CLASS AVE8. 



95 



the bird through the air. Those carried by the hand are 

 longer than those supported by the fore-arm, and the 

 whole can be made to beat the air by the downward 

 stroke of the wing. The feathers of the tail, also, though 

 of no great length in the Goose, are longer than those 

 which cover the body, and can be spread oi;t like a fan, 

 so as to serve as a rudder and guide the bird in its course 

 through the air. 



Whilst the ^^ings or fore-limbs are used in flight, the 

 hind-limbs or legs are used both in walking upon the land 

 and in swimming in the water. The legs are placed so 

 far back (fig. 43) that the animal cannot walk lightly or 

 gracefully, but on the contrary has a waddling and awk- 

 ward gait upon the land. This same circumstance, however, 

 enables the feet to act very efliciently as oars or paddles, 



Fig. 44— A, Head of the Grey Lag Goose ; B, Foot of the domestic Goose. 



when the animal is in the water, and this use of them is 

 greatly facilitated by the peculiar form of the foot. The 

 foot (fig. 44, B) consists of four toes, of which three are 



