UC-NRLF 
 
 D 2 535 
 
 RAY SOCIETY. 
 
 NITZSCH' 
 
 PTERYLOO1 
 
 Y 
 
 EDIT D V 
 
 J'IMI.IP LV^KY SCLA.TER, M.A., Pn.'D., 1MI.S. 
 18G7. 
 
 Jxsned to the Subscribers for the Year I860. 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 l&ceived 
 
THE 
 
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 INSTITUTED MDCCCXLIV. 
 
 Volume is issued to the Subscribers to the RAY SOCIKTY/O?- the Year 1866. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 MDCCCLXVII. 
 
,-M.Aj 
 
 NITZSCH'S 
 
 \\ 
 
 PTERYLOGRAPHY, 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., PH.D., F.R.S., 
 
 SECBETAEY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OP LONDON. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE RAY SOCIETY BY 
 ROBERT HARDWICKE, 192, PICCADILLY. 
 
 MDCCCLXVII. 
 

 BIOLOGY 
 
 tlBRARY 
 
 G 
 
 PRINTED BY J. E. ADLARD, 
 BARTHOLOMEW CI.OSR. 
 
PREFACE OF THE ENGLISH EDITOR. 
 
 IT was with no litttle satisfaction that I obtained the consent of the Council of the Ray 
 Society to undertake the publication of an English translation of the present work, believing as I 
 do that it is one of the most valuable and suggestive. works on pure Ornithology ever published. 
 Ever since I became acquainted with the important nature of Nitzsch's researches as here given, 
 I have not ceased to wonder that the subject has not been taken up by succeeding Ornithologists. 
 How this may have occurred in England it is not difficult to understand. But that not one of the 
 many German Ornithologists, having this excellent basis to start from, should have continued the 
 investigations of their illustrious compatriot, is indeed surprising. I trust, however, that the 
 republication of Nitzsch's Memoir in its present form may induce some of the many enterprising 
 Naturalists of the present day, either in this country or abroad, to follow up the work, as, until 
 this is fully accomplished, we can never hope to arrive at a correct knowledge of the affinities of 
 this very difficult class of Vertebrates. 
 
 The original edition of Nitzch's Pterylography was edited from the manuscripts of the deceased 
 Naturalist by Dr. Herman Burmeister, his successor in the professorial chair, under circumstances 
 which are fully explained in the second preface. The present translation has been executed for 
 the Ray Society by Mr. W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., whose well-known name is a sufficient guarantee 
 for the general accuracy of the work. A certain number of Germanisms and foreign modes of 
 expression will be found in it ; but these will be readily intelligible, and it has been thought 
 better to make a slight sacrifice of freedom of expression to a faithful rendering of the original 
 text. In one or two instances Nitzsch appears to have used certain terms rather loosely, and 
 there is, of course, a corresponding vagueness in the translation. But it must be recollected 
 that the work was left in MS. by the author himself, and edited by another, who, although one of 
 the most eminent Naturalists of the present day, and in every way highly qualified for the task, 
 may not, perhaps, have thought himself justified in making such alterations as would have been 
 certainly introduced by the Author upon re-perusal of his own work. 
 
 b 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 My share in the present volume has been small, having been confined to a careful perusal of 
 the sheets as they passed through the press, and a comparison of them with the original in 
 doubtful cases. I have likewise added a few foot-notes, indicated by my initials, and an 
 Appendix containing two papers from the Zoological Society's ' Proceedings ' which have imme- 
 diate reference to the present subject, a list of Nitzsch's published works, and a reprint of his 
 Memoir on the Carotid Artery of Birds. The latter is of special importance, as giving the 
 outline of the system of classification which he adopted, and which will, I believe, eventually 
 be found to be much more nearly correct than many schemes which have been subsequently 
 proposed. 
 
 P. L. S. 
 
 11, HANOVER SQUARE, LONDON; 
 Jan. 24th, 1867. 
 
PREFACE OF THE ORIGINAL EDITOR. 
 
