BIRD GENEALOGY 



ever, their arboreal ancestry by bopping more 

 than tbey run. Pipits, horned larks and Ips- 

 wich sparrows have so completely departed 

 from arboreal habits, that they run easily and 

 walk with grace. Walking appears to be ac- 

 quired later than running. It is a very in- 

 teresting fact that the Savannah sparrow, 

 frequenter of meadows and marshy pastures, 

 generally hops even when on smooth ground, 

 although it is also a good runner, while its 

 near relative, the Ipswich sparrow, frequenter 

 of sandy wastes, almost never hops and is a 

 good walker. 



Herons, as far as I know, although con- 

 stantly in the water, very rarely swim, but 

 that they come of a swimming ancestry seems 

 probable from the behavior of a young green 

 heron not old enough to fly that I put in the 

 water. It sat erect on the surface and swam 

 off with a grace and ease that contrasted 

 forcibly with its awkward movements on land. 

 Not only was its poise graceful and swan-like, 

 but the speed with which it swam, the prac- 

 tised manner in which it feathered its un- 

 gainly toes, the ease with which it threaded 

 its way among the grass stalks, and dabbed 

 every now and then at the water with its bill, 



291 



