Identifier: birditsformfunct07beeb (find matches)
Title: The bird, its form and function
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Birds Birds
Publisher: New York : Henry Holt
Contributing Library: Internet Archive
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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Text Appearing Before Image:
Fig. 297.—Secretary Bird. of the long wing, with which he knocks the reptile downrfollowing up the fall with a vigorous kick. His extremeagility enables him in a very short time to baffle andovercome a snake of four or five feet in length, whereuponhe finally seizes it near the head with his bill, and hold- 38o The Bird ing the body down with one foot, proceeds to swallow it.In case a snake proves unusually hard to manage onthe ground the dauntless bird watches his opportunity,seizes his adversary close to the head, and, flying aloftto a considerable height, lets it drop on the hard ground,which is usually sufficient to prepare it for the finalceremony of swallowing.
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 298.—Feet of Ruffed Grouse, showing snowshoes of horn. Quail, grouse, pheasants, turkeys, and all the fowl-like birds are scratchers, according to the old classification,and they well deserve the name; for scratching first withone foot and then the other among the leaves and softdirt for insects is a very pronounced habit of them all.The arrangement of toes is the same as in the perchingbirds, but the claws are very different. These birds are Feet and Legs 381 true horny-handed sons of the soil: their claws are stubby,short, and blunt. Sharp edges would soon be dulled byscratching, and elongated ones would sliver and break.So, with his blunt claws, our chicken and his kind arewell provided for. The most interesting feet among these birds are thoseof the grouse. The ruffed drummer of our woods walksabout, in summer, on slender toes over moss and logs, but,when soft deep snows come, his weight would make itdifficult to keep from being buried at each step. SoNature provides him wi

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