 IT is certainly the duty of the editor of another person's writings to inform his readers of 
 their contents, and to state the reasons which have induced him to give them the form and 
 arrangement he has selected for them. For this purpose, I must necessarily begin with some 
 account of the studies of the author of the present work, the general circumstances of his life 
 having been already published elsewhere 'by a friendly hand. 1 CHRISTIAN LUDWIG NITZSCH 
 was one of those fortunate natures which recognise early and definitely their vocation in life, and 
 follow it out to the end. But he was also one of those difficult individualities which are not 
 satisfied with the most careful use of all the materials available to them, and which, therefore, 
 never look upon their works as completed until the last fragment of the whole subject-matter has 
 been investigated as carefully as the rest of it. The unavoidable consequences of such attempts 
 (which generally exceed the power of man) are the arrestation of the work itself, the paralysis of 
 the personal forces by the mass of constantly increasing material, and, finally, the arrival of death 
 at a time when the work is still far from finished. And this was the fate of our friend. Addicted 
 from his youth indeed, from the days of his childhood to the study of Birds, he commenced it 
 in his earlier years without any definite plan, and investigated just what struck him as remarkable 
 in these animals. Then, on comparing the collected observations of former days, he soon found 
 presented to him three directions of investigation which still lay untouched, whilst the other 
 branches of the subject appeared to be, if not exhausted, already more or less carefully treated. 
 These were the internal structure, the plumage from certain points of view not then touched upon by 
 systematic Ornithologists, and the parasites. At the commencement of his labours Nitzsch only 
 partially examined the internal structure at first, merely the skeleton and the viscera contained in 
 the cavity of the trunk. In this earlier period he also frequently described only the numerical 
 
 1 In the preface to the ninth volume of Naumann's ' Naturgeschichte der Vogel Deutschlands,' in 
 which a good likeness of Nitzsch is given as a frontispiece. 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 proportions of the remiges and rectrices, leaving all the rest unnoticed. So also as regards the 
 parasites : these were at first hardly more than ballast, which, from the want of other lading, he 
 would not at once throw overboard; but subsequently finding them present so many points of 
 interest, he occupied himself with them specially for a time. This mode of investigation he 
 appears to have continued from the commencement of the present century, when it was begun 
 (for I have now before me manuscripts of the year 1800) to about the year 1812 or 1813. During 
 this period, his memoirs in ' Voigt's Magazin' -and his ' Osteographische Beitrage' were pub- 
 lished, the only samples of his investigations which he laid before the public. But from this 
 time, and especially after his establishment in Halle, his activity acquired a different character. 
 Becoming now better acquainted with the recent progress of Zoology, and with the requirements 
 of that department which he had particularly selected for his own study, he saw that every special 
 and exact investigation only attains a permanent and true value when it stands, not merely as 
 an isolated contribution to the enlargement of our knowledge of the subject, but when it is at the 
 same time brought into its proper connection with the totality of the other properties of the objects 
 investigated, and the precise limits are indicated within which it is a criterion of form, furnishes a 
 modification of the typical fundamental idea, and thus assists in characterising the method of modifi- 
 cation. From this moment, every partial publication of this or that peculiarity lost all value in his 
 eyes ; and when he could not at once say precisely where it occurred, how far it extended, and 
 what was indicated and excluded by it, he preferred leaving it entirely unpublished. We find him, 
 therefore, scarcely ever coming forward except when compelled, either to extend one of these 
 isolatedly published facts to its natural limits, or to refer back to their proper connection pheno- 
 mena which had been drawn away from it. Only once afterwards did he surprise the zoological 
 public with a work which stands perfectly complete within itself, was entirely elaborated by himself, 
 and appears altogether so thoroughly worked out, that no results remain for his successors to add 
 to it. This publication was his work on the insects parasitic on animals, contained in the 
 third volume of Gennar's ' Magazin der Entomologie/ which furnishes an astonishing proof 
 of the care and perseverance with which he had studied the parasites of his favorites, although 
 these could only have been of subordinate interest to him. In its condensed brevity, it 
 is the best and most comprehensive monograph to which the literature of Entomology can 
 point. 
 
