161 
An Ornithological Letter from Mentone. 
one toe directed backwards, which somewhat resembles that 
of the Lark, measuring altogether If inch, and the nail alone 
i^ths of an inch. The three anterior claws are, then, the 
instruments of attachment; and the vertical transits are chiefly 
made by means of the long posterior claw, the impetus being 
given by the shortening of some tendon, which causes it to ap¬ 
proach the three anterior, while its whole length acts as a lever 
against the rock; and thus the start is made. 
I have so far attempted to explain what is to me the most 
interesting habit of the Tichodroma, and I have perhaps been 
somewhat too bold in defining it solely on my own authority. 
The attempt is the result of five months* careful study of the 
point, and is given here because I know that it is the belief 
of many observers that the bird flits up from stage to stage, 
using the wings as the principal motive power. I deny this 
supposition, for two reasons,—firstly, because the Tichodroma 
is furnished with feet beautifully adapted for this very pur¬ 
pose; and secondly, because the wing is, during these trajets, so 
slightly expanded that it could not even support the weight 
of the body, much less propel it against the powerful influ¬ 
ence of its own specific weight. The Tichodroma, when seen 
alive and in its natural haunts, cannot be minutely described. 
Unless we use a very powerful glass, we are unable, for instance, 
to get much idea of the beak and legs, the general idea conveyed 
being of a bird something like a Nuthatch, with grey body and 
dark wings, on the upper parts of which predominates fine crim¬ 
son colour, and lower down are two rows of circular white spots. 
So much we get from casual observation. 
But, beside having a wonderful foot, the bird has also a won¬ 
derful beak—an instrument as well suited to the search in the 
cracks of the rock as is the bill of the Dunlin for probing after 
worms in the soft mud. While talking about this bill, I must 
mention a curious fact, stated by M. Bailly in his ‘ Ornithologie 
de la Savoie/ where he says, “ The Tichodroma varies most of all 
in the size of its beak; it is not rare to find, as in the Hoopoe 
and Creepers, some individuals even of mature age in which this 
organ may be from -^ths to T 7 oths of an inch longer ( f soit de 
9-15 million plus long*) than in the greater part of their 
