HOME BIRDS 41 



an answer to the question and she replied, "It has 

 two front toes and two hind ones." Robin, we know, 

 with all other Perching Birds, has three front toes 

 and one hind one, an arrangement which permits 

 him to grasp small twigs. But Downy does not 

 perch, he clings, and his strong, widespreading toes 

 give him a firm grip on the bark. 



The last thing we should expect a bird to do is to 

 sit on its tail; but this is exactly what Downy does. 



Downy's Chisel and Climeir 



The tips of Robin's tail-feathers are rounded and 

 soft, while Downy's are pointed and as stiff as 

 bristles. They stick into the bark and make as good 

 a brace as the belt a telegraph linesman uses when 

 climbing poles. 



We have all seen one of those men with sharp 

 spurs strapped to his feet go up a smooth pole. 

 When he reaches the place at which he wishes to 

 work, he leans back on the strap, which goes around 

 the pole and his body, just as Downy leans back on 

 his tail-feathers. 



