The Air and the Birds

In such places which are far too deep to be occupied by waiting birds we find a family provided with toes so enormously lengthened and moreover eked out by claws of such extraordinary length that the spread of their feet extends over a very large surface. Another order of birds comprehends those whose feet are specially constructed for swimming constituting a nattatorial type. For this purpose they are placed far back upon the body. Their plumage is thick and shining, impregnated with oil and closely packed with soft down so as to preserve them from all contact with the water. The divers, trusting to their superior powers of battling with the watery element, are met with further from the shore while