Chestnut-backed Chickadee: Detail

OK, today is going to have to be a day where the victory is in showing up. This one was way more of a rush than I would have liked, but I've been up since 4:45 this morning (doing the weekly trek of planes, trains and automobiles to get from Seattle to Spokane), and I worked for much of the day.

I know, enough with the excuses already!

Here are the Chestnut-backed Chickadee's feet. As you might be able to tell (I know, it's tough), the bird has three toes facing forward, one facing back. The back toe, number 1, is called the hallux. This configuration of toes, anisodactyl, is common to songbirds. Before the year is out, I can guarantee that I'll be drawing at least two other foot configurations, probably more.