"Teacher showed us a picture of the woodpecker"s foot. It has two toes in front and two behind. Birdswith such feet are ne ve r see n on th e ground. They could only hobble about in a painful, awkward way on a flat surface. But they can run up t h e r o u g h b ar k o f trees, or climb about the branches with the greatest ease. Wecall the woodpecker a climbing bird, and the parrot is another member of the same class.
"Both birds, you see, live in the trees, and find their food in the trees, and both are fitted in every way for the life they have to lead.
"Suppose we go and look at the fowls in the garden now. There they are scratching about on the ash heap. What a mess they are making! Do you know why they are scratching? They are searching for grubs and worms and whatever they can find.
"Let us look at their feet. The toes, you see, are short and thick and armed with strong blunt claws. The legs too look strong, as if they were meant for hard work.
"Teacher says these legs and feet are given them for scratching in the ground in search of food. Birds of this kind are called scratchers.