COMPARING FEET. 



NOT until we see many birds together do we realize how 

 very unlike they are. No bird looks out of place in its own 

 home unless we catch it doing something quite out of the 

 ordinary. When a wounded heron tries to swim, or a breeding 

 sandpiper alights in a tree, it looks strange and uncouth. But 

 what could be more in keeping than a sandpiper trotting 

 along a pond-side, or a still heron standing in a pool? 

 Structure and habits are so interwoven that from either one 

 something may be inferred of the other. 



Does a bird spend his life oh the wing chasing fish or 

 insects ? Then look to find him furnished with very long 

 wings and very short legs. Short legs, as in the humming- 

 birds, the night-hawks, the swifts, the terns, and others may 

 be taken as almost certainly indicating that the bird has long 

 wings ; for if he does not get his food afoot he must get it on 

 the wing, or else spend all his time in the water. Almost 

 the only exception to this is the woodpecker family, where 

 short legs indicate nothing as to the shape of the wings, their 

 convenience in climbing being enough to explain why they 

 are short. 



On the other hand, long legs are a sign that they have some 

 peculiar use, probably to help the birds to get their food. 

 Though long-legged birds often have very good wings, we find 

 that they use their wings chiefly for safety, and depend upon 

 their legs in picking up a living. -It is always safe to infer 

 that a long-legged bird finds most of its food in shallow water, 



93 



