I measured most of the birds which came into my possession, from the
feathered _base_ of the beak (the length of beak itself being so
variable) to the end of the tail, and to the oil-gland, but
unfortunately (except in a few cases) not to the root of the tail; I
measured each bird from the extreme tip to tip of wing; and the length
of the terminal folded part of the wing, from the extremity of the
primaries to the joint of the radius. I measured the feet without the
claws, from the end of the middle toe to the end of the hind toe; and
the tarsus and middle toe together. I have taken in every case the mean
measurement of two wild rock-pigeons from the Shetland Islands, as the
standard of comparison. The following table shows the actual length of
the feet in each bird; and the difference between the length which the
feet ought to have had according to the size of body of each, in
comparison with the size of body and length of feet of the rock-pigeon,
calculated (with a few specified exceptions) by the standard of the
length of the body from the base of the beak to the oil-gland. I have
preferred this standard, owing to the variability of the length of
tail. But I have made similar calculations, taking as the standard the
length from tip to tip of wing, and likewise in most cases from the
base of the beak to the end of the tail; and the result has always been
closely similar. To give an example: the first bird in the table, being
a Short-faced Tumbler, is much smaller than the rock-pigeon, and would
naturally have shorter feet; but it is found on calculation to have
feet too short by ·11 of an inch, in comparison with the feet of the
rock-pigeon, relatively to the size of the body in these two birds, as
measured from the base of beak to the oil-gland. So again, when this
same Tumbler and the rock-pigeon were compared by the length of their
wings, or by the extreme length of their bodies, the feet of the
Tumbler were likewise found to be too short in very nearly the same
proportion. I am well aware that the measurements pretend to greater
accuracy than is possible, but it was less trouble to write down the
actual measurements given by the compasses in each case than an
approximation.
Table II.
_Pigeons with their beaks longer than that of the Rock-pigeon,
proportionally to the size of their bodies._
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