322 



The Bird 



so much like a human hand, it is not a good walking foot. 

 When a parrot is in great haste to reach some object 

 on the ground without flying, it waddles awkwardly, " toe- 

 ing in" and frequently tripping up. When this happens, 

 out fly the wings, and, as if reverting to some clouded 

 memory of the habits of its pre-Jurassic forefathers, it 

 walks on all fours. A young Canada Goose, when climb- 

 ing about its nest, or a Fish Hawk in the downy nestling 



FIG. 257. Nestling Catbird, supporting itself, lizard-like, on all four limbs. 



plumage, does the same thing, and young birds of many 

 species, when too young to stand, push themselves along 

 the ground with feet and wings; a young grebe doubtless 

 being the most accomplished in this motion. In certain 

 adult birds, such as the swan, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, 

 and the various ostrich-like birds, there are perfect claws 

 at the tips of one or more of the skin-bound wing-fingers. 

 These are true relics of a lizard-handed ancestry. 



Before going on to find the more curious uses to which 