 When he had thus, as it were, despatched the third part of his task, and freed himself from 
 it, he was able to devote himself with so much the more energy to the two remaining parts. And 
 this he did completely, only noticing the parasites when a new bird brought him a new form. 
 These he subsequently described, although in very few words, but never figured nor examined 
 particularly. With regard to the anatomical and pterylographical portions of his ornithological 
 studies, it was at first 'by no means Nitzsch's intention to elaborate them separately. In his view 
 both of these were merely means by which one of the highest objects was to be attained, namely, 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 the truly natural system of birds. This idea he frequently expressed to me, when I still 
 resided in his immediate vicinity, but at the same time indicated that he by no means regarded 
 the natural sequence as the highest problem of the systematist, but rather the correct limitation 
 of the natural groups. To discover the latter was the aim of his investigations ; and with this 
 view everything was henceforward carried on, and every part of the bird's body carefully 
 examined. Nevertheless, he had always many deficiencies, especially as regards the muscular 
 structure of birds, which he only took up at a later period, and in the case of rare exotic species, 
 could investigate only on favorable occasions ; and the nervous system, upon which he left behind 
 him scarcely any observations, except a few outlines of the form of the brain. On the other 
 hand, he very accurately investigated the vascular system, especially after the year 1825. Of this 
 his Memoir on the Carotid Artery of Birds furnishes a proof. But as it is much more difficult 
 to procure materials for these anatomical observations after the indigenous species have been 
 examined than to investigate the skins, the purchase of which is necessary for the prescribed 
 increase of a zoological collection, the pterylographic side of his studies soon acquired a pre- 
 ponderance over the anatomical. This first appears to have led him to the idea of treating it by 
 itself, and of once more making a subject known in its entirety which had hitherto escaped 
 the notice of all ornithologists. Moreover, as he had passed his fiftieth year, the publication of 
 his materials might well appear to be the more necessary especially as frequent indispositions had 
 begun to shake his previously good health ; and these were reasons enough for his determination to 
 select a description of the arrangement of the feathers of birds as the subject of an academic thesis 
 which he had to prepare for the year 1833. This was completed under the title of ' Ptery- 
 lograpldcK Avium pars prior,' and was sent to several of his friends in single copies. Nitzsch 
 had already, no doubt, formed the plan of the whole work, and apparently had so arranged it that 
 a second part, containing the specialities, should be added to the first, the whole being elabo- 
 rated in Latin. He agreed upon this beforehand with the publisher, and arranged to have 
 several hundred additional copies of the first part printed at once. Indeed, he actually went to 
 work on the preparation of the second part, and made the drawings from which the last nine 
 plates of this work have been engraved. During the two years which were thus occupied, the 
 pterylographic materials, to which he now almost exclusively devoted all his spare time, had con- 
 siderably increased, and many of the statements already made in his published work had 
 thus come to require modification. This circumstance obstructed the completion of the work. 
 Nitzsch saw distinctly that it was not possible to attain accurate results from -existing materials, 
 and therefore thought it necessary to increase the latter at once. By this means he fell into a 
 condition of great hesitation, to which, indeed, he was always much inclined ; and just as he could 
 never decide upon having the first plate engraved, although the other nine had long been ready, 
 so he could never prevail upon himself to bring together the results of his observations and to 
 announce them as final. In such a frame of mind any elaboration of the text was, of course, 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 never thought of, especially as even the part already published contained certain errors and 
 required first of all to be remodelled. These errors he carefully noted in an interleaved copy, 
 and thus materially facilitated my revision of them. In this way two more years passed away, 
 and with them all inclination to proceed with the work he had so vigorously commenced. The 
 man who appeared still to have plenty of time for mature consideration was at the end of his 
 activity. In the midst of his endeavours to procure fresh materials for the completion of his 
 task, death surprised him. Thus were solved at once all the doubts that still prevailed in his 
 mind, almost exclusively and constantly occupied with scientific meditations. His last thoughts 
 were in accordance with this state of mind : he fervently regretted his indecision, and looked 
 upon all the labour of his life as lost ! 
 
