the feet are pliable, but they get stiff when the birds are kept too
long. Geese are called green when they are only two or three months
old.


22. Ducks.

Choose them with supple feet and hard plump breasts. Tame ducks have
yellow feet, wild ones red.


23. Pigeons

are very indifferent food when they are kept too long. Suppleness of
the feet shows them to be young; the flesh is flaccid when they are
getting bad from keeping. Tame pigeons are larger than wild pigeons,
but not so large as the wood pigeon.


24. Hares and Rabbits

when old, have the haunches thick, the ears dry and tough, and the
claws blunt and ragged. A young hare has claws smooth and sharp, ears
that easily tear, and a narrow cleft in the lip. A leveret is
distinguished from a hare by a knob or small bone near the foot.


25. Partridges,

when young, have yellowish legs and dark-coloured bills. Old