VERTEBRATA 



171 



-Ve 



and jacanas. The toes are three or four in number, 



with the hind one when present elevated above the 



others, the legs are long, 



slender, and bare be- 

 low. The phalaropes have 



webbed toes and can swim. 



They feed mainly upon 



worms and crustaceans 



which they dig out of the 



mud or from under stones 



with their long bills. 



12. Columbce, or pigeons 



and doves, have wings for 



prolonged flight, and slen- 

 der legs, fitted rather for an 



arboreal life, with toes not 



united, and the hind toe on FIG. i 53 . Ringdove 



a level with the rest. Their 



mode of drinking is peculiar, the head not being raised 



when the water 

 is swallowed. 

 The passenger 

 pigeon, which 

 was formerly 

 very abundant 

 in some sections 

 of the country, 

 seems to be 

 approaching ex- 

 tinction. Wilson, 

 the ornitholo- 

 gist, saw a flock 



FIG. 154. Foot of parrot and woodpecker. jj^ I 808 in JCen- 



tucky in which he estimated there were 2,230,272,000 

 individuals. At present the bird is seen only occa- 