 But that this should not be the case, were my first thoughts when I came to Halle in his 
 place. Well acquainted with the rich treasures which his manuscripts contained, it was my most 
 important business to search through and make myself familiar with them. I succeeded beyond 
 expectation ; although Nitzsch himself, when dying, had doubted whether it were possible that 
 another person could introduce his work to the world. On examination, I quickly saw that an 
 abundance of materials existed for the completion of the Pterylography, if it were resolved 
 to limit it to what Nitzsch had investigated ; but that, on the contrary, the anatomical portion of 
 his works, although very rich in details, was far too imperfect to allow a uniform whole to be 
 prepared from it ; and, finally, that his studies of the Epizoa, as Nitzsch called all parasitic 
 insects, certainly presented matter enough for a very copious, if not perfect, representation of 
 that group of animals. Thus it appeared certain that the Pterylography must be undertaken 
 first. I therefore began to work it up in the manner traced out for me by Nitzsch in the Latin 
 text of the general part and in the finished copper-plates ; but thought it desirable, both for 
 facility of description and for the sake of more general diffusion, to adopt German in place of 
 Latin for the expression of the results. 
 
 In this form the complete work is now presented to the friends of science, in the hope that 
 its rich and almost unknown contents may astonish all zoologists, keep permanently alive the 
 memory of its author, and also procure for its editor a favorable judgment. May it assist in 
 the attainment of the chief object of its author, namely, a better insight into the true natural 
 differences of the structure of birds, which is apparently so uniform. But may it also induce 
 ornithologists to give to their future systematic investigations an extension and depth, without 
 which, least of all in this department of Zoology, can the final problem be solved, as, indeed, has 
 been shown, as it seems to me, by the one-sided, and for this very reason unsuccessful, attempts 
 which have hitherto been made with this object. 
 
 H. BURMEISTER. 
 HALLE ; 20th May, 1840. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 PTERYLOGRAPHY : 
 
 FIRST PART GENERAL PTERYLOGRAPHY 1 
 
 SECOND PART SPECIAL PTERYLOGRAPHY 43 
 
 APPENDIX : 
 
 ON THE AFFINITIES OF BAL^NICEPS. BY A. D. BARTLETT 155 
 
 ON THE STRUCTURE OF LEPTOSOMA DISCOLOR. BY P. L. SCLATEK . 158 
 
 LIST o* NITZSCH'S ORNITHOLOGICAL WORKS AND MEMOIRS . .164 
 
 OBSERVATIONES DE AVIUM ARTERIA CAROTIDE COMMUNI, AUCTORE C. L. 
 
 NITZSCH ..... 165 
 
 . EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES . , - .176 
 
 INDEX . 179 
 
PTEKYLOGKAPHY 
 
 FIRST PART. 
 
 GENERAL PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 THE information which I propose to communicate in the present work, the result of many 
 years' careful investigation of the subject, relates to a department of zoological observation which 
 appears to me to be of the highest importance, but which has never been treated as its great 
 significance deserves. Although the general laws of position of the dermal coverings of animals 
 have occasionally been discussed, no observer has taken the trouble to say anything more about 
 them than may be learnt by a passing glance. This, however, only shows that the bodies of 
 most fishes and amphibians are usually clothed with scales arranged in rows, and generally of 
 equal size, and that mammals and birds have been endowed with a similar but more external 1 
 horny covering. From the universal and homogeneous distribution of the scaly clothing of the 
 former, it was concluded that the arrangement and composition of the plumage of birds was 
 similar ; and thus, misled by external appearances, observers have overlooked one of its peculiarities, 
 certainly not the least important zoological character of this group of animals, which appears to 
 present but little variety in its subordinate differences. The desire to analyse this remarkable 
 uniformity in external form (which has driven the majority of zoologists and even the greatest among 
 them to adopt a defective classification of birds) by a careful and thorough study of that class of 
 animals, and to ascertain the true multiplicity of form in them, has been my guiding principle from 
 my youth in my ornithological investigations, and the discovery of the laws of the relative position 
 of the feathers which I have now to communicate, is one of the interesting systematic results 
 with which more than thirty years' occupation in the study of birds has made me acquainted. 
 
