"The heron, crane, stork, and flamingo are all waders.""There are, besides the waders, some other birds that live in and near the water," said Fred. "These, however, don"t walk in the water, they swim. They are made to swim. Do you know what birds I mean, Norah?""You must mean ducks and geese and swans," said Norah, " for I have seen them swimming in the lake in the park.""Let me tell you how it is these birds are able to swim so well," said Fred. "If you look at the duck"s foot you will see there isa skin or web stretched between the toes. We call it a webbed foot. The webbed feet enable these birds to swim.
They are the swimming
birds. They swim in the water, and with their shovel-like bills they find their food in the water.""There are some birds, Norah," said Will, "thatneither perch on the branches nor climb trees; that neither wade in the water nor swim. In fact, they do not even fly. They can only run. We call them runners. They are great birds.