﻿Legs and Feet of Birds 57 



their food is gleaned from the upper parts of beaches, or from the sand 

 flats, when the tide is out, and they, therefore, seldom have occasion to 

 swim. The Sandpipers venture into the shallows and are sometimes lifted 

 from their feet by small inrushing 

 waves. But the majority even of 

 these birds go through life without 

 webs. One, the Semi-palmated 

 Sandpiper, shows a beginning of a 

 change in the half -webbed con- 

 dition of the toes, but the group 

 of Phalaropes are actually Sand- 

 pipers of the sea. I have seen 

 them in flocks of thousands, rest- 

 ing upon the surface of the ocean, 

 scores of miles from land. Yet, 

 when ashore, they must be as ac- 

 tive as other members of their 

 class, in order to find sufficient 

 food; so, instead of being ham- 

 pered with a confining web, each FOOT OF call.nule, from life 

 toe has a series of broad, scalloped lobes, serving admirably as water pro- 

 pellers, and yet allowing the toes freedom of motion when their owner is 

 scurrying over the sand. 



I have seen Great Blue Herons almost hip deep in the breakers along 

 the Florida beaches, yet this is not a usual haunt for members of this group 

 of birds. They usually prefer quiet inland waters, where they wade and 

 watch — ever striving to satisfy their insatiable hunger. So, in the case of 

 Herons, webs would be superfluous, length of limb being their only require- 

 ment. 



On the borderland of the fully webbed aquatic birds we find the 

 Flamingo, combining characters of the Herons and the Ducks. Its haunts 

 are the exposed coral flats of tropical Keys, where at any time a high tide 

 may sweep all, old and young, from their feet. Then it is lucky indeed that 

 the youngsters have webs between their toes, in addition to their long legs. 



In the great class of sea-birds and in the Ducks and their allies, the 

 three front toes are joined together by a web of skin, which, when swim- 

 ming, offers a large area of resistance to the water when the foot is pushed 

 backward. 



To the Gannets, Pelicans, Tropic Birds and Cormorants is applied the 

 name Steganopodes; because the toes of these birds are all bound together 

 in a single web. The hind toe points almost in a forward direction when 

 the foot is in action, and to complete its adaptation for a perfect swimming 

 foot, the outer toe is the longest, — a unique condition among birds. 