 1 I have called attention on several occasions (e. g., in my ' Naturgeschichte,' p. 664) to the 
 essential difference in the covering of cold and warm-blooded animals ; in the former all such structures 
 are bones, which lie in pouches of the epidermis, but beneath it ; in the latter, they are horny processes 
 which project from the pouches. B. 
 
 1 
 
2 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 We may, however, justly wonder that a subject so readily accessible, and furnishing such 
 beautiful results as the plumage of birds, has hitherto been so remarkably neglected by zoologists. 
 And yet feathers (to which with the other horny dermal appendages I should prefer to give the name 
 of skin-plants or dermatophytes [dermatophytd], inasmuch as they are all products of the skin which 
 take root therein after the manner of plants) are not only easy of investigation, but also extremely 
 agreeable subjects of examination, because they present a greater variety and multiplicity than can be 
 met with elsewhere within the same limits. All the allied structures, such as hairs, bristles, spines, 
 &c., are exceeded by feathers, not only in the number and variety of their constituent parts, inasmuch 
 as they generally possess no branches, and these, when present, are always simple, but also in the 
 complicated structure of these parts, and, consequently, of the whole. Feathers also exceed the 
 allied structures in their comparatively very large size, and in the part which they take in the 
 movements of birds, for the wings without the feathers would be useless for flight ; again, the 
 feathers both protect and warm the body, without greatly adding to its weight. Besides these 
 properties it must be mentioned also that birds are indebted chiefly, if not entirely, to their 
 feathery covering for the elegant and pleasing form which procures them so many friends and 
 admirers. It is certain that the greater part of that public which does not follow out scientific 
 objects in the study of zoology would detest birds if they were featherless animals, as much as 
 naked batrachians and lizards, which now excite almost universal aversion, however beautiful 
 they may be in their colours. Now, if even the masses are attracted by these properties of the 
 plumage of birds, how much more should the scientific observer be excited to the most industrious 
 investigation, when he perceives the almost innumerable differences which birds' feathers present 
 in every possible respect ; when besides the most multifarious form and structure he detects an 
 equally complicated arrangement and grouping upon definite regions of the body, and observes 
 these differences not merely in the numerous species, genera, and families, but also in different 
 ages and sexes of the same species, and even at different seasons of the year, on one and the same 
 individual. In all these and several other respects the feathers of birds will present him with 
 distinctions highly deserving of his notice. 
 
 After hearing these assertions, the correctness of which is confirmed by the experience of 
 many years, my reader will share with me in the surprise expressed at starting, that so rich a 
 material for scientific labour can have remained so long unused. But it is still more astonishing 
 that, notwithstanding the great problem which it presents, this subject has been so superficially 
 touched upon by all the writers who have treated of it. For although statements with regard to 
 the feathers of birds are not entirely wanting, 1 and many good observations occur amongst those 
 which have been published, yet these investigations have been made less by ornithologists than by 
 
 1 See especially HEUSINGER'S ' System der Histologie/ I, 2, 207, and, besides the writings of MAL- 
 PIGHI, HOOKE, LEEUWENHOEK, CAMPER, BASTER, POUPART, the two WENZELS, BLAINVILLE, AUDEBERT, 
 and others therein cited, the following works : CUVIER, ' Le9ons d'Anat. Comparative ;' TIEDEMANN'S 
 ' Zoologie,' II, 129 ; ALB. MECKEL, " liber die Federnbildung,'' in ' Reil's Archiv fur die Physiol.,' xii, 
 1 ; CARUS, ' Lebrbuch der Zootomie/ p. 441 ; DUTROCHET, " De la Structure et de la Regeneration des 
 Plumes," in the ' Journ. de Phys.,' Ixxxviii, p. 333 ; P\ CUVIER, "Obs. sur la Structure et le Developpe- 
 ment des Plumes," in the 'Mem. du Museum, 1826/ MACGILLIVHAY, in Jameson's 'Edinburgh New 
 Philosophical Journal,' III, p. 253; CARUS, ' Erlauterungstafeln zur vergleicli. Auat./ II, p. 11, taf. ii, 
 tigs. 1418 ; and also EBLE, ' Die Lehre vou den Haaren,' I, p. 128. 
 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 3 
 
 others ; and the object of the observers has been by no means to elucidate the multiplicity of the 
 plumage in individual cases, but rather to explain the structure of feathers in general. 
 
