Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-12-04
THE FEET OF BIRDS.

If we examine the hands of man we
we can usually tell, in a general way, the
Kind of occupation he Is engaged in. The
horny, thick nailed fists of the black
smith. the knottcd fingers of the baseball
player. the calloused finger tips of the
violinist the intelligent hand of the ar
fist and the sensitive, thin skinned fin
gers OF the professional sharper, each
tells the story of its adaptation to a par
ticular purpose. So it is with the feet Of
birds, only their characteristics have been
developed, not i'm a lifetime but during
thousands of years.
The moment we see bird with feet
which are webbed or partially webbed
We shall be safe in coming to the con-
clusion that he gets his living in or about
the water. Grcbes and looms, gulls and
terms. albatrosses and petres, gannets
and peicans, ducks. geese and swans and
many other birds which have more or less
swimming to do have their toes well pro-
Vided with lobes or webs. The webbed
foot is to these birds what the oar is to
the rover. what the paddewheel or the
screw ls to the steamship. When the foot
| moves forward through the waves, it is
| folded up, thus offering the least resist
ance but when the backward stroke is
| made the toes are separated. the web is
| extended like a section of an open UNI
| brclla, and grips the water with a force
which drives the feathered bark along.
Some water birds can swim with great
speed. / have known wounded herring
/ gull TO distance two stout rowers in a
| light boat, and other species are faster
still. But these wcbbed feet are of many
! patterns. The feet of grebcs and phala-
ropes are not fully wobbed. the ends of
/ the toes being provided with flaps or
| lobes. Looms. gulls, ducks. geese and
others have only the three front toes fully
webhcd, while such birds as ganncts cor
I 70,
connected by webs. Certain snipe, sand
pipers, plovers and other birds which get
/ a large part of their food in wet, muddy
or sandy places, have their toes very
slightly lobed or webbed. Other birds
which frequent similar localities have
neither webs nor lobes. but are provided
with very long toes, which keep their
| feet from sinking too deep in the mud
Some of the herons and bitterns are eX-
amples of this class.
! The feet of turkeys, grouse and quail
! like those OF domestic hens. are stout and
strongly made and the toes are provided
with strong, blunt claws. These birds OBJ
tain their food by scratching, and their
! feet are fitted for this rough work
The foot of a bird of prey (other thar
a vulture) may be recognized at once by
its four muscular toes each armed Will
a sharp, curved claw or talon. This i.
the instrument of death with which 4
| hawk or owl strikes down his living prey
and the wise in which he holds it while
he tears it to pieces with his hooked bill
Such feet are rough. like coarse sandpa-
per beneath that they may not slip wher
once they have seized a victim. 1t is d.f
hcult to believe what effective weapons
the talons are unless one has actually seer
them in operation. | once saw man.
finger cut open as with scalpel by Il sin
gle claw Of a small angry hawk which he
I "A taY pH ~ %
| know u man who almost lost his hanl
| from wound inflicted by captive eagle
| which put its talons right through his
palm. The Vultures, though birds Of prey
live upon Carrion, and do not Kill the ami
mails they devour. Their feet, therefore
are far less formidable than those of tn,
hawks and owls, the claws being blum
and the hind toe comparatively small.
The parrots have very interesting fee
with two toes behind and two In front
This arrangement makes it easy for th'
birds to climb and swing head downward
it also enables them to use their feet t.
hold food while they dissect it with thei
bills.
Woodpeckcrs also have their toes ar
ranged two front and two back to enabl
them to climb trees and hang from thu
branches. Unlike parrots, however. the!
cannot use their feet to grasp their food
Such birds as night-hawks, swfts ant
humming birds have very small and fee
BILE feet, and for the very good reason
that they have little use for any limbs ex
cept their wings. They have no large pre-,
to strike down or hold. and they fecc
while in the air. 1t was once common
belief amongst ignorant and unobservau
people that swifts had no feet at all, sine
they were never seen to alight as othe
birds do. The less any limb or organ i
used the weaker it becomes; that is VIII.
people who insist on taking the cars 70
all distances over half a block canno
walk and run as the American Indian
used to do.
The feet Of most Of the perching bird
such as orioles, vircos and warblers ar
slender but much stronger than thes APP
pear to be. They are fitted for graspin,
the twigs and branches Of the trees an,
bushes where the birds spend so much o
their time, Crows, jays and some other
of this order, also use their feet to holt
their food, when they cannot manage /
with their bills alone. Jays will thus holt
nuts and acorns while they hammer then
crow put a piece of bread into the waite
and then hold it with one foot while n
devoured it piecomeal.
Every one knows how the domestic rooS
ter uses his feet when lighting and hoy
terrible a weapon is the natural spur witt
which he not infrequently kills his an
tagonist.
Phcasants and many other birds us
their spurs in the same way, particular
in the breeding season when the riva
males are contendng for their mates.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.