i63


ON CERTAIN IMPERFECTLY KNOWN POINTS IN


THE HABITS AND ECONOMY OF BIRDS.


By F. Finn, B.A., F.Z.S.


DepJity Superintendent of the Indian Musenni.


Although the habits of birds, more especially those

connected with nidification and the care of the young, have been

long and carefully studied, much remains to be done in the

observation of living birds, even when these belong to quite

common and well-known species. This consideration serves me

for an excuse for introducing a few notes which I have been led to

make on certain points, in the economy of birds, which appear

to me to have been insufl&ciently studied, and to have, possibly,

some bearing on the difficult problem of avian classification.

Students of other groups of animals — I may instance Bats and

Butterflies— avail themselves of peculiarities of attitude, etc., in

their subjects for taxonomical purposes, and with regard to

Birds I see no reason why such peculiarities as those to which

I draw attention below should not be taken into consideration

by systematic ornithologists, equall}" with nidificatorj^, distribu-

tional, and dietetic variations.


On the position of the feet in fi^ight among " Picakian"

Birds and Parrots.


I will first notice a point which has latelj^ attracted consider-

able attention among ornithologists — the positions of the feet in

certain groups of birds when the members of these are on the

wing. It ma}' be taken, I think, as fairly settled that Waders

and Waterfowl, Game-birds, Pigeons, and Birds-of-Prey, carry

their feet behind when in full flight, irrespective of the length of

those members. But with regard to the mostl}^ short-legged

Picarics and the Parrots I am not aware that any observations

have been made, and I have therefore taken particular notice of

these birds with the following results : —


To take the Parrots first. I long watched the common

Indian Parrakeets (chiefl}^ PalcEorriis torquatus) when at large,

in order to discover where their legs were placed when the birds

were on the wing ; but owing to the swiftness of their flight, and

the fact that the feet are ordinarily concealed beneath the feathers

of a flying bird, I was unsuccessful, till one day a Palceornis

torquatus got into the Bird Galler}^ of the Museum, and flying to

and fro overhead, gave me an excellent opportunitj^ of observing

that its feet were carried behind. As the gallery is a very large

one, and the bird took long flights, I have no doubt but that this



