"They are not a bit like my feet," said Dodo; "they are so long and slim and hard, and the toes stick out so all around. I think mine are nicer."
"But they would not be so useful as this Sparrow's if you had to live in a bush and hop about on the twigs," said the Doctor. "The bird's feet are fixed as nicely for that, as yours are for walking on the ground. I can show you, too, little girl, that a Sparrow's feet are a great deal more like yours than you think. Come, Rap! Tell me what you see about this bird's feet."
"Why, they are the ends of its legs, and there is a long slim part beyond the feathers, hard and horny like the beak, and at the end of this are four toes, three in front and one behind, and they've all sharp claws on their ends."
"Very well said, my boy! Now I will show you that such feet as the Sparrow has are as much like Dodo's as a Sparrow's beak is like her mouth. Begin with the claws--"
[Illustration: FIG. 1. Insect-eating bill of Robin; 2. Seed-crushing bill of a Sparrow; 3. Snapping bill of Whip-poor-will; 4. Needle bill of Hummingbird; 5. Chiselling bill of Woodpecker; 6. Climbing bill of Paroquet; 7. Tearing bill of Falcon; 8. Grooved drinking bill of Dove; 9. Gleaning bill of Ruffed Grouse; 10. Wedge bill of Plover; 11. Straight probing bill of Snipe.]
[Illustration: FIG 12: Curved probing bill of Curlew; 13. Spearing bill of Green Heron; 14. Strainer bill of Duck; 15. Hooked bill of Gull; 16. Ornamental bill of male Puffin in breeding season.]
"I know!" exclaimed Dodo, "toe-nails! Only I think they need cutting!"
"Of course they are toe-nails," said the Doctor. "Don't nails grow on the ends of toes? All kinds of claws, on the ends of birds' and other animals' toes, are the same as nails. Some are long, sharp, and curved, like a cat's or a Sparrow's, and some are flat and blunt, like ours. I could show you some birds with claws that look just like our finger-nails. Toes, too, are pretty much the same; only this Sparrow, like most other birds, has but four, with three of them in a line in front, and the other one pointing backward. That is what makes its foot as good as a hand to hold on with when it perches on slender twigs. Almost all birds have their toes fixed that way. Some, that do not perch, have no hind toe; and birds that swim have broad webs stretched between their front toes, like Ducks. All the different kinds of feet birds have are fitted for the ways they move about on the ground, or water, or among the branches of trees and bushes, just as all their shapes of beaks are fitted for the kind of food they eat and the way they pick it up. Here are two pictures that will show you several different kinds of feet. Now you must answer the next question, Nat; what do toes grow on?"