podotheca

noun

1. The scaly or skin covering of the foot of a bird or animal.

   “Unlike the sheath of the bill, the podotheca is never simple and continuous, being divided and subdivided in various ways.”

   “The character of the tarsal podotheca is a useful generic character but too variable to use in delimiting the subfamilies .”

   “In different kinds of birds, the podotheca begins on the tibiotarsus (shank), on the ankle, or at some more distal level; it extends to the tips of the toes.”