384 The Bird 
toes, the latter to distribute their weight as they walk 
over the soft muddy bottom, the former to lift their bodies 
above the surface of the water. Such, broadly speaking, 
are the plovers and sandpipers and herons. Let us see 
how the feet of these birds reflect their habits. With 
the exception of the tribe of plovers, almost all have four 
toes. The plovers have but three, and these are slender 
and not webbed, for although they usually feed on aquatic 
forms of life, yet their food is gleaned from the upper 
part of beaches, or from the sand-flats when the tide is 
out, and they therefore seldom have occasion to swim. 
The sandpipers venture into the shallows and are some- 
times lifted from their feet by a small inrushing wave. 
But the majority even of these go through life unwebbed. 
One, the Semipalmated Sandpiper, shows a beginning of 
this in the half-webbed condition of the toes, but the 
group of phalaropes are actually sandpipers of the sea. 
I have seen them in flocks of thousands, resting upon 
the surface of the ocean, scores of miles from land. Yet 
when ashore they have need to be as active as other mem- 
bers of their Order in order to find sufficient food; so, in- 
stead of being hampered with a confining web, each toe 
has a series of broad scalloped lobes, serving admirably 
as water propellers, yet allowing the toes freedom of motion 
when the owner is scurrying over the sand. 
I have observed Great Blue Herons almost hip-deep 
in the breakers along the Florida beaches, yet this is not 
a usual haunt for members of this group of birds. They 
usually prefer quiet inland waters, where they wade and 
watch—ever striving to satisfy their insatiable hunger. 
