'ul legs. And in respect to these same 

 legs Hesperornis was different from any other 

 bird with which we are acquainted, for the 

 lower joint, or tarsus, was not directed down- 

 ward, but outward, so that the legs projected 

 on either side like a pair of oars. This is a 

 most remarkable way for a bird to carry its 

 legs, but it is clearly indicated by the various 

 articulations. How the bird managed these 

 legs when it came ashore is a puzzle ; and it had 

 no wings to help it scramble along on all-fours, 

 as penguins sometimes do when in a hurry. 

 The loon is said to be rather helpless on land 

 and to pitch forward on its breast in a very 

 awkward manner, but our Cretaceous diver must 

 have been still more badly off. There is just a 

 possibility, suggested by the back-bone, that it 

 may have humped itself along (there is really 

 no other expression) after the manner of a com- 

 mon seal. It is probable that this bird rarely 

 came ashore except at the breeding season, and 

 on the water it was perfectly at home. Hes- 

 perornis gracilis was, as its name indicates, of 

 more slender build than its royal relative, and 



183 



