Bird Study 



39 



THE FEET OF BIRDS 



Teacher's Story 



BVIOUSLY, the hen is a digger of the soil; her claws 

 are long, strong and slightly hooked, and her feet 

 and legs are covered with homy scales as a protec- 

 tion from injury when used in scratching the hard 

 earth, in order to lay bare the seeds and insects 

 hiding there. The hen is a very good runner indeed. 

 She lifts her wings a little to help, much as an 

 athletic runner uses his arms, and so can cover 

 ground with amazing rapidity, her strong toes giv- 

 ing her a firm foothold. The track she makes is 

 very characteristic; it consists of three toe-marks 

 projecting forward and one backward. A bird's 

 toes are numbered thus: 

 A duck 

 has the same number of toes as 

 the hen, but there is a membrane, 

 called the web, which joins the 

 second, third and fourth toes, mak- 

 ing a fan-shaped foot; the first or 

 the hind toe has a little web of its 

 own. A webbed foot is first of all 

 a paddle for propelling its owner 

 through the water; it is also a very useful foot on the shores of ponds 

 and streams, since its breadth and flatness prevent it from sinking into 

 the soft mud. 



The duck's legs are shorter than those of the hen and are placed farther 

 back and wider apart. The reason for this is, they are essentially swim- 

 ming organs and are not fitted for scratching nor for running. They are 

 placed at the sides of the bird's body so that they may act as paddles, and 

 are farther back so that they may act like the wheel of a propeller in 



Duck's foot and hen's foot with 

 toes numbered. 



Rouen ducks. The Rouens are colored like the Wild Mallards. 



