EXTERNAL ANATOMY. FEET OP BOPHAGA. 14 ') 
do this^ as in the case of all other scansorial birds ; so 
that they must either he used to cling to the hacks 
of sheep and wool-hearing animals, or round slender 
branches. All the accounts we have confirm the former 
supposition, while the whole structure of the foot shows 
that this bird never walks habitually upon the ground. 
We have merely glanced at these facts, which shows 
the station held by Bvphaga in the circle of the scan- 
sorial creepers, for the purpose of lessening the surprise 
which will be excited among oniithologists by this new 
view of its affinities ; and we shall now describe its foot. 
Although the tarsus is very short, the toes are equally 
so, yet the nails arc disproportionably large ; the lateral 
anterior toes and the hallux (when measured with their 
claws) are equal, but are shorter than tlie tarsus, while 
the claw of the hallux is as long as the toe itself. It 
might be imagined that if this bird really fed, habit- 
ually, upon the backs of catde, the very acuteness of its 
claws woidd inflict more pain upon the animal than 
was felt from the insects which it came to devour. 
Nay, further, tliat the bird could not retain its hold 
upon the ox’s hide without its talons penetrating the 
skin. No theory can be more plausible than this, and yet 
it is denied by the following experiments. Let any 
one take a dried specimen of the Bupkigu that has its 
toes extended in a natural position, and apply the foot 
to the fingers of one hand, while he pulls the specimen 
with the other, exerting the same force, or even greater, 
as he might suppose the bird to do w'ere it alive and 
clinging to his naked hand. This done, he will be 
altogether surprised at finding that tlie claws, so far 
from penetrating the skin, do not create the least 
degree of pain. Let him then make the same experi- 
ment widi the foot of a sparrow-hawk, and if only one 
quarter of the same force is used, the talons occasion 
instant pain, and their points enter the skin ; if the 
force exercised was the same, they would immediately 
be buried in the flesh. Two such opposite effects pro. 
