396 The Bird 
one quarter as large; and indeed it bids fair to disappear 
altogether in the course of time, and even now the dimin- 
utive nail which is often present is only as large as the 
claw of a chicken. 
The power of the ostrich to defend itself by kicking 
is proverbial, but the claw on the 
large toe is blunt and the ability to 
inflict injury lies in the terrible force 
of the blow. Its ally, the cassowary, 
has three good-sized toes, and on 
the innermost one a specially adapt- 
ed weapon in the shape of a strong, 
pointed, talon-like claw, four inches 
in length. 
The two photographs (Figs. 312 
and 313) show how similar’ the 
tracks which the modern cassowary 
makes in walking over moist clay, 
are to those made by the bipedal 
reptilian Dinosaurs millions of years 
ago, which have been found in the 
Connecticut valley. 
Fic. 312.—Tracks of Casso- Thus in our brief review we have 
i ce seen how the feet and legs of birds 
serve them well in walking, hopping, running, perch- 
ing, scratching, climbing, burrowing, swimming, diving, 
in addition to the finding of their food, fighting, 
preening their feathers, and in countless other ways. 
The story of the bird’s foot has not half been told, 