 I may, therefore, flatter myself with the hope of awakening the interest of naturalists by the 
 announcement of my new results, and, by the enumeration and detailed description of the 
 feathered regions of the bodies of birds, to which I give the name of feather-tracts (pteryla, 
 Federnfluren), of proving that these, new 1 and surprising as they may appear to many on the first 
 glance at my figures, really furnish equally significant and important characters for the certain 
 and natural discrimination of the families of birds. Since I have recognised this truth I have never 
 ceased employing all the means at my command for its further demonstration, being convinced 
 that the correct and natural limitation of the subordinate groups is one of the chief problems of the 
 naturalist, the solution of which is not to be attained by a schematic treatment, often simply in 
 accordance with this or that property, but only by the most laborious investigation of the 
 species from every point of view. 
 
 1 I have myself hitherto only mentioned these feather-tracts in passing (for example, in 
 NAUMANN'S 'Vogeln Deutschlands/ 2nd ed., I, p. 32; and in ERSCH UND GRUBEK'S 'Allgem. 
 Enzyklop./ xxi, p. 147, Art. Certhia, and xxiv, p. 207, Art. Dermorhynchi). But M. JACQUEMIN has 
 recently made some communications of a similar nature to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, of which 
 I know nothing further (see FRORIEP'S 'Notizen Sec./ 1837, p. 170). An academical thesis published 
 by me under the title ' Pterylographiae Avium pars prior :' Halae, 1833-4, was only communicated to a 
 few friends ; it forms the foundation of the first section of the present work. 
 
FIRST SECTION. 
 
 OF THE STRUCTURE OF FEATHERS AND THEIR PRINCIPAL DIFFERENCES. 
 
 BEFORE I commence the description of the feather-tracts themselves, it appears to me to he 
 necessary to say something of the parts of which feathers are composed, and of the kinds of feathers 
 of which the tracts consist. Indeed, as soon as we begin to examine closely into the law of 
 position of the feathers, we soon find that in certain tracts perfectly definite kinds of feathers 
 occur, whilst in others several sorts are intermixed, and that if we are to distinguish the tracts in 
 accordance with these circumstances we must be acquainted with the different kinds of feathers. 
 But the exact characterisation of these kinds of feathers is impossible without an accurate 
 knowledge of the parts of which feathers consist, and, as even in the description of these I find 
 many material inaccuracies in the writings of authors, I consider it necessary to speak, in the 
 first place, of the parts of feathers. I may, however, remark, .beforehand, that I shall only do 
 this in a general way, and shall not enter into details upon the numerous and often extremely 
 different forms which many of these parts present to the observer. The parts of feathers will 
 only be treated of here so far as is necessary for the comprehension of the laws of their position. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 OF THE PARTS OF FEATHERS. 
 
 IN every perfect feather, furnished with all the parts that it can possess, I distinguish : 1. 
 The stem (scapus, Kiel) ; 2. The aftershaft (hyporrhacMs, Afterschaft) ; 3. The barbs (Rami, 
 Aeste) ; 4. The barbules (radii, Strahlen) ; 5. The barbicels (cilia, Wimpern) ; and 6. The 
 booklets (hamuli, Hakchen). These all agree in this respect, that their principal extension is in 
 the direction of their length, so that they form, without exception, elongated structures. 1 
 
 It appears to me that it will not be out of place if I insert here some observations that I have 
 
OF THE PARTS OF FEATHERS. 5 
 
 1. The STEM (Plate I, fig. 1, a), forms the main stalk of the feather, and bears all the other 
 external parts. It usually resembles a greatly elongated cone, or a spindle. At the lower part, 
 which is inserted in the skin, it is cylindrical, hollow, and transparent ; higher up, it is filled 
 with a cellular pith. But even the hollow part, which bears the name of the TUBE (calamus, 
 Spuhle), is not quite empty, but contains some large cells adhering to each other in a row, which 
 
 made on the gradual development of these parts, with the view of completing NITZSCH'S description of 
 the constituents of feathers. 
 
