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Evans, M.A., Clare College, Cambridge ma ee Nd 7 7 Londo NMeNCMILLAN AND CO), LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1899 All rights reserved In sicco ludunt fulicae.—V1rRGIL. ‘* Loons disport themselves on dry matters.”’ A\BRARy FEB 15 1994 G ~ J VERsry oF 83 PREFACE In this volume of the “Cambridge Natural History” the author has attempted to meet a need which he believes to be some- what widely felt. Recognising the fact that there is at the present time an abundance of popular, or only slightly scien- tific, works on Birds, some of which touch but superficially upon the individual species composing the various groups, as regards their plumage or habits, while others pay little or no attention to correctness of Classification, he has essayed the difficult and apparently unattempted task of including in some six hundred pages a short description of the majority of the forms in many of the Families, and of the most typical or important of the innumer- able species included in the large Passerine Order. Prefixed to each group is a brief summary of the Structure and Habits; a few further particulars of the same nature being subsequently added where necessary, with a statement of the main Fossil forms as yet recorded. Thus it is hoped that the work may be of real use, not only to the tyro in Ornithology, but also to the traveller or resident in foreign parts interested in the subject, who, without time or opportunity for referring to the works of specialists, may yet need the aid of a concise account of the species likely to cross his path. An introductory chapter has been written, to meet the claims of the present day, on the external and to a limited extent on the internal structure of Birds, with short paragraphs on Classi- V1 PREFACE fication, Geographical Distribution, and Migration, and a “ Ter- minology ” of the subject. In accordance with the scheme of the Series generally, the order followed runs from the lowest forms and the Ratite Birds upwards; the Carinate Birds being divided, after Dr. Gadow’s plan, into two Brigades or main sections, and these again into Legions, Orders, and so forth. It should, however, be under- stood that the Species of each Genus are often merely placed in the most convenient order; and that, where a geographical range is given, it does not follow that it is unbroken from end to end. In descriptions of colour, the names used for tints in the British Museum Catalogue of Birds have been commonly adopted, or for British species those in Mr. Howard Saunders’ Manual of British Birds. Various subjects of a highly technical, or at least of a special character, have purposely been avoided in the main, as unfitted to the scope of the work; such are, Variation and Hybrids, with their accompaniments of Dimorphism, Dichromatism, and the hike; Myology; Mechanism of Flight and the supposed Lines of Flight on Migration; the Classifications of Linnzeus and the older writers ; and the Strickland Code of Ornithological Nomen- clature. For these Professor Newton’s Dictionary of Birds, and especially the Introduction to it, may be consulted; besides a multitude of other works. The woodcuts have been chiefly supplied by Mr. G. E. Lodge ; but a few illustrations have been utilized from other sources. The author does not hold himself responsible for the fact of the Family names being in Roman in place of Italic type, nor for the dissociation of the vowels in the diphthongs; in these minor points he personally differs from the writers of the former volumes, though he agrees with the wish of his Editors for uniformity. PREEACE vil In conclusion, he must take the opportunity of acknow- ledging the invaluable assistance afforded by Myr. Howard Saunders, who carefully went over the whole of the proofs, while Dr. R. B. Sharpe was kind enough to do the same; nor must he fail to record his indebtedness to Professor Newton, Mr. Sclater, Dr. Gadow, Mr. Ogilvie Grant, and many others, not to mention the innumerable authors without whose previous labours to write a book of this description would be a well- nigh impossible task. Dr. Stejneger’s Volume on Birds in the Standard Natural History should be mentioned in particular. AE EVANS: CamBRIDGE, November 17, 1898. ADDENDUM i Since the text has been printed off, several new species have been described, and of these it is necessary to mention at least the following ;— Archaeopteryx siemensi, from Solenhofen, where the original form was obtained.—( Dames.) Euryapteryx exilis (Dinornithidae) ; a new genus, Anomalornis is also proposed for Anomalopteryx (preoccupied ).—(Hutton.) Ammoperdiz cholmleyi (Phasianidae), from Suakin.—(Ogilvie- Grant.) Cepphus snowi (Alcidae), from the Kurile Is.—(Stejneger.) The range of C. columba will now be “ Bering Sea to California ; ” and of C. carbo “ North-East Asia and Japanese Seas.” Podoces pleskii (Corvidae), from East Persia.—(Zarudny.) Some new fossil forms from Patagonia.—(Mercerat.) Mr. F. E. Blaauw has published a Monograph of the Cranes, and Mr. C. W. de Vis has described the eggs and young of Salvadorina (Anatidae). In all these cases the Zoological Record for 1897 may be consulted. ) a 7 * oi — . CONTENTS PREFACE ADDENDUM SCHEME OF THE CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED IN THIS Book CHAPTER INTRODUCTION CHAPTER II ARCHAEORNITHES—NEORNITHES RATITAE—NEORNITHES ODONTOLCAL. HEA Pa Ha U0 NEORNITHES CARINATAE Bricape I—Lecron I (ConyMBoMORPHAE). OrpERS: ICHTHYORNITHES— COLYMBIFORMES—SPHENISCIFORMES—PROCELLA RIIFORMES CHAPTER: IV NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONTINUED BricaApE I—LeEaion I] (PELARGOMORPHAE). ORDERS: CICONIIFORMES— ANSERIFORMES—F A LCONIFORMES CHAPTER V NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONTINUED BricapE II—Lrcion I (ALECTOROMORPHAE). OrDERS: TINAMIFORMES— GALLIFORMES—GRUIFORMES—CHARADRITFORMES vili X1 23 48 x CONTENDS CHAPTER VI NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONTINUED PAGE BricADE JI—-Lrecion II (CorAcIoMORPHAE). ORDERS: CUCULIFORMES— CORACIIFORMES : : : ‘ : : : : : : 6 aay CEVA TER Wale NEORNITHES CARINATAE CONCLUDED BricADE I]—Lraton II (CoRACIOMORPHAE CONCLUDED). ORDER: PASSERI- FORMES . * : p : i : ‘ : ‘ ‘ 5 . 466 INDEX . . : 4 : : , ; , 5 : » 589 SCHEME OF THE CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED IN THIS BOOK CLASS AVES (p. 23.) SUB-CLASS I. ARCHAEORNITHES (p. 23). Archacopteryx (pp. vill, 23). SUB-CLASS II. NEORNITHES (}). 25). Division A. NEORNITHES RATITAE (p. 25). I. Struthiones (p. 27): Fam. Struthionidae (p. 27). II. Rheae (p. 30): Fam. Rheidae (p. 30). III. Megistanes (p. 32): jFam. I. Casuariidae (p. 33). \ Fam. II. Dromaeidae (p. 36). IV. Apteryges (p. 38): Fam. Apterygidae (p. 38). V. Dinornithes (p. 41): Fam. Dinornithidae (p. 41). VI. Aepyornithes (p. 43): Fam. Aepyornithidae (p. 43). Deepa is, etc. (p. 44). Diatryma (yp. 45). Ht ere 2 Dasornis oe 45). (p. 48) be iornis (p. 45). Gastornis (}). 45). RATITAE (p. 26) | Division B. NEORNITHES ODONTOLCAE (p. 45). | HESPERORNITHES (p. 46). |? ENALIORNITHES (p. 46). ? Baptornis (p. 46). Division C. NEORNITHES CARINATAE (p. 48). | ICHTHYORNITHES Fam. IcHTHYORNITHIDAE (p. 48): Jchthyornis (p. 48). (p- 48) ? Apatornis (p. 49). | Order. Sub-Order. Family. Sub-family | Colymbi (p. 49) | CoLYMBIDAE (p. 50) AUDA nee | Podicipedes PoDICIPEDIDAE (p. 49) (p. 49) (p. 52), | SPHENISCIFORMES Sphenisci SPHENISCIDAE . 54 ». 54 (p. 54). ae ee ‘ Diomedeinae (p. 63). PROCELLARIIFORMES Tubinares PROCELLARIIDAE J} Oceanitinae (p. 65). (p. 09) (p. 59) (p. 59) | Procellariinae (p. 65). . Pelecanoidinae (p. 68). X11 SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION Order. Sub-Order. Family. Sub-family. PHAETHONTIDAE (p. 72). [ scrpar (p. 73). Steganopodes PHALACROCORACIDAE (p. 75). (p. 70) [2 LEGATIDAE (p. 81). PELECANTDAE (p. 83). { 5a 1 P.Z.8. 1892, p. 236. VOL. IX % B ‘ i) FEATHERS CHAP. The aid of the Palaeontologist and Geologist must thus be called in to clear up many problems which present themselves to the Ornithologist who does not content himself with examining exist- ing forms of life alone. Archaeopteryx (p. 23) from the Jurassic System is the oldest Bird known, nor are any other pre-Tertiary forms recorded, save a small number from the rocks of the Creta- ceous Epoch, the chief of which are the so-called Odontornithes, or toothed species of America (p. 45). The following paragraphs on the structure of Birds will help to explain the systematic account in the later chapters. Feathers.—Returning to the outward character denoted by the popular saying with which we began, the Feathers! con- stituting the plumage may not inconveniently be first considered. The general belief that they grow from almost every part of a Bird’s body, as do hairs in most Mammals, is erroneous; for, almost without exception, they grow in certain definite tracts called pterylae, the intervening spaces, whether they be wholly bare or covered with down, being termed apteria. The arrange- ment of these patches is at times of considerable assistance in determining a Bird’s affinities; and the subject may be studied in Nitzsch’s Pterylographie* or in a shorter form in Dr. Gadow’s article “ Pterylosis” in Professor Newton’s Dictionary of Birds. A feather originates thus. A conical papilla arises in the derma and pushes up the epidermis, a depression forming mean- while around the base; subsequently the derma supplies a nutritive pulp, while part of the epidermal layer is converted into a tuft of stiff rays, meeting and forming a short tube below ; these thereafter burst their covering and protrude as the ramv or barbs, on which, apparently by secondary splitting, are commonly produced radii or barbules. In this state we have a “plumule” or “down-feather” ; but in the case of the feathers that have “webs” or “vanes” (vewxilla) often called contour feathers (pennae or plumae), a fresh papilla forms at a deeper level, so that the earlier structure is thrust forward and eventually drops off from the apex of the later. Meanwhile the “ dorsal” portions of * The integument of a Bird consists of Skin and Feathers, the former being composed of a superficial epidermis and an underlying derma or cutis, which is rich in sensory organs but poor in blood-vessels. The epidermis itself has a horny outer layer and a softer (Malpighian) substratum. Feathers, hairs, bristles, scales, claws and bill-sheaths are epidermal structures. * A translation was edited for the Ray Society by Mr. Sclater in 1867. I COLOUR 3 the barrel or quill (calamus or scapus) at the base of the tuft of rays have elongated into a principal shaft (rhachis) ; this is generally accompanied by a secondary “ aftershaft ” ( hyporhachis), originating from the “ventral” side, which in the Emeu and Cassowary rivals the shaft itself in size. On the rhachis a double series of /amellae or barbs are developed, carrying a similar double series of barbules, much as in the down-feather, but the barbules again give rise to barbicels (cilia), which in the distal rows usually terminate in hooklets (hamul/). These catch in the folded margins of the next proximal row, and a firm surface is thus secured. An after-shaft never, and a down-feather rarely, possesses barbicels; while in some cases by the absence of these and part of the barbules a “ disconnected ” web and a “ decomposed ” feather are formed, as in the decorative tufts of many species. The barbs may even be absent, as in the wing-quills of Cassowaries, the “wires” of Birds-of-Paradise, the “ bristle-feathers” at the gape of Night-jars or the eyelashes of Hornbills. In the hackles of Gallus (Fowl), and the secondaries or even the tail-feathers of Ampelis (Waxwing), the tip of the rhachis is flattened and wax- lke; and similar structures are observable elsewhere. In the newly-hatched young the down is often partly or entirely sup- pressed, but in certain Birds this suppression is temporary, and a thick coat grows after a few days. “ Powder-down” feathers are those which never develop beyond the early stage, and continually disintegrate at the tip into bluish- or greyish-white powder ; they occur in the Zinamidae, Ardeidae, Rhinochetidae, Eurypygidae, Mesitidae, Accipitres and Psittact, in Podargus, Coracias, Lepto- soma, Gymnoderus and Artamus. Colour.—The colour of Feathers is due to one of three causes. First, an actual pigment + may be present in certain corpuscles, or in diffused solution, and the tint does not then vary according to the incidence of the light. Secondly, it may arise from a pigment overlaid by colourless structures in the form of ridges or imbedded polygonal bodies; here, if the vanes are scraped or held up to the light, the pigmentary colour alone is visible Thirdly, the colour may be iridescent or prismatic; that is, a blackish pig- 1 Of this nature are zoomelanin (black), zoonerythrin (red), zooxanthin (yellow), turacin (red—only known in the Musophagidae), and perhaps turacoverdin (green, from the same family). Brown is produced by a combination of red and black ; white is the appearance due to innumerable air-spaces. ? Such are many yellows, oranges, greens and blues. 4 ' MOULT CHAP. ment may lie beneath a surface, which, whether polished, ridged, or pitted, acts as a series of prisms, causing the hue to vary according to the relative position of the spectator’s eye and the light. This is seen in a remarkable degree in Humminge-birds.' Not uncommonly the vanes of feathers have an appearance like watered silk, due to very indistinct transverse striations. In regard to plumage generally, it may be noticed that the markings on a feather frequently indicate the age of a bird. In some the immature plumage is characterised by light-coloured tips to the feathers, which are lost as maturity is reached. In other groups, and especially in most of the Accipitres or Diurnal Birds of Prey, the markings of the immature bird are generally longitudinal, and in the adult transverse. In nearly all these cases the change is effected at the first moult. Females and young are usually duller than males, but in some cases, such as Phalaropus (Limicolae) and Eclectus (Psittaci), the hen-birds are the more brightly coloured. Moult.—feferring to p. 2, it should be remarked that, after the production of a feather, the formative substances become for a while dormant, but awake to renewed activity, if accidental or periodical loss needs to be made good; and so we naturally arrive at the phenomena of the annual Moult, which is often “double,” that is, occurring towards autumn, and again in spring. Though some Birds do not lose their quill-feathers the first year, they normally gain a winter plumage—differing in colour from the summer garb—by moulting or shedding their feathers. The wing-quills, and even those of the tail, are ordinarily discarded in pairs, though not quite simultaneously ; but most Anatidae (Swans, Geese and Ducks), and apparently the Phoenicopteridae (Flamingos), lose all the former at once, and with them the power of flight; while in the first-named Family the males of many species assume for several weeks a dress resembling that of the female, and are said to undergo an “eclipse.” Young birds moult, as a rule, somewhat later than adults, but in the typical Gallinae the original quills are shed before the possessors are fully grown, and are succeeded by others of proportionately in- creased size, the power of flight being attained very early. 1 Albinism is due to the absence of pigment ; melanism, xanthochroism and erythrism are terms implying an abnormal proportion of Seale yellow, or red in the plumage. They may be caused by food. “ In some cases at least Rails and Water-hens do the same. ere SKELETON ul The additional or spring moult affects the smaller feathers only, while it is still doubtful how far changes of colour are due to a mere dropping off of the fringe of barbicels. The decorative plumes of the males of many species are gained at the vernal moult. The double process is certainly not diagnostic of Families or even Genera, except in isolated cases; as an instance, however, the Larks have one moult, the Pipits and Wagtails two. In such cases as Swallows and Diurnal Birds of Prey generally, the plumage is not changed till after the migration; in the Ptarmigan there is a triple moult, the breeding- oth being ieeecd first to a greyish habit and then to a white; in Penguins the feathers of the wing come off in flakes.! Skeleton, Digestive Organs, etc.—The plumage, however, though often striking, and of undoubted utility as a non-conductor of heat and a protection against wet, plays a subordinate part in determining the relationships of the larger groups of Birds. For this we need the assistance of anatomy, if indeed we do not rely upon it almost entirely. It will be well before starting to state that structures which are morphologically similar, that is, which have a like origin in the embryo, are termed “homologous,” while those which perform the same physiological functions are “ analo- gous, the word in its strictest sense implying initial diversity. Any standard work on Vertebrate Anatomy ought to furnish a concise account of the bony framework or Skeleton of a Bird, but it will be convenient here to follow mainly the treatment of Dr. Gadow, in Prof. Newton’s Dictionary of Birds, pp. 848-867 According to this authority the Axial Skeleton consists of the Skull and Vertebral Column; the Appendicular Skeleton of the Ribs, the Sternum, the Limbs and their Arches, the Hyoid Apparatus or framework of the tongue, and the Jaws. 1. The Vertebral Column, which protects the Spinal Cord, is composed of a variable number of cervical, dorsal, sacral or pelvic, and caudal vertebrae; that is, those of the neck, back, loins and tail respectively. The first cervical vertebra, which bears the head, articulating with it by a single condyle, is called the Atlas ; the second, on which it turns, the Axis; the succeeding cervicals 1 In certain of the Tetraonidae the claws are shed in spring ; in some A/eidae {Auks) the horny bill-sheath and the outgrowths over the eyes are lost after the breeding season ; the American White Pelican moults a horny projection on the culmen after nesting, while the beak of Redpolls is much elongated in summer. 6 SKELETON present a considerable number of processes or projections, which protect certain blood-vessels, and serve for the attachment of the muscles which turn the flexible neck. The dorsal vertebrae follow, and some not unfrequently coalesce with each other, but this is always so with the sacrals, and in nearly all existing Birds with the terminal portion of the caudals, which are fused together to form a“ pygostyle ” or upright triangular plate to carry the tail-feathers.’ Archaeopteryx, so far as is known, stands alone in having all the caudal vertebrae free. A typical vertebra consists of a centrum, and an arch, with articular surfaces for two ribs, and is called heterocoelous when the facets, or connecting surfaces, are saddle-shaped, a condition charac- teristic of, and restricted to, Birds. It is amphicoelous, or biconcave, when each end is hollowed, as in the dorsal region of Ichthyornis and probably in Archaeopteryx ; procoelous, when concave in front (as is common in Reptiles); opis- thocoelous when concave behind Fig. 1.—Third cervical vertebra of Wood- pecker (Picus viridis). (Viewed anteriorly.) ¢, vertebrarterial fora- men; 0b, upper arch ; Pa, articular process ; Psi, haemal spine ; Pt, Pt, the two bars of the transverse process, shewn on one side ancylosed with the cervical rib (R); Sa, articular surface (as in many Mammals). 2. The Ribs are doubly attached to the vertebrae by a head (capi- tulum) and a knob (tuberculwm) ; of centrum. (From Wiedersheim. ) and have a neck, a dorsal, and a ventral portion, each dorsal section (save on the last rib) possessing an “ uncinate process” or thin, bony posterior projec- tion, except in Archaeopteryx and the Palamedeidae. Should the ventral piece articulate with the sternum the rib is “ true,” otherwise it is called “false”; moreover the cervical and frequently the post-thoracic ribs are fused with the cervical vertebrae and the ilia respectively. 3. The Breast-bone (Sternum) presents two different styles— according to whether it exhibits on its ventral surface a median ridge or keel (carina), or not. In the former case, which is that of by far the greater number of existing Birds (hence termed Carinatae), the keel is of variable size, being correlated with the power of flight. It is exceedingly deep in the Swifts, Humming 1 The Ratitae, Crypturi and Hesperornis have no pygostyle. I SKELETON N Birds, and certain Petrels, but dwindles almost. to clisappearance in some flightless forms such as the Dodo, the Kakapo (Stringops), the extinct New Zealand Goose (Cnemiornis), and a ood wines Rails. The absence of a keel is characteristic of the other and smaller group of Birds, made up of the Ostrich, Rhea, Emeu and Fic. 2.—-Skeleton of the trunk of a Falcon. (Ca, coracoid, which articulates with the sternum (St) at +; Cr, keel of sternum; Fu (CZ), furcula (clavicles) ; G, glenoid cavity for humerus; S, scapula; Un, uncinate process; V, vertebral, and Sp, sternal, portion of rib. (From Wiedersheim.) Cassowary, Moa and Kiwi, which from the resemblance the sternum thus bears to a flat-bottomed boat (vatis) are known as Ratitae. Whether keeled or not, the breast-bone affords a surface of attachment to the principal muscles of the fore-limbs, and its anterior end supports the coracoids, as in Fig. 2. Various processes are in most cases developed on the sides of the sternum itself, behind its junction with the ribs, especially towards the 8 SKELETON CHAP. posterior portion, where they often take the form of prolonga- tions, the extremities of which occasionally meet and enclose what are called fenestrae; but these are un- important when compared with the features pre- Sch sented by the anterior part. ee aai 4. The Pectoral Arch, or camer \eae ea Shoulder-Girdle, consists of ee three pairs of bones, the a z "=. Coracoids, the Scapulae nit or a Sa or Shoulder-blades, 5 ea Re w2\~.~ and the Clavicles ms - 7or Collars bones, the last two usu- ally coalescing in the median line into a V-shaped or U-shaped Furcula (the well-known “Merry-thought”); but in some groups, as certain Parrots, the clavicles are practically absent, while in others, Fig. 3.—Skeleton of the Limbs and Tail of a Carinate ®5 several Owls, they do Bird. (The skeleton of the body is indicated by pot unite. The furcula dotted lines.) F, digits; Fi, fibula; HW, carpus; : § MF, tarsometatarsus ; 1H, carpometacarpus ; OA, often — ossifies fir ml) humerus; OS, femur; Py, pygostyle ; R, coracoid; with the anterior Pers Rd, ulna; Sch, scapula; Sé, sternum, with its keel (Gaye tibiotarsus ; Ul, radius; Z, Z}, digits of tion of the keel, and in foot. (From Wiedersheim.) Frea egata, Didus and the Ratitae, the coracoids and scapulae are fused together. The Anterior Limbs, or Wings, are composed of the Humerus, or upper arm-bone, the Ulna and Radius (mak- ing the fore-arm), the Carpus or wrist, the Metacarpus and Digits, corresponding with the hand and fingers. The first of the three metacarpals bears the Pollex, or thumb, with one or two I SKELETON 9 _ phalanges (joints); the second the Index, representing man’s first finger, with two or three joints; the third a weak digit with only one phalanx, except in Archaeopteryx, where there are four. The Caswarvi and Apteryges possess an index only, which in the Sphenisei fuses with the pollex. The basal joint of this is the normal place of attachment of the “bastard wing” (alula spuria). Archaeopteryx had claws on all its fingers, but in recent Birds they occur on the first two only, being functionless in the adult. Wing-spurs arise from the carpal and metacarpal bones, 6. The Pelvic Arch consists of the Lium, Ischium, and Os pubis, these three paired bones meeting from each side at the cup (acetabulum) that receives the head of the femur, and coalescing early in life; while the cacisura ischiadica or notch between the Fia. 4.—Pelvis of Apteryx australis. Lateral view. o, Acetabulum ; 7/, ilium; is, ischivi : p, pectineal process of pubis ; p!, pubis. (From Wiedersheim, after Marsh.) ischium and the ilium becomes an inclosed space (foramen) in all Birds except the Ratitae and Crypturt. 7. The Posterior Limbs, or Legs, are composed of the Femur or thigh, the Tibia and Fibula, making the shank or “drum- stick,’ and the bones of the Foot. The thigh, however, being hidden by the plumage, the shank of a Bird might easily be taken for the thigh, and the metatarsus (the cannon-bone of some) for the shank. The tibia and fibula commonly unite to some extent, and the former, as it now exists in adult Birds, is strictly a “ tibio-tarsus,” since with it is fused the proximal portion of the originally existing tarsal elements. Similarly the distal tarsal IO SKELETON CHAP. elements unite with the metatarsus, which is therefore properly a “tarso-metatarsus,” though often called merely “tarsus” by ornithologists. This arises from a fusion of the second, third, and fourth metatarsal bones, which in the adult (except among the Sphenisci and to some extent in Psittacz) do not he in the same plane; the middle one having its upper end thrust back- ward and its lower end forward in the course of growth to maturity. The fifth metatarsal practically disappears, while the first remains more or less separate, and lies behind the distal portion of the other metatarsals. Of the toes the fifth is not traceable in Birds; the first is often aborted, but the second only in Struthio, and to a less extent in Ceyx and Aleyone, and the fourth (nearly) in Cholornis. The hallux, or hind toe, has two phalanges, the second digit three, the third four, and the fourth five ; Cypselus and Panyptila (Swifts), however, are exceptions, and possess only three in each of the anterior toes, while the Caprimulginae (true Nightjars) and Pteroclidae (Sand-Grouse) have only four joints on the outer. In Owls the fourth digit is reversible at will, the same being true to a less extent of the Musophagidae (Plantain-eaters) and Leptosoma (akin to the Roller); when this condition is permanent, as in the Cuculidae, Psittaci and Pici the foot is termed zygodactylous. In 7rogones the second toe is reversed (heterodactylous). Colius can turn the first toe forward and the fourth backward, while certain Swifts, and to a less degree some Nightjars, have the whole number permanently pointing to the front (pamprodactylous). Membranes more or less connecting the anterior digits produce a webbed or swimming foot, even the hallux being united with the rest in the Steganopodes. The hind-toe is often elevated, or higher than its fellows, when it is commonly reduced and some- times lacks a nail. The Ostrich has little or no claw on the outer toe, while that of the third toe is toothed or serrated in a considerable number of Birds, but this is a character of very sheht importance. The covering of the metatarsus is usually “scutellated,” but when the sewtellae, or scales, which may be oblong or polygonal, are smaller than usual—and generally hexagonal—it is called “reticulated.” In some cases the surface becomes nearly or quite smooth (“ ocreated” or “ booted”), or more or less granulated. 8. The structure of the Skull is a study in itself and affords I SKELETON tI considerable help in Taxonomy (Classification). It must suffice here to refer for the names of the parts to the subjoined figure. The Bill, or Beak, is composed of an upper jaw or maxilla, and an under jaw or mandible. From the figure it will be seen that “maxilla” is not strictly the whole upper portion, though the term is thus used for convenience, as is the plural “mandibles” for the two jaws when mentioned simultaneously. The “rham- photheca,” or horny sheath, may be simple (undivided), or com- pound, that is, made of several distinct pieces. In the Anseres the covering is soft with a horny (corneous) tip or “nail”; in Fic. 5.—Skull of a Wild Duck (Anas boscas), from the side. ag, Angular; als, alisphenoid ; a7, articular ; bf, basitemporal ; d, dentary ; en, external nostrils ; e.0, exoccipital ; eth, ethmoid ; fr, frontal; 7, jugal ; @c, lacrymal ; mx, maxilla ; ma.p, maxillopalatine process; 7, nasal; p, parietal; pg, pterygoid ; pl, palatine ; ps, presphenoid ; pz, premaxilla ; g, quadrate ; ¢.j, quadratojugal ; s.ag, supra-angular ; S.0, supraoccipital ; sq, squamosal ; ty, tympanic cavity ; v, vomer ; //, foramen for optic nerve; V, for trigeminal. (From Wiedersheim, after Parker.) the Limicolae it varies extremely, producing a hard pickaxe, as in the Oystereatcher, or a delicate sensory organ as in the Snipe and Woodcock. The rhamphotheca at times has extraordinary outgrowths, as in the Hornbills, Sheathbills, and elsewhere. In the Accipitres, or Diurnal Birds of Prey, and most Psittaci, the base is soft and becomes a “cere,” while the similar formation in the Oolumbae is due to a swelling of the operculum or covering of the nostrils. This operculum, moreover, may be leathery (coria- ceous), as in the Charadriidae, Trochilidae and so forth, or rolled up, as in Rhinochetus; it may even result in a short soft tube, as in Caprimulgus, or in the hard double tube which gives the name of Zubinares to the Petrels. “Impervious” nostrils are those with a septum, or division, between the nasal cavities, “ pervious ” 12 DIGESTIVE, ORGANS) Lie: CHAP: those with none. The narrow slit-like or entirely closed nostrils of the Steganopodes should also be mentioned. The form of the bill varies from the “spoon” of. Platalea and Hurynorhynchus (spatulate) to the “arch” of Numenius, the “scissors ” of Rhynchops, the “ wedge” of Picus, the big rounded feature of the Psittaci, and so forth ; but for details the characters of the several Families must be consulted, as also for helmets, shields, horns, knobs, and peculiarities due to the elongation,,. distorting or crossing of the mandibles. These, too, are often notched, serrated, lobed or “ festooned,” or emarginate (shghtly indented); the curious transverse serrations or lamellae of the beak in Anseres, and the somewhat similar sifting- apparatus in Phoenicopterus, Prion and Anastomus being especially remarkable. Teeth were probably lost by Birds before Tertiary times, but were possessed at least by Archaeopteryx, Hesperornis and Ichthyornis. The so-called “ egg-tooth ” of embryos is merely a calcareous pro- tuberance on the upper. surface of the bill, which is cast after being used to crack the shell. 9. The organs of deglutition and digestion begin with the tongue, which is subject to much variation of structure, accord- ing to the different groups of Birds, and is of course correlative with their habits. It has little connexion with taste, though often of assistance in obtaining nutriment. To this follows the cullet (oesophagus), which in many cases has an enlargement forming the crop (ingluvies), wherein the food may be tempor- arily retained before passing into the stomach, the last-named always having an antechamber (proventriculus) where digestion is largely accomplished, in front of the gizzard (ventriculus). This has frequently strong muscular walls, and its action is often assisted by the mechanical process of comminution performed by stones, grit or sand, swallowed for that purpose. The stomach is succeeded by the intestines, which in most cases have a pair of blind- sacs (caeca) attached to them, often acting as aids to digestion, though these are not always functional, and are absent in many Birds, while in others they attain a very large size, their con- dition being in consequence of some importance as a systematic character. 10. The organs of voice in Birds have long attracted special interest from the loud cries which some utter, and the melody with which others are gifted. Setting aside the part played by Fi CLASSIFICATION I Ww the trachea or windpipe in supplying air to the lungs, its forma- tion is worthy of attention. Its upper end consists of the larynx, and it passes down the neck as a flexible tube, formed by a continuous succession of bony rings connected by membrane, until it bifurcates into two bronchi, which open into the lungs. A common feature, found in many groups not nearly allied, is the dilatation of a portion, generally near the middle, while a remarkable modification is exhibited by the males of many of the Duck-tribe, some of the lowest rings being fused together and forming what is known as the bulla ossea or “ labyrinth.” In other Anatidae (some of the Swans), and some of the Cranes, the trachea enters the keel of the sternum; but a not unfrequent modification, usually confined to the male sex, often occurs else- where, when the windpipe is looped back upon itself. All these arrangements, however they may affect the sounds uttered by Birds, do not in themselves constitute the voice organ of most. That is reserved for the syrinz, a peculiarity of the Class Aves, consisting of the lower end of the trachea and the adjoining part of the bronchial tubes; and the varied modulations are effected by means of muscles attached thereto. These voice-muscles may be wholly absent or of the simplest character, but they attain their highest perfection in the Passeres, and especially in the large group of them known as Oscines, where there are often five or seven pairs. In this group the lowest four or five tracheal rings are solidly fused into a little bony box communicat- ing with the bronchi; the first and second bronchial rings (or in this part often semi-rings) being closely attached to the trachea, and the spaces between the second and third and the third and fourth being generally closed by an outer typaniform (drum-like) membrane, while the rest of the semi-rings of the bronchi are closed by the inner tympaniform membrane. It should be clearly understood that all the notes emitted by Birds are produced by the above structures only, and that the tongue has nothing to do with their utterance, except, possibly, in the case of the sounds that Parrots (but not other birds) are taught to produce. Classification. The Classification of Birds is still im a con- dition of uncertainty, notwithstanding the many schemes succes- sively propounded during more than two centuries. To dwell upon them here would be impossible, and it 1s only practicable 14 CLASSIFICATION ‘ CHAP. to trace in the briefest way the line which has led to the most recent attempts, and to name those whose researches have pro- duced the results which may be fairly regarded as attained. First among them is Nitzsch (1806-1840), to whom followed Merrem (1812-1817), and after. a few years L’Herminier (1827). These three worked quite independently, and in their lifetime little notice was taken of their labours; for, though there were good ornithologists among their contemporaries, little value was then set upon internal characters in this connexion. An improvement took place when the great Johannes Miiller (1846, 1847) published his scheme for grouping the Passeres, which, though based on purely anatomical facts, was almost immediately accepted, chiefly through the simultaneous exertions of Dr. Cabanis, by systematists of the Old School. For twenty years no advance was made, for the morphological researches of Parker were not directly taxonomical; but Huxley (1867, 1868) started what was practically a new lne of investigation, though it subse- quently appeared that up to a certain pot it had been already suggested by Dr. Cornay (1842-1847). The impetus thus given was fortunately sustained, Huxley’s example being followed by Dr. Murie, and by two promising men, A. Garrod and W. A. Forbes, both of whom died at an early age, leaving their mark in work which, though much of it was crude, was that of true genius. Mr. Sclater (1880) has tried to bring the results of the whole four into harmony with pre-existing views, and a similar attempt was that of Dr. Stejneger (1885); but all were overshadowed by the monumental performance of Prof. Fiirbringer, whose Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Syste- matik der Vogel, completed in 1888, must ever remain a record of unexampled labour, while his considerations on the derivation of Birds from Reptiles, and of the later groups of Birds from the earlier, whether his results be right or wrong, are of the utmost importance to the ornithologist. During the progress of this work the author was in frequent communication with Dr. Gadow, himself engaged on the ornithological portion of Bronn’s Thier- Reich, and thus the opinions of each were in many cases mutually affected. Dr. Gadow, on the completion of his undertaking, pro- pounded a scheme of classification, which is. followed, with some slight modifications, in the present volume (see foregoing table) —it being, of course, understood that a linear arrangement is, I GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 15 strictly speaking, impossible, since any group may have a decided. affinity to more than two others. This Classification, beginning (as Birds themselves must have begun) with the lower forms, takes us, except in the Oscines, as far as the Familes, which in most cases are fairly distinguishable, though of very variable value. Coming to Genera, and still more to Species, the opinions of authorities often differ so widely, that at present an attempt to reconcile them is hopeless. It cannot be denied that Genera and Species are merely “convenient bundles,” and that divisions of either, if carried too far, defeat the object for which Classification is intended. Genera are only more distinct from Species, and Species from Races, because the intervening links have disappeared; and, if we could have before us the complete series which, according to the doctrine of Evolution, has at some time existed, neither Genus nor Species would be cap- able of definition, any more than are Races in many cases; while the same remark will apply to the larger groups. From these Races or Geographical variations we may not unnaturally turn to Geographical Distribution. It will always be credited to Ornithology that the interesting study of the Geo- graphical Distribution of Animals was first placed on a scientific basis as a result of the study of Birds. This was effected by Mr. Scelater, whose division of the Globe into Six “ Regions ”—the Palaearctic, Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian, forming one eroup—the “ Old World ” (Pa/aeogaea); and the Nearetic and Neo- tropical, forming a second—the “ New World” (Neogaea); was announced in 1858 (J. Linn. Soc. ii. pp. 130-145). His scheme, being solely grounded on Ornithological considerations, was accepted with scarcely any modification by Mr. Wallace in his great work (Geograph. Distrib. of Animals, 1876), and by the majority of zoologists, though some demurred, and among them Huxley, who, in especial reference to Birds, shewed (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, pp. 313-319) that there was more reason to divide the earth’s surface latitudinally than longitudinally, and that Four Regions were better than Six—these four being (1) Arctogaea, comprising Mr. Sclater’s Indian, Ethiopian, Palae- arctic, and Nearctic; (2) Austro-Columbia, corresponding with the Neotropical; (3) Australasia; and (4) New Zealand—the last three being combined as Notogaea. In 1882 Prof. Heilprin proposed to unite Mr. Sclater’s Palaearctic and Nearctic under 16 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION CHAP. the name of Triarctic ; but in the next year (Nature, xxvii. p. 606) adopted for that union Prof. Newton’s earlier term Holarctie. Some other general schemes have been promulgated, as those of M. Trouessart and Professor Mobius; but they have found little support, and with regard to the Class Aves, though certainly not with regard to other groups as Pisces, or Mollusca, what is practically the scheme of Mr. Sclater has met with acceptance, whether with or without the modifications proposed by Huxley and Professor Newton, there being really but two important points of difference— (1) the recognition of New Zealand asa distinct Region, and (2) the union of the Nearctic and Palaearctic areas into a single Region. It would be impossible here to set forth the arguments by which these views are maintained or contested, and it must suffice to trace briefly the outlines of the several districts. New Zealand, if admitted as a distinct Region, consists only of the islands so named, the smaller Chatham, Auckland, and Macquarrie groups, Antipodes Island, Lord Howe’s, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands. The Australian, if the preceding be cut off, will include Tasmania, all Australia, and the islands to the northward as far as what has been called “ Wallace’s Line ” (between Lombok and Bali), Celebes, New Guinea, New Britain, and all the countless groups of tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean——except the Galapagos, which undoubtedly belong to the next Region. The Neotropical is made up of all South America, the Antilles and Central America, the only doubt being whether to draw the northern boundary so as to exclude or include Mexico, or even the southern part of the United States. To this naturally succeeds, but with an indefinite southern boundary, the Nearctic, comprising the whole of the rest of North America to the shores of the Polar Sea, with the addition of Greenland. Its north-western corner, Alaska, is now known to be largely tenanted by forms from Asia, not found elsewhere in America, and this is one of the chief reasons assigned for uniting it with the Palaearctic area, which may be taken. to include Japan and all continental Asia to the north of China proper, the Himalayas, the Persian Gulf and the east end of the Mediterranean. Some authorities would add Northern Arabia and Lower Egypt; but all have agreed to include Tunis and the ancient Mauritania—the Barbary States lying north of the Great Desert to the Atlantic Ocean about Mogador, as well as the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, with the whole of Europe I MIGRATION ys from Greece to Iceland. What is left of Arabia and Africa, after taking off the above portions, with the addition of M: adagascar and the Mascarene Islands, is the Zthiopian Region: and all the rest of continental Asia, with the islands not included in the Australian Region, becomes the Indian, or, as it has lately been called, the Oriental. It would be quite impossible to enumerate here the various Sub-regions and Provinces into which these several Regions may be divided. The views of My. Wallace are set forth at length in his excellent work, those of Mr. Sclater in The Ibis tor 1891, pp. 514-557, and those of Professor Newton ain his Dictionary of Birds. Many writers would assign to Mada- gascar a higher rank than that of a Sub-region. Migration—Few peculiarities of Birds have excited more general interest than their seasonal Migration, which in many species is so marked as to have been observed from very remote times; and it is probable that nearly all species are subject to periodical movements of varying extent. These movements are greatest in the Birds which have their breeding quarters in the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere; and, with some exceptions, it may be said that the more northerly is the range of a species the more extensive are its migratory wanderings. In the Southern Hemisphere the facts known are as yet insufficient to allow of safe deductions. Absence of a food- supply in winter is alone enough to account for migration in the above cases, and the return from the south in spring is prob- ably due to the desire of Birds to reoccupy their old haunts, or those in which they have been bred. But just as there are some species which habitually breed within the Arctic Circle and winter in the Tropics, there are others which may not go so far in either direction, and yet have their movements governed by exactly the ‘same principle, with the result that in a temperate zone we have Birds coming from the north to winter with us, while others, arriving from the south in spring, spend the summer here, and depart towards autumn. Others again, the true “ Birds of Passage,” arriving like the last in spring, make little or no stay, but pass onward to more northerly lands, and re-appear for as short a time in autumn on their return journey southwards. Moreover, observation shews that, in most parts of the temperate zone, there are many Birds which, though resident as species, are migratory as individuals—that is to say, that while examples of VOL. IX C 18 MIGRATION CHAP. the species may be met with at certain spots throughout the whole year, those which occur at one season are not always the same individuals as those which occur at another—the particular Thrush, Titmouse, or Finch, appearing in the winter not being identical with that which appears in summer. Again, among species of which some individuals are constantly, present throughout the year, a great accession to the numbers is made at the close of the breeding-season by the influx of other individuals of the same species bred in another district, though this influx generally lasts for a comparatively short time, and the strangers pass on, accompanied it ay be, by some or even most of those that have been reared on the spot in the season immediately preceding. These species are the “ Partial Migrants.” It would at first seem from the above that the annual mi- gratory movement would be in a direction due north and south, or south and north, according to season, and so in a general way it is; but there is no doubt that this simple movement is dis- turbed by many causes, chief among which is possibly the configuration of the land, which is found to give rise to con- siderable deviations, and that to an extent which is at present very imperfectly understood. It may be considered proved that the trend of a coast-line, the course of a great river, or the intervention of a chain of mountains, has a very appreciable effect on the direction taken by migrating Birds; but not one of these, nor all in combination, affords a sufficient explanation of all the deflexions, and will certainly not account for at least one remarkable fact, as it may now be regarded—the tendency of many Birds in Eastern Europe and part of Siberia to travel westward towards the close of summer or in autumn. This is shewn in several ways, but in none better than by the almost yearly occurrence in Britain at that season of examples of species which breed only in the Russian Empire. For, admitting that such examples are stray wanderers, which have lost their course, their appearance here is still useful in indicating the existence of the westward movement; and, with the evidence they furnish before us, we may judge whence come vast numbers of others Starlings, Crows, Rooks, Jays, Larks, and what not, whose origin and starting-point it would be otherwise hard to trace or even surmise. Much has been written, especially in Europe, on so- called “Lines of Flight,” but as yet to little purpose, and indeed I MIGRATION 19 scarcely any writers on the subject have had sufficient data to form an hypothesis, so that it is not suprising that hardly any two agree in theory.'’ In other parts of the world there is still less ground for theorising, though in North America many valuable observations have been made; and these, in conjunction with those carried on in Europe, will no doubt in due time lead to satisfactory results as regards the Northern Hemisphere. Concerning the Southern our ignorance is almost complete. Of the way in which Migration is performed there is still much to learn—but one thing is certain, all Birds do not migrate in the same manner. Some gather in flocks, great or small, others seem to accomplish their northward journey in pairs, or at any- rate arrive at their breeding-quarters already paired. Some undoubtedly voyage by night, others may be seen to travel by day. Of the Birds which in spring arrive unpaired, it is now incontestable that the males outstrip or precede the females. There is, moreover, equal diversity in the southward movements towards the close of summer and all through the autumn. Of some species the earlier broods disappear without attracting attention, and the later broods as well as the parents slip away almost as imperceptibly. In one remarkable case, that of the Cuckoo, the adults leave this country long before the young are fit to follow; but, in by far the greater number, the young start first, and are followed, often at an interval of some weeks, by their parents.” It is contended by many that of actual Migration we see very little, since it is constantly carried on at a beight where the Birds are beyond our ordinary observation, and as regards some species this seems to be true. Moreover, it would seem that the longest flights are performed by night, and when the sky is clear, so that only in thick weather do the Birds come near enough to the earth to be heard—seeing them being of course impossible in the dark, though in a few cases they have been telescopically observed passing across the face of the moon. It is certain that many of the smaller land-birds gradually press 1 For the best collection of facts, see the various reports of the Migration Com- mittee of the British Association, 1880-1888 ; and especially that for 1896, con- taining the Digest of the observations (made at Lighthouses and Lightships) by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke. 2 It has been suggested that these flocks of young birds are led by older members of their own species which, though for some cause not breeding, have yet had experience of migration ; but of this there is no evidence whatever. 20 TERMINOLOGY CHAP, onwards prior to leaving our shores, but after that they may possibly betake themselves aloft to continue their journey. The speed at which Birds travel during Migration is a matter on which very diverse opinions have been and are held; but the highest estimates, such as those of the late Herr Giatke (who crown (vertex) lore \orbit } forehead (/rous) hind-head (occiput) iA G7) nostril = eee Cele Vo _-vidge (czlmez) \ .---maxilla -- cutting edges (toma) ear coverts, auriculars ~*~ nape (xucha)-~ VA Zz hind-neck (cervix) U~ LF, |», mandible ‘. “gonys: Ss “throat (gua) -. > lesser coverts “fore-neck ( Jugulum) -- median coverts -- bastard wing (a/c) back (do rsum) scapulars----~ / “breast (pectus rump Serf Yi; ty: “i, Wy YY upper-tail coverts___ | Y ~~~ secondaries (remiges sécundar7?) belly (2édonzen) --- netatarsus. my _-outer or 4th toe f ‘under tail-coverts and if “Hf vent (crissum) N if “primaries (remiges primarii ) ih 7; " tail rectrices \ iy ‘ Fic. 6.—A Falcon. To shew the nomenclature of the external parts. would allow even 150 miles an hour), ean scarcely be otherwise than exaggerations; for there is no evidence of any but exceptional performances at such rates, and there is really no reason to suppose that Birds can fly faster at a higher elevation than at a lower. Terminology.—The annexed figure explains the nomenclature of most of the outward parts of a Bird, but some further explana- tions may be given, as below :— Me I TERMINOLOGY 21 Air-sacs—Membranous receptacles, filled with air, in communication with the respiratory organs or passages. Pouches are often exaggerated air-sacs, Alar bar.—A coloured bar across the wing (ala). Allantois—A vascular sack, growing from the hind-gut of the embryo and enclosed by the amnion ; the two fuse together and form the Chorion. which lines the egg-shell, and takes upon itself respiratory functions. Altrices or Nidicolae.—Nestlings which, being hatched in a helpless condition, are fed by their parents or inhabit the nest for a considerable time. Amnion.—A membrane which grows in the developing ege from the ends and sides of the embryonic area, and encloses the embryo at an early period, Bronchi (p. 13). Bronchial syrinz.—One in which outer tympaniform membranes exist between two or more successive bronchial semi-rings, while an inner tympaniform membrane may also be present. In typical cases the trachea has no sounding membranes. Chest.—The same as the upper breast or base of fore-neck. Chorion.—See Allantois. Compressed.—Used of lateral compression as opposed to vertical (depressed). Coverts (tectrices)—Feathers that cover the base of the quills (Remiges, oar- feathers) of the wing and of the tail (Rectrices, steering-feathers). The wing exhibits several series above and below (greater, median, and lesser). Unless otherwise specified, “ coverts” in the text refer to upper coverts. Cubitals.— See Secondaries, Cuneate.—W edge-shaped. Decomposed (p. 3). Depressed.See Compressed. Distal—That end of any part or member which is furthest from the imaginary centre or axis of the body. Dorsal—The upper side of the body ; and hence applied to the correspond- ing surface of any part or parts of the structure. Filoplwmes.—Filamentous or hair-like feathers. Flanks—The portion of the sides near the leg. Graduated Used of the tail when its feathers diminish in length gradually. Hackles.—Elongated and pointed feathers, as on the neck of Fowls. Heterodactylous (p. 10). : Hyoid Apparatus.—The bony and cartilaginous framework of the tongue. Hypocleidiwm.—aA projecting median process at the junction (symphysis) of the clavicles. : Lanceolate.—Used of the tongue, when pointed and (commonly) lengthened. Lore.—The space between the bill and the eye. Mantle—The feathers of the upper back combined with the upper wing- coverts. Manwals.—See Primaries. Nidicolae.—See Altrices. Nidifugae.—See Praecoces. Oil-glands.—Secretory organs near the root of the tail, probably used in oiling the plumage. Some éxhibit tufts of feathers, others are naked. Operculum (p. 11). ; Pamprodactylous (p. 10). DP TERMINOLOGY CHAP. I Patella.—The knee-cap. Pouches—See Air-sacs. Powder-down patches.—Groups of powder-down feathers (p. 3). Praecoces or Nidifugae.—Nestlings which are hatched in a condition that enables them almost immediately to leave the nest and feed themselves. Primaries or Manuals.—Those wing-quills (Remiges), varying from ten to twelve, borne by the manus or hand. They should pr Bory be counted outwards from the carpus or wrist. Procnemial.—tIn front of the knee. Proximal.—That end of any part or member which is nearest to the im- aginary centre or axis of the body. Racquet-shaped.—Used of feathers with bare shafts and roundish terminal vanes. Rectrices and Remiges.—See Coverts, Primaries and Secondaries. The Rectrices usually number twelve, but vary from four to twenty-eight. - Reticulated (p. 10). Rictal.—Belonging to the gape. Roofed.—See Vaulted. , and meaning arrow-shaped. Scapulars.—The feathers lying along the scapulae or shoulder-blades. Scutellated (p. 10). Secondaries or Cubitals—Those wing-quills (Remges) borne by the Ulna, which often exhibit roughnesses where they grow. They should properly be counted inwards from the wrist, and vary from six to thirty or more. Spatulate-—Spoon-shaped. Used of the bill or of racquet-shaped feathers. Speculum.—Strictly applied to a band across the wing, more or less metallic in colour, which occurs in the Duck-tribe. Square.—Used of the tail when level at the end. Syring (p. 13). Tectrices.—See Coverts. Tertials.—A mistaken word for the inner secondaries. Thighs.—Loosely used in describing plumage to indicate the feathers falling over the leg. Trachea (p. 18). Tracheal syrinx.—One in which the lower portion of the trachea consists of thin membranaceous walls, about six of the rings being thin or deficient. Both inner and outer tympaniform membranes exist in the bronchi, as well as some vibratory tracheal membranes. The few muscles, generally but one pair, are wholly lateral. Tracheo-bronchial syrina (the normal form).—One which has this essential feature, that the proximal end of the inner tympaniform membrane, forming the median wall of each bronchial tube, is attached to the last pair of tracheal rings. Vaulted or Roofed.—Used of the tail when compressed like that of a Fowl. Ventral.—The lower side of the body, in which lie the heart, lungs and digestive organs ; and hence applied to the corresponding surface of any part or parts of the structure. Zygodactylous (p. 10). CLAP TER, It ARCHAEORNITHES—_-NEORNITHES RATITAE——NEORNITHES ODONTOLCAE. THE Class AVES is divided by Dr. Gadow (Bronn’s AZassen und Ordnungen des Thier-Reichs, Aves, Systemat. Theil, p. 299) into two Sub-classes of lke value, ARCHAHORNITHES and NEORNITHES, though some writers prefer to consider the former as of equal rank only to the several subdivisions of the latter here adopted, namely, Ratitae, Odontolcae, and Carinatae (p. 25). The question is clearly one of degree, and depends entirely on the amount of weight assigned to the various points of distinction to be mentioned below. The Sub-class ARCHAEORNITHES is at present represented by but one member, the first undoubted fossil Bird, made known in 1861 by Andreas Wagner from the Jurassic slate formation of Solenhofen in Bavaria, and now preserved in the British Museum. This he described under the name of Griphosaurus ; but as Hermann von Meyer had already bestowed the title of Archae- opteryx lithographica upon a bird, presumably identical, a feather of which had been obtained from the above system, the latter appellation has a prior claim. In 1877 a second example, now at Berlin, was procured from the same beds, since which date Meyer's specific name has become firmly established, in place of that of macrura given by Owen to Wagner's specimen. . This very remarkable animal, about the size of a Rook, is without doubt a connecting link between Reptiles and Birds ; but zoologists are practically unanimous in regarding it as an Avine form, with Reptilian affinities and probably arboreal habits. The sternum was possibly furnished with a weak keel, the strong wide furcula was U-shaped, the ribs had no uncinate processes, while in all probability the coracoid and scapula made 1 Of. W. Dames, Pal. Abhandl. ii. 1884, pp. 119-196 ; transl. Geol. Mag. 1884, pp. 418-424; Vost, Ibis, 1880, pp. 434-456 ; Hurst, Vat. Sci. vi. 1895, pp. 112-122, 180-186, 244-248 ; Pycraft, op. cit. v. 1894, pp. 350-360, 437-448 ; viii. 1896, pp. 261-266. ZA. ARCHAEORNITHES CHAP. a right, or even an acute, angle at their junction, and the centra of the vertebrae of the neck and back were biconcave. The bill | was short and blunt, each side of the upper jaw possessing about thirteen teeth, of which six seem to have belonged to the prae- sil Hl eH: Fic. 7.—Archaeopteryx tithographica. The Berlin specimen. (After Dames. ) maxilla ; whereas in each side of the lower jaw only three can be recognised, and those towards the anterior extremity. These teeth, conical in shape and of fairly equal size, were fixed in a regular row, in distinct sockets. The fibula and tibia did not coalesce, the latter exceeding the metatarsus in length; the toes were four — Il NEORNITHES 25 in number, with two, three, four, and five phalanges respectively, ending in claws, the hallux being directed backwards. The manus had three free digits, and apparently three free metacarpals ; the pollex consisted of two joints, the index of three and the third finger of four, while each had a strong hooked claw at the tip. The hand was furnished with six or seven well-developed primaries, attached to the third metacarpal and the second and third digits, the number of secondaries being ten. The long Lizard- like tail had no terminal pygostyle, but was composed of about twenty-one free post-sacral vertebrae, of which the first twelve each bore a pair of large feathers, similar to those of the wing, with the inner webs broader than the outer, and with decided shafts. The Sub-class VEORNITHES may be arranged, as above stated, in three divisions, (A) Neornithes Ratitae, (B) Neornithes Odon- tolcae, and (C) Neornithes Carinatae. The first of these con- tains the Ratite Birds proper and possibly part of the so-called STEREORNITHES of Patagonia (p. 43), with several fossil forms of doubtful position from England, France, and New Mexico, as will be seen below; the second the HzesPzRORNITHES of the Cretaceous Shales of Kansas, the #vaziorn7rHES of the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and Baptornis of the American Chalk; the third the ICHTHYORNITHES of the aforesaid. Kansas deposits, and all other existing Birds, with various extinct species closely allied to them. Of the points of distinction between the Neornithes and the Archaeornithes the most important are that the metacarpals are fused together, the second digit being the longest, and the third more or. less reduced; and that the number of caudal verte- brae does not, as far as is known, exceed thirteen, of which the last five or six combine together to form a pygostyle, except in the Hesperornithes, Ratitae, and Tinamidae, where such is seldom the case.” The centra of the vertebrae also are concave on one side only, except in /chthyornis, and perhaps in Hnaliornis. The possession of teeth is, of course, exceptional, as 1s the remarkable loss of the keel of the sternum in the Ratitae. It is now generally, if not universally, agreed that Flightless Birds were developed from those that could fly. It does not, however, necessarily follow that the Neornithes are direct 1 A doubtful genus, Laopteryz, has been described from the Jurassic by Marsh, Ann. Nat. Hist. (5) vii. 1881, p. 488. * H. Gadow, Bronn’s Thier-Reich, Aves, Syst. Theil. 1893, p. 90. 26 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP, descendants of the Archaeornithes, as each may be a separate offshoot from the same parent stem. All we can safely assert 1s, that the former were in existence about the end of the Jurassic times, that teeth were still retained in some cases during the Cretaceous Epoch, and that not only normal forms, but also flight- less forms without keel or pygostyle,’ had arisen by that date. (A) The Ratitae are commonly characterised as Birds with no keel to the sternum; but this will not hold as a definition, since Flesperornis has also that peculiarity, while such genera as Didus, Stringops, Cnemiornis, and Notornis are nearly in the same con- dition. It is no one point, therefore, but the sum of many, which enables us to draw so clear a line of demarcation between this’ primitive group and the remainder of existing forms; neverthe- less it is convenient to preserve the name unaltered, as it is well understood to what members of the class it is more especially meant to apply. The rhamphotheca, or horny sheath of the bill, instead of being simple, is composed of several more or less separate pieces, as in the Procellaridae, Tinamidae, and Steganopodes ; the quadrate bone, by means of which the lower jaw is articulated to the skull, in place of two proximal knobs has only one, as in Hesperornis, Ichthyornis, and the Tinamidae; the coracoid and scapula are fused together, and meet at an obtuse, as opposed to an acute or right, angle; and the last six or seven caudal vertebrae do not coalesce into a pygostyle, or upright triangular expansion to carry the rectrices, a state of things found else- where in Hesperornis and the Tinamidae.” The reduced wings preclude flight; the tail is functionless, as in the Podicipedidae and Tinamidae; the tongue is very small; the oil gland is absent ; the penis is large and erectile, being comparable to that of the Anseriformes ; while in the adult the feathers are evenly dis- tributed over the whole surface, as in the Spheniscidae and Pala- medeidae, no down being present. Claws are found on the pollex and index in Struthio and Rhea, or occasionally on the third digit ; in Casuarius, Dromacus, and Apteryx they occur only on the index. Ratite Birds proper are comprised in six groups, STRUTHIONES or Ostriches, RHEAE or Nandus, MEGISTANES or Cassowaries and Emeus, APTERYGES or Kiwis, DrNornirHEs or Moas, and AEPYOR- NITHES or Roes. ’ H. Gadow, Bronn’s, Thier-Reich, Aves, Syst. Theil. 1898, p. 90. * A pygostyle is occasionally. found in Struthio and Apteryx. Il STRUTHIONIDAE No N I. STRUTHIONES. Fam. Struthionidae.—These birds are distinguished from all others by having only two toes—the third and fourth—the ter- minal phalanges of which are shortened and bear thick stunted claws, that of the outer toe being commonly absent. The whole foot, including the long scutellated metatarsus, is exceptionally stout, and the toes are padded beneath. The beak is short, broad, and depressed, with deeply split gape; the head is small, with iarge eyes; the neck very long; the wing- and drooping tail- feathers —the plumes of commerce—are large and soft, with broad equal vanes. The furcula and syringeal muscles are wanting, nor is there any aftershaft. Struthio camelus, the Ostrich or “ Camel-bird” of North Africa, now extends from Barbary to Arabia, and even to Mesopotamia, though no longer found, as of old, in Egypt or Central Asia, its former occurrence in Baluchistan being somewhat open to question. It is black with white wings and tail, having a flesh-coloured neck covered with brownish down, and partially bare tibiae of the same hue. The female and young male are almost entirely cinereous, while the chicks are clothed with bristly yellowish-white down with blackish stripes. The eggs of the typical northern bird have a surface like ivory, while those from Southern Africa are marked with close-set pits, whence some authorities recognise a different species (S. australis) in the latter region, distinguishable, moreover, by the bluish colour of the naked parts. Examples from Somali- land and the adjoining districts of East Africa to Lake Tanganyika are separated as S. molybdophanes, on account of the leaden colour of the unfeathered portions, coupled with a red patch on the front of the metatarsus. The eggs are smoother than in the southern species, but similarly pitted. The fossil forms S. asiaticus from the Pliocene of the Siwalik Hills of India, and S. karatheodori from the Upper Miocene of Samos complete the family, while S. (Struthiolithus) chersonensis has been founded on a petrified egy from the government of Cherson in South Russia. The Ostrich stands about eight feet high, being the largest of existing birds; it frequents sandy wastes and dry arid localities, such as are found in the Sahara and the plains and valleys of Southern Africa, while districts studded with low bushes are not unfrequently tenanted. Though the fable of the head being hidden 28 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP. to avoid detection is of course devord of foundation, this species is timid and wild in its native haunts, and being keen-sighted as well as wary, gives an impression of great restlessness. From the fact that a single stride is said to cover twenty-five feet or more, it will readily be under- stood that the speed is very great, exceeding that of a galloping horse; but, owing to its habit of running in a curve, it 18 generally possible to intercept the bird’s path at a distance from the point where it started. In motion the head is held forward, and the wings are out- spread, while both beak and feet are used as Weapons of defence when capture is iImmi- nent, the latter delivering strong sideways — kicks, which make close quarters very dangerous. Forty or fifty indi- viduals may at times be seen in company; the usual parties, however, consist of five or six at most, especially during the breed- ing season, when the polygamous eock escorts a flock of several hens, obtained by battle or allured by courting performances earlier Fra, 8.—Ostrich. Struthio camelus. x 1. in the season. A liking for the companionship of zebras, hartebeests and other antelopes, has been noticed by various observers. The ery is said to be hoarse and mournful, resembling the roar of a lion or 4 STRUTHIONIDAE 29 the lowing of an ox; but Ostriches are, as a rule, decidedly silent. In a state of nature the food consists chiefly of herbage, including seeds and fruits; in captivity the diet is of every description, and even in a wild condition small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects are eaten, with a quantity of grit to aid digestion. In confinement the birds become very tame, and will then swallow bones, nails, and the hke—in fact almost anything they can pick up. They can exist for a long time without water, but drink regularly when opportunity offers; they show a hking for salt, and will bathe in the sea or in rivers, immersed up to the neck. The hens belonging to one cock lay in the same nest, which is a fairly shallow excavation dug in sand or dry soil, and surrounded by the material thrown out during the process, or more rarely by an edging of grass. The spot is hard to discover in the desert, the stride being too long for tracks to be of much assistance. More than thirty yellowish-white eggs are sometimes deposited within the pit in circular arrangement, and many more are dropped around, to serve, it is asserted, for food for the newly-hatched young; in the wild state, however, the average number 1s probably less. The contents, equal to those of some two dozen hens’ eggs, are used for food by the natives, the shells forming convenient pots for water and so forth. The cock undertakes almost the whole duty of incubation, being occasionally relieved by the hens during the daytime ;* but when the sun is hot no brooding is necessary, though a covering of sand is superposed to guard the spot from the depredations of marauders. The chicks, which run from the shell, are hatched in six or seven weeks, and are accompanied by both parents, the male often counterfeiting wounds to draw away the intruder, circling around with drooping wings or throwing himself down as if in extremities. Ostriches were well known to the ancients, who used the plumes for ornament, as we do; these were considered emblems of justice from the equality of the two webs, or were worn In token of victory, as is still done in some parts of Africa. The words of Aristotle—who was followed by Pliny in the statement that the Ostrich was part quadruped, part bird—combine with those of Xenophon to bear witness to this knowledge, while monuments, inscriptions, and even the Bible tell the same tale. In the Sahara and elsewhere these birds are hunted with horses and camels, 1 P. L. Sclater, P.Z7.S. 1895, p. 401. 30 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP. being stalked or ridden down by means of fresh relays of beasts ; the Namaquas draw a cordon round them; the Bushman, con- cealed in sand or disguised in skins, shoots them with poisoned arrows; while the lasso, pitfall, or other device are used in par- ticular districts. Space will not permit a detailed account of the Ostrich farms of modern Africa, so well described in Messrs. de Mosenthal and Harting’s Ostriches and Ostrich-Farming, and other books; but it may be mentioned that the tribes of the north of that continent have long been in the habit of domes- ticating the bird, that the value of the sales in South Africa is not far from a million pounds yearly, and that the plumes are plucked or, preferably, cut about twice a year, the adults yielding the finest feathers. The flesh is coarse, and of little use for food. II. RHEAE. Fam. Rheidae—The Rheas, or Nandus, have the head, neck, and bill much hke those of Ostriches, the maxilla being somewhat more rounded and terminating in a nail-lke process; the meta- tarsus is also similar and equally stout in proportion, but the toes are three in number in place of two, the mid-phalanges being shortened and the terminal furnished with decided claws. In Rhea darwini alone the metatarsi are mainly reticulated instead of scutellated anteriorly, and have the upper portion feathered. The bones of the wing are comparatively well developed, the feathers being slender but not ornamental, while there is no apparent tail. The furcula is wanting, as is the aftershaft to the feathers, but the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial with one pair of syringeal muscles, a condition absolutely unique among the Ratitae. The head and neck are feathered, only the lores, orbits, and ear-open- ings being naked, and of these the latter are surrounded by bristles. Rhea americana, the so-called American Ostrich, the Ema of the Brazilans, the Avestruz, Nandu, or Chueké of Argentina, is found from Bolivia, Paraguay, and South Brazil to the Rio Negro, if not further; it is brownish-grey with blackish crown, nape, and breast, white thighs and abdomen, and yellowish neck. The sub-species L. macrorhyncha ot North-East Brazil is darker, with longer bill and more slender metatarsi. &. darwini, which oceurs south of the Rio Negro, and up the Andes to Tarapaca, is butfish-brown, with whiter underparts and white margins to the Il RHEIDAE 31 feathers of the wings and back. Hens are not so dark, and Mr. Hudson says? that in R. darwini the young are dusky crey and are hatched with the mes legs feathered to the toes. Rheas are shorter than Ostriches by about a couple of feet, Rk. americana being the largest form; the feathers are much rounded, broad, and very soft. Fossil re- mains occur in the Upper Tertiary or quite recent deposits of South America. The members of this family find their favourite haunts on the treeless flats of the Argentine pampas, the scrub-covered plains of Patagonia, or the dry open Sertoés of Brazil, where their acute vision enables them to detect the approach of enemies from afar. Small flocks of from three to seven individuals are met with at certain seasons, and Ere O-=Nandine when america escent parties of twenty or thirty at other times—often with deer or guanacos—so it would appear that, as in the case of the Ostrich, larger companies are formed after the young are able to provide for themselves. The birds become exceedingly tame when not molested, but when danger threatens they run at great speed, doubling upon their pursuers constantly, or crouching down among bushes or other cover, if they think they can escape observation. In the latter case they will he closely until almost trodden upon, and may be shot before they rise by the hunter who cautiously approaches their hiding-place, as the head is usually visible above the surrounding vegetation. When moving at full pace the wings have normally a somewhat drooping position, but they are raised alternately above the back 1 Argentine Ornithology, ii. 1889, p. 220. 32 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP. apparently to aid progress—-when fresh exertions are neces- sary. Mr. Hudson tells us? that Darwin’s Rhea “ carries its neck stretched forward, which makes it seem lower in stature than the allied species.” The diet consists chiefly of grass, roots, and seeds, but berries of Hmpetrwm are a favourite food, and lizards, insects, worms, and molluscs are said to be eaten, together with hard substances to promote digestion. Nandus take readily to the water, and can swim across a river several hundred yards wide, the body being hardly visible. In spring the cock utters a deep, resonant, booming noise, a loud hiss being not uncommonly heard also; while at that season the rival males attack each other viciously with their beaks, trampling down the ground in their passion, but not generally using their feet, as they do when wounded. The hens secured by each of the cocks lay together in a mere depression in the soil with very little, if any, lining; the ecgs numbering from twenty to thirty, or exceptionally more, besides those scattered about outside the nest. Here again Mr. Hudson is our authority for stating * that the eggs of RL. americana are golden yellow when fresh, those of A. darwini deep rich green ; both however fade quickly to a whitish colour. The male incubates very closely for about six weeks, often taking up his position, as the Ostrich does, before the final egg is laid; he afterwards attends upon the young, and charges intruders who seem dangerous, with outstretched wings and beak. Rheas may be captured by riding after them in a semicircle, which closes upon — them as they go, or by means of long-winded hounds; but the — most usual method is that of hurling the “bolas” or leaden balls connected by leather thongs, which wind around the bird’s neck or legs, and thereby hamper its movements or throw it down. The feathers, though inferior to Ostrich plumes, are much used for brooms and the like, and are said to be called “ Vautour” in the trade. The flesh is very poor. These birds have bred both on the Continent and in Britain. Til. MEGISTANES. The MEGISTANES comprise the Caswariidae or Cassowaries, and the Dromaeidae or Emeus, the following being the chief peculiarities of the group. The wings are quite rudimentary ; 1 Argentine Ornithology, ii. 1889, p. 220. 2 Op. cit. pp. 218, 220. IL CASUARIIDAE 33 the aftershaft of the contour feathers is extremely large, so that they appear to be double; three front toes are present, with shortened mid-phalanges and large claws; and the two clavicles do not meet. The lack of ornamental wing- or tail- plumes, and the hair-lke nature of the coat is also characteristic, while, as opposed to Rhea, there is no indication of syringeal muscles. Within the group itself the Cassowaries are distinguished from the Emeus by the points next to be mentioned. The former have a compressed keeled beak and a large casque of bony tissue upon the bare head, the greater part of the neck being also naked and in most cases wattled; the remiges are reduced to thick black barb- less quills from four to six in number, and the inner toe has a particularly long sharp claw. Emeus, on the contrary, have a broad depressed beak, short feathers on the head and neck, no helmet, wattles, or spines on the wing, and an ordinary claw on the inner toe. Both Families have long necks, stout metatarsi covered with coarse roundish scales, and toes padded below; the tibia being nearly, if not quite, covered by the plumage. Fam. I. Casuariidae.— Following Professor Salvadori} Casso- waries may be divided into two groups: the first with the helmet laterally compressed, and the second where it is triangular and pyra- midal, or even depressed. They are all large birds, though smaller than Emeus, which are only surpassed in size among existing forms by the Ostrich; the colour of the coarse but glossy hair-like plumage is black, and similar in both sexes; the hen is bigger than the cock, as is also the case in the Dromaeidae and Apterygidae. Of the first of the above groups, Casuwarius tricwrunculatus, from Warbusi in New Guinea, which is possibly a “ sport,” has two lateral wattles on the fore-neck and a third small median ~ caruncle at a lower level. (C. bicarunculatus, of the Aru Islands, has two long distant reddish-violet wattles, a black casque, bluish- green head, and blue neck with some red behind. C. galeatus of Ceram, the species first known to ornithologists, is similarly coloured, though less brightly, and has the flesh-coloured throat- wattles close together, and a naked reddish-purple space on each side of the neck. The larger C. australis of North-East Australia has a higher helmet, a brighter blue throat, and a few scattered hairs on the wattles, which Wall, who discovered the species, said were coloured with blue and scarlet. C. beecarii of the Aru Islands, 1 Ornitologia Papuasia e Molucche, iii. Torino, 1882, p. 473. VOL. IX D 34 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP. Middle and South New Guinea, has the front and top of the casque black, its sides greenish, and its back yellowish ; the head is grey- blue, the throat and sides of the neck are blue, the hind-neck is red and orange, a yellow streak running across to the mandible; a bare space on each side of the base of the neck is flesh-coloured, and the long single neck-wattle of the same colour is ee deeply eed at the tip. Of the second group, C. uniappendiculatus (Fig. 10), of Sala- watti and the adjoining parts of New Guinea, has the head, throat, and nape blue, the lower portion of the neck and the median pear- shaped caruncle yellow, the casque dusky olive, and a longitudinal naked space towards the sides of the neck flesh-coloured with a yellow margin. C. occipitalis of Jobi Island is distinguished from the last-named by a large occipital spot of yellow and a paler helmet ; while the remaining three forms have no wattle at all. Of these, C. papuanus, of North-East New Guinea, has a dusky black casque, blue head, throat, and fore-neck, grey-green occiput and auricular region, and orange hind-neck changing into rosy flesh-colour towards the sides. C. picticollis of South-East New Guinea has a black helmet, grey-blue occiput, violet-blue nape, pale blue hind-neck, red throat and longitudinal space on the sides of the lower neck; C. bennett: of New Britain differing in having the head and neck of an almost uniform blue. Nestling Cassowaries are clothed in rusty brown, relieved by darker stripes; at a later period they become more tawny, and the black plumage begins to appear; but a few hair-like feathers — remain on the head for some time, while the helmet is very gradually developed from a flat Coot-like shield, though the gaudy colours of the neck and wattles are assumed much earlier. All the species of this family inhabit wooded country, com- monly of the densest description, though often found in more — open scrub and in the neighbourhood of creeks and watercourses. Naturally any but inquisitive, they have been rendered doubly wary by man’s persecution since their haunts have been invaded by colonists. They dislike the sun, and emerge from cover only in the morning and evening, seeking their favourite spots, where they feed chiefly on fallen fruit, varying this diet with insects and crustaceans. Berries, leaf-buds, and bulbs are, however, also eaten, with grit and pebbles for digestive purposes, and in 1 Cf. E. P. Ramsay, P.Z.S. 1876, p. 122. rr CASUARIIDAE captivity they are almost omnivorous. In this state they become extremely tame, and are kept like fowls by the natives of some districts, who consider the flesh very palatable; while in Queens- land the adults are said to be hunted with dogs. The plumage is used for the manufacture of mats, rugs, head-ornaments, and the like. Cassowaries run with wonderful swiftness. though rather heavily, diving into the bushes at a moment’s notice. or m™) au 4 Cie S. Fig. 10.—One-wattled Cassowary. Casuarius uniappendiculatus. x >. (From Nature.) aiding themselves by their wings, and leaping over obstacles as much as six feet high, if shelter is not readily available. They usually rest on the whole of the metatarsus, but sleep on the breast, or perhaps occasionally on the side; at other times they will dance about with contortions of the neck, or roll on the ground like playful monkeys. Old males become very fierce when driven to bay, kicking out in front or sideways, ruffling up their feathers and using their beaks at the same time. In the wet season swimming is a common practice, wide rivers being 36 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP. crossed with ease, and in the absence of other bathing-places the sea is often utilised. The note in a state of excitement is a sort of grunt or snort, the call to the young being of a lowing nature ; but the ordinary voice is loud, guttural, and unearthly, consisting of quickly-repeated croaking sounds, lasting for as long as three minutes, and audible at a distance of a mile, or considerably more. The female is much quieter, while the “Mooruk” (C. bennetti) is stated to utter a low scolding or plaintive whistle. A rough nest of leaves and grass is formed in a depression of the soil, generally below bushes or tangled undergrowth, in which from three to six very large eggs are deposited, placed in the shape of the letter V. These are normally light green in ground colour, with close-set granulations of dark bright green ; but one, if not more, is ordinarily of a perfectly smooth texture, and is therefore entirely ight green. The cock incubates, it appears, solely, though some say that the hen takes her turn; and the former tends the young when hatched, the period of sitting being about seven weeks. The nest is said to be covered by the parent if left for a time, but this is uncertain, as is the use of the two or three eggs scattered round the nest, which are asserted by natives of widely-distant districts to furnish food for the chicks. After breeding, small flocks are formed in some cases, possibly by the combination of two famihes. The Ceram species, which seems to have been called “Emeu” or “Ema” by the early Portuguese navigators, often lays in captivity, while C. bennetti has bred in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. Fossil remains occur in Australia. Hypselornis sivalensis is an allied form from the Phocene of the Siwalik Hills in India. Fam. II. Dromaeidae.—F rom about the beginning of this cen- tury the name “ Emeu,” used, as mentioned above, in varying form for both the Rhea and the Cassowary, has been restricted to the genus Dromaeus, the members of which stand more than five feet high, though lower on their legs than an Ostrich. D. novae-hollandiae of the interior of Eastern Australia, which extended in times past to Tasmania and the islands in Bass’s Straits, is blackish grey, with — black tips to the plumage. D. irroratus, a more slender species - from West, and probably the adjoining parts of South, Australia, has each feather transversely barred with dark grey and white, and a rufous margin to the black patch at the end. Young birds in down are greyish-white, with longitudinal blackish streaks above, - = DROMAEIDAE ios) N and spots on the head and lower parts. The sexes are similarly coloured, both possessing a remarkable tracheal pouch, connected by a sht with the windpipe, and only fully developed in adults. In their general habits Emeus are not unlike Cassowaries, but they inhabit sandy plains or open forest districts, being invariably monogamous, though seen in small parties after breed- ing. Their sight is keen, they run strongly and rapidly, rest on the whole metatarsus, and kick out backwards towards the side. Fig. 11.—Emeu. Dromaeus novae-hollandiae. x +. The food is of fruit, roots, and herbage, generally obtained in the morning or evening; water is freely drunk, and the birds love bathing, being capable of crossing even a broad river. ‘They litter at times a hissing or grunting sound, but in the nesting season a peculiar loud booming or drumming note is produced, probably in connexion with the tracheal pouch. The nest may be a mere hollow scraped in the ground, with or without a sur- rounding ring of grass or plant-stems, or a mound of bark-scales some three inches high?; the eggs are from seven to thirteen in number, or even more, and are of a dark, or occasionally light, 1 Cf. Murie, P.Z.S. 1867, p. 405. 2 North, Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds, Sydney, 1889, p. 293. 38 NEORNITHES RATITAE CHAP, green colour, while the surface is ‘covered with granulations which give it the appearance of shagreen. They are small for the size of the bird, being less than those of the Cassowary. The cock performs the duties of incubation, and it is very doubt- ful whether the hen ever assists him; the chicks break the shell in about eight weeks. The flesh is moderately good for eating, and the fat below the skin yields a large quantity of oil. The birds are constantly hunted with dogs or shot on account of the damage they do to wire fencing and the grass they devour. Emeus are easily domesticated, and propagate readily in semi- confinement, being perfectly hardy in Britain and elsewhere. D. patricius is a fossil species from the Pleistocene of Queens- land and New South Wales. YL. gracilipes is another extinct Australian form, but Dromornis australis of Queensland may indicate a distinct group of Ratitae.’ Dromaeus ater, of Kangaroo Island, off the south coast of Australia, is now extinct, though a stuffed skin and a skeleton are in the Paris Museum.? IV. APTERYGES. The APTERYGES, or Kiwis, have been recently shown to be much more nearly related to the Dinornithes than to the remaining Ratite forms, and are accordingly placed in close proximity to them in the classification here adopted. Professor T. J. Parker has, moreover, lately formulated a new system—excluding the Aepyornithes, which may commend itself to many persons as a further improvement.’ In this, the Order Struthiones contains the family Struthionidae, and the Rheae the Rheidae; but the third Order, upon which the name Megistanes, Vieillot, is be- stowed, includes two Sub-Orders—Casuariformes, comprising the Casuariidae and Dromaeidae, and Apterygiformes, with the Din- ornithidae and Apterygidae. In other words, the original stock is considered to have produced three Ratite branches only, the third of which gives rise to two twigs, each of these separating again into two smaller twigs representing the Families. Fam. Apterygidae._—These birds are at once distinguished 1 For an extinct gigantic bird from Callabonna, South Australia, with enormous skull (Genyornis newtoni), see Stirling, Mature, 1. 1894, p. 206; Stirling and Zietz, Tr. R. Soc. S. Austr., xx. 1896, pp. 171-211. * Cf. Milne-Edwards and Oustalet, Vol. Centenaire Mus. N. Hz Paris, 1893, pp. 62-67. ° Tr. Zool. Soc. London, xiii. 1895, pp. 425-427. i APTERYGIDAE 39 from all their allies by their small size, and by the long, weak, decurved bill, which tapers regularly and has the nostrils placed almost at the extremity. The head and eyes are comparatively small, as will be seen to be the case in the Dinornithidae. The legs are very stout and situated backwardly, a small elevated hallux is present, and the toes are provided with long, sharp claws. The moderate metatarsus is reticulated in the young, but is clothed with fairly large scutes in the adult, when it becomes much smoother. The wings are small-boned and invisible, with functionless quills, the tail is rudimentary, the aftershaft and furcula are absent, while many elongated hairs occur on the front of the head. ee 2 Fic. 12.—Kiwi.