The Feet of Birds. 41 



Great Britain, for to this day most of the birds exposed for sale 

 in the markets at St. Petersburg and elsewhere are first deprived 

 of their beaks, and thus some of the rarest specimens are irre- 

 mediably mutilated. 



These and many other equally absurd fictions relating to birds 

 it is the part of the ornithologist to overthrow ; to do which we 

 have but to bid men look into the page of nature ; and the more 

 we read it, the more truly shall we learn to appreciate the 

 wonderful works of God. 



ON THE FEET. 



No less remarkable as suited to their several requirements, no 

 less various, and therefore no less characteristic of the family to 

 which they belong than the beaks, are the feet of birds. These 

 are so perfectly framed for the various uses to which their respec- 

 tive possessors must apply them, and differ so very widely in 

 construction one from another, that a glance at the foot will 

 generally point out to the observer what the habits and what the 

 nature of the bird must be. 



All birds resemble one another in this particular up to a 

 certain point viz., in that all are bipeds, and the legs which 

 support their feet are invariably composed of three parts ; these 

 are, the thigh, which is very high up, very short, and quite out of 

 sight ; the leg, or ' tibia/ which inexperienced observers are apt 

 erroneously to call the thigh ; and the instep, or ' tarsus/ which 

 is as often falsely called the leg. It is this last part (the ' tarsus ') 

 which alone is much seen, the remaining parts being usually 

 concealed by the body and the feathers of the bird. Beyond this 

 point of general structure, in which the legs of all birds partici- 

 pate, and in which they also resemble the human leg (though the 

 extreme length of the instep and the shortness and concealment 

 of the thigh have caused very general errors on the subject), they 

 differ from one another in many ways ; thus, some are extremely 

 long, others are exceedingly short; some are quite bare of 

 feathers, others are entirely clothed with them ; some are plated, 

 as it were, with scales, others are smooth ; some are thick and 