 A young feather, before it passes beyond the limits of the skin, forms a cylindrico-conical follicle 
 pointed above, which is completely closed, and contains the whole of the constituent parts of the 
 feather. If it be opened about this time, that is to say, before it has passed the outer surface of the 
 skin, the tolerably firm, leathery follicle is found to contain a second membranous follicle, filled with a 
 gelatinous fluid, the axis of which is permeated by blood-vessels, viz., a vein and an artery, of which 
 the latter is distinguished by its greater fineness and its lighter colour. These blood-vessels penetrate 
 from the fatty layer of the bird beneath the skin into the inferior extremity of the feather-follicle, where 
 they perforate both the outer and inner sacs. Between the two follicles there is a peculiar layer, 
 formed of a soft, pasty, finely granular substance, which coats the inner follicle, in the same way that 
 it lines the inner surface of the outer one. The whole three layers of the feather-germ may be 
 explained as follows : 
 
 1. The outer follicle is the envelope within which the true feather is formed ; it does not enter 
 into the substance of the feather, and consists of large, thick, epithelial cells, so that it must be 
 regarded as a continuation of the epidermis, an inversion of the latter within the cavity which contains 
 the feather. In Plate I, fig. 17, I have represented a portion of this follicle under a magnifying power 
 of 500 diameters ; the large epithelial cells, and the cell-nuclei on their walls, are easily seen here. 
 From the fact that several (often from four to six) other similar nuclei of subjacent cells shimmer 
 through each cell, I think I may conclude, that the rather thick and firm follicle is formed of from five 
 to seven layers of such cells. For the sake of distinctness I have not represented the nuclei and cell- 
 walls seen through the others, but only those of the uppermost layer. 
 
 2. The intermediate, finely granular layer is the formative material of the feather, and its 
 granules are nothing but cell-nuclei, which, in proportion as they are situated more towards the upper 
 part of this layer, become more distinct and acquire a clear space (the future cell), in the midst of 
 which they may be seen as oval granules of a yellowish colour. In many of these nuclei may also be 
 detected a dark point, and sometimes two ; these are the so-called nuclear corpuscles, which I regard 
 as a central cavity, only formed at a later period, when the nucleus itself has become enlarged to its 
 normal size. 
 
 3. The interior or central follicle, which consists of a very thick, spongy membrane filled with 
 a gelatinous mass and also contains the blood-vessels already mentioned, is the focus for the 
 formative material of the feather, its so-called matrix, which evidently forms the gelatinous matter 
 (perhaps albumen) from the blood, and subsequently converts it into cell-nuclei. With a high 
 magnifying power, indeed, I found an innumerable quantity of granules of unequal size, precipitated 
 upon the outer surface of the sac ; these, when mixed with water, were in part dissolved, lay upon the 
 slide, and were of very unequal size. By far the greater part of them were smaller than the 
 cell-nuclei ; but many were larger. In the sac itself I could detect no cellular structure. 
 
 In the progress of the formation of the feather the intermediate layer undergoes a very essential 
 alteration and transformation, whilst the other two remain unchanged, pretty much as I have just 
 described them. 
 
 The first thing that takes place when the epithelial follicle (which I shall hereafter indicate 
 
C PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 are attached below to the base of the tube, and above to the pith of the stem. The parenchy- 
 niatous portion of the stem is called, in opposition to the tube,, the SHAFT (rltacJiis, Schaft), and 
 it is from the flattened sides of this that the barbs issue. On its entire outer surface the shaft 
 acquires a horny coat, evidently a continuation of the tube, the arched surface of which it 
 retains on the outer side, whilst the posterior side of the shaft, which is turned towards the body 
 
 merely by the name of the follicle) passes beyond the limit of the cutaneous pouch in which it 
 is inserted, is its opening at the superior extremity. As soon as this has occurred, the apex of the 
 feather issues from the opening in the form of a pencil of fine rays, and spreads out into a tuft at the 
 end (Plate I, fig. 10). As the pencil rises it becomes larger and stronger, the opening becomes wider, 
 nnd the follicle is then seen open in its whole width. Still the feather exhibits no change; it 
 is exactly like a pencil, and roundish and cylindrical throughout. But as it grows larger, a somewhat 
 stronger branch makes its appearance beneath the others, which are all of equal size, on the anterior 
 surface, and on that side which, of all parts of the feather, is most averted from the body. This 
 stronger branch is the upper extremity of the stem, and it is easily seen that the other branches which 
 are next to it on each side, do not descend parallel to it into the follicle, but are attached to it, and are 
 therefore to be regarded as its branches. I find, however, at least in the feathers of the trunk, that in 
 the first place two branches of equal size always unite in a fork, and form the commencement of the 
 stem, and that then the two following lateral branches meet the stem of the first fork at the same 
 height. The same structure is also exhibited in the filoplumes (Plate I, figs. 7 and 8), but with this 
 difference, that only a few branches occur at the extremity of the shaft. Just as in these feathers (see 
 further on) the uppermost part of every feather is perfectly destitute of pith, clear and transparent ; and 
 it is only lower down, beyond the fourth or fifth pair of branches, that it becomes more opaque 
 and parenchymatous. If we trace the course of the stem further, we find that it penetrates, with the 
 finer branches lying close to it, into the follicle, and loses itself with them in the granular layer within 
 the follicle upon the surface of the matrix. This granular layer, which I shall call feather-material, 
 forms a complete cylinder, coating the matrix on all sides, and emitting the already-formed extremities 
 of the branches from its superior free margin. This cylindrical primitive form, which is consequently 
 possessed by all young feathers, is easily recognised even in the fully-developed feather. It is very 
 distinctly shown in the tube up to the point where it passes into the shaft. This point is characterised 
 by the umbiliciform pit described by Nitzsch ; and this pit is properly nothing but the superior orifice of 
 the tube, narrowed by the inferior end of the thick shaft. The correctness of this view is still more 
 distinctly seen in feathers with a large aftershaft, but most clearly in those of the Cassowary, in which 
 both shafts are of equal size. The shaft of the feather is to a certain extent a prolongation, combined 
 with thickening, of the upper margin of the tube at its outermost point, and the aftershaft a second 
 prolongation of the same kind, at the innermost and precisely opposite point. Even in the remiges, 
 which never have an aftershaft, the original cylindrical arrangement is still recognisable in the fact, 
 that the whole of their barbs form a closed curve, an ellipse, which descends on both sides of the shaft, 
 and passes below round the umbiliciform pit, so that, in this way, both series of barbs are connected. 
 The figure of such a wing- feather (Plate I, fig. 18) shows, how both series of barbs (d and e) gradually 
 approach each other as they descend, and would run round the pit (placed just below a), if a portion 
 of the upper margin of the quill, with the small and almost down-like barbs, were not removed by the 
 incision which opens the tube. 
 
 If we now trace the barbs as they descend to the base of the feather between the follicle and the 
 matrix (Plate I, fig. 11), it soon appears that they are at first still completely separate, and that their 
 two rows of barbules adhere closely to the sides of the barb. Further down these barbules merely 
 present oblique lines on the sides of the barbs, and at last completely disappear, so that from this point 
 
OF THE PARTS OF FEATHERS. 7 
 
 of the bird, has a farrow throughout its whole length ; this is more or less obliterated below 
 towards the tube, where it terminates in an umbiliciform pit, which leads into the interior of the 
 tube. But in the fresh feather a small process of the series of cells occupying the tube projects 
 from this pit (fig. 18, a), and thus closes the opening which penetrates into the interior of the 
 
 the entire barb forms a narrow band-like strip, which is at first distinctly, but afterwards only 
 imperfectly separated from its neighbours, and finally loses itself in a perfectly homogeneous and 
 uniformly granular mass. We will now trace a single strip upwards, from the point at which it is clearly 
 recognisable as such, to its full evolution into a perfect barb. 
 
 In figure 14 I have shown the inferior extremity of one of these strips under the same magnifying 
 power of 500 diameters. The figure shows distinctly enough that it consