Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-07-31
BIRDS LEGS AND FEET.
Organs Second Only to the Beak i
the Variety of Their Uses.

the variety OF ineir uses.
William Beebe, Curator of Orni.hol-
ogy. New York Geological Society. in
Newport, r. l.. News.-Second only to
beaks, in the variety o. uses which
they subserve, are the feet and legs of
birds. Compared to the rest OF the
birds body, these portions have under
some the least change in appearance
since the era of toothed birds and the
reign of the Archaeopteryx, that an
cient connecting link, half-reptile, half
bird.
No matter whether the tiny limbs of
a humming bird or the gigantic shank
of an ostrich are considered, all are
covered with scales, most emlathic
reminders of the reptilian ancestry of
both these extreme forms of feafhered
life. The real foot of bird as the
word is used in speaking of other ami,
mails, extends to the backward bend
ing joint. or heel, so that part OF the
lower leg is concealed by the feathers
and skin, while the upper leg, or thigh,
is sometimes wholly within the body.
Although birds are descended from
five-toed ancestors, yet the fifth toe
has entirely disappeared, The dispo.
sition of the remaining four. three or
two toes, as the case may be. is al.
ways in accordance with the habits of
the respective bird. When an animal
acquires great speed in running or
leaping. the tendency is for one toe to
become greatly enlarged at the ex-
pense of others, as in the case of the
horse and kangaroo. The ostrich shows
this very plainly, and its two mighty
toes, one much the larger, enable 1t to
run with remarkable swiftness. The
other extreme is found in any bird
which keeps so much on the wing that
its feet have fallen into disuse; thus
the very small feet and toes OF the
chimney swift show how little use feet
may be in some birds.
In the cages and aviaries of the New
York Geological Park. we may see
many interesting ways In which birds
make use of their feet The burrow-
ing owls make their little round bur
rows with only their toes for pick and
shovel. They kick little circular hol-
low in their pile of sand, then work
downward, making trip after trip from
the entrance as deep as they have
dug, kicking the dirt behind them at
each step. Their cousins, the owls
which nest In hollow trees, use their
sharper talons only to catch their prey,
and then to hold 1t firmly while they
J tear it to pieces with the beak.
Parrots use their feet for more
different purposes than any other kind
of bird-they are the monkeys OF the
feathered world. They cuimb wires or
! branches one step after another, their
beall taking the place of third foot
in this style of locomotion. They pick
up food, such as banana or nut, and
hold 1t while eating, turning 1t from
side to side, as we revolve an apple in
our hand. With their feet they preen
their plumage and push each other
aside when too closely crowded, and
not the least remarkable is the habit
which some parrots have, of hanging
by the feet from the top of their cage
when asleep.
The peculiar formation or the foot
two toes in front and two behind
which is found in parrots and owls is
adapted to many other uses. The
woodpeckers have It. and here It en-
ables them fairly to defy gravity,
hitching UP perpendicular tree trunks.
while road runners, a variety OF ground
cuckoo. with this same arrangement
OF the toes, can run with wonderful
rapidly. often distancing horse, for
several hundred yards.
Perching birds have, as a rule, three
toes in front and one behind. They
nave most admirable arrangement,