Page:Bird-lore Vol 08.djvu/81

 Legs and Feet of Birds 57 their food is gleaned from the upper parts of beaches, or from the sand flats, when the tide is out, and they, therefore, seldom have occasion to swim. The Sandpipers venture into the shallows and are sometimes lifted from their feet by small inrushing waves. But the majority even of these birds go through life without webs. One, the Semi-palmated Sandpiper, shows a beginning of a change in the half -webbed con- dition of the toes, but the group of Phalaropes are actually Sand- pipers of the sea. I have seen them in flocks of thousands, rest- ing upon the surface of the ocean, scores of miles from land. Yet, when ashore, they must be as ac- tive as other members of their class, in order to find sufficient food; so, instead of being ham- pered with a confining web, each FOOT OF call.nule, from life toe has a series of broad, scalloped lobes, serving admirably as water pro- pellers, and yet allowing the toes freedom of motion when their owner is scurrying over the sand. I have seen Great Blue Herons almost hip deep in the breakers along the Florida beaches, yet this is not a usual haunt for members of this group of birds. They usually prefer quiet inland waters, where they wade and watch — ever striving to satisfy their insatiable hunger. So, in the case of Herons, webs would be superfluous, length of limb being their only require- ment. On the borderland of the fully webbed aquatic birds we find the Flamingo, combining characters of the Herons and the Ducks. Its haunts are the exposed coral flats of tropical Keys, where at any time a high tide may sweep all, old and young, from their feet. Then it is lucky indeed that the youngsters have webs between their toes, in addition to their long legs. In the great class of sea-birds and in the Ducks and their allies, the three front toes are joined together by a web of skin, which, when swim- ming, offers a large area of resistance to the water when the foot is pushed backward. To the Gannets, Pelicans, Tropic Birds and Cormorants is applied the name Steganopodes; because the toes of these birds are all bound together in a single web. The hind toe points almost in a forward direction when the foot is in action, and to complete its adaptation for a perfect swimming foot, the outer toe is the longest, — a unique condition among birds.