FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. water-loving Divers, Auks, Gulls, Cormorants, and Ducks. In the wading Herons and marsh-inhabiting Rails and Gallinules the web is absent, but it reappears in the form of lobes on the toes of the aquatic Coots of the same family. Some shore -inhabiting Snipe have the bases of the toes united bj webs, but the Phalaropes, of two species, have lobed toes not unlike those of the Coots, and are true swimming Snipe living on the sea for long periods. Length of foot is largely dependent upon length of neck. This is illustrated by the Herons, and is particu- larly well shown by the long-necked Flamingo, which has a foot twelve inches long. Its toes are webbed, and it can wade in deep water and search for food on the bottom by immersing its long neck and its head. In the tropical Ja- canas the toes and toe- nails are much length- ened, enabhng the bird to pass over the water on aquatic plants. I have seen these birds walking on small lily leaves, which sank be- neath their weight, giv- ing one the impression that they were walkmg on the water (see Fig. 10). Many ground-feeding birds use the feet in scratching for food; Chickens are famihar examples. Towhees and Fig. 14. — Flamingo, showin of leojs and neck in (Much reduced.) • relative length I wadiucc bird.
