100 NATURE-STUDY 



forward, and is between the tibia ("drumstick") and the 

 femur ("second joint"). The latter is generally not con- 

 spicuous in a feathered bird and is often within the body. 



The feet of birds are varied and wonderfully adapted 

 to their habits. Swimmers have webbed paddle feet, shore 

 and marsh birds have partially webbed feet, or their toes are 

 bordered with lobes or membranous margins that enable 

 them to walk on swampy ground. Birds of prey have 

 powerful grasping feet with long, sharp, and curving claws, 

 adapted well to seize and carry off their prey. Perching 

 birds have three toes in front and one behind, which are 

 admirably suited to grasping a limb. The grasping is 

 automatic, and the bird when asleep on the perch is in no 

 danger of loosening its hold and falhng off. Woodpeckers 

 that run up the side of a tree and have to cling there while 

 pecking into the wood have strong feet with two toes in front 

 and two behind. Birds, like the chicken, that scratch for a 

 living have the hind toe somewhat raised and shorter than 

 the others. This is probably to keep the hind toe out of 

 the way while scratching. 



The bills of birds are as varied as their feet, if not more 

 so. They are beautifully adapted to the food and feeding 

 habits of the bird. There are the strong hooked beaks of 

 the hawks and owls, well suited for holding and tearing the 

 prey; the strong conical bills of the seed and grain eaters, 

 for picking and shelhng the seeds; the more slender and 

 softer bills of the insect-eating birds; the long, slender bills 

 of storks and herons, well adapted for work in the swamps 

 and edges of ponds; the long and often touch-sensitive bills 

 of the shore birds which poke around in the mud for their 

 food; there are strainers for the ducks; pouched beaks for 



