The Chorus of the Forest 



While I pliotographed it a rustling among tlie 

 deep leaves called my attention to the typical bii'd 

 of the forest floor, but this was not our first meet- A Ground 

 ing; in fact, mc were old acquaintances, and one J^"*"*:""! 

 box of negatives in my closet at home recorded all 

 of its nesting history that I could seciu-e with a 

 camera. Studies of this bird are unusual, at least 

 I am fairly well informed along this line, and I 

 never have seen any published. It is typical of 

 the forest floor. It not only builds and raises its 

 young on earth, but finds food there, scratching 

 like an exemplary hen, with feet working alter- 

 nately, and also surpassing her by using both 

 feet at once, in a manner she never learned. It 

 has scratched and scratched until from much 

 scratching its length of toe and nail has developed 

 into its most conspicuous part. On the same prin- 

 ciple, but in different members, the heron has 

 evolved its long legs by A\'ading among the reeds. 

 Because constant flight kee])s them useless, two of 

 a kingfisher's toes are yet grown together and do 

 not separate as do those of ])erching birds. You 

 only have to notice the feet of this family group 

 to observe the extraordinary length of toe and nail, 

 even in the young. 



I suspect you are wondering why I do not tell 

 their name. There is no necessity. The bird ])re- 

 fers to introduce itself. Indeed, there is every 

 probability you have heard it do so many times, 



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