﻿56 Bird -Lore 



different. These are true horny-handed sons of the soil, and their claws 

 are stubby, short and blunt. Sharp edges would soon be dulled by scratch- 

 ing, and elongated ones would break. So, with his blunt claws, our Chicken 

 and his family are well provided for. 



The most interesting feet among these gallinaceous birds are those of the 

 Grouse. This ruffed drummer of our woods walks about in summer on 

 slender toes over moss and logs; but when soft, deep snows come, his weight 

 would make it difficult to keep from being buried at every step. So Nature 

 provides him with snow-shoes. From each side of each toe there grows out 

 a broad, horny, comb-like fringe, not a web of skin, which might soon 

 freeze, but rows, as of a myriad extra claws. This distributes his weight so 

 that he trots merrily over snow, through which a fox sinks deep and floun- 

 ders awkwardly at every step. 



But what of the Ptarmigan, that snow-white Grouse of the far North, 

 whose home is amid those frigid, barren regions? This bird is more of a 

 walker than is the Snowy Owl, and its feet would surely freeze during the 

 long, long winters, were they bare of feathers. So we find that scarcely a 

 claw is visible beyond the thick covering of feathers over legs, toes and soles. 

 The pugnacity of the males of this order of birds has become proverbial; 

 almost all are ' 'fighting cocks, ' ' and yet their beaks are not fitted for defence 

 or for offence, nor can they clutch and tear with their claws. Therefore 

 we find spurs widely developed on the tarsus, or upper foot, in fowls, Tur- 

 keys, Pheasants and Peacocks. These spurs they use in their battles and 

 with remarkable skill. In structure, these outgrowths are identical with 

 the horns of antelopes and cows, consisting of a bony projection over which 



grows a sheath of horn. 



We now come to the water-loving 

 birds, and we find that the varying associa- 

 tions of birds with this element have 

 wrought many interesting changes in their 

 feet and legs. Those birds which are con- 

 tent to wade along the shallow margins 

 of ponds and streams require long legs and 

 long toes, the latter to distribute their 

 weight as they walk over the soft, muddy 

 bottoms. Such, broadly speaking, are the 

 Plovers, Sandpipers and Herons. Let us 

 see how the feet of these birds reflect their 

 habits. With the exception of the tribe 

 of Plovers, almost all have four toes. The 

 Plovers have but three, and these are 

 slender and not webbed ; for although they 

 foot of coot, from life usually feed on aquatic forms of life, yet 



