MULTI-PURPOSE TOOLS

There are more than 10,000 species of birds. They range in size from birds that weigh less than an ounce to birds that weigh hundreds of pounds and can inflict a deadly kick. They live on land or water; in tropical rainforests or in the Arctic tundra; they climb trees or dive into water. So it’s not surprising that birds have many different types of feet capable of performing amazing feats.

- ELLEN L. RAMSEY

1 Wading and Water Walking

The long, widely spaced toes of shorebirds, like egrets and herons, are perfectly designed for wading in shallow water and not sinking too deep into soft sand or mud. Some water birds, like jacanas, can almost walk on water. They have large feet and long, thin toes that evenly spread their weight so they can walk on top of floating plants.

2 Perfect Paddles

Many water birds like ducks, geese, swans, and cormorants have webbing stretching between their three front toes, giving them perfect paddles for swimming. Although their feet are just right for moving through water, these birds waddle when they walk. Grebes, another water bird, have toes with large, fleshy lobes, even more specially adapted for paddling, so much so that they can’t walk or waddle on land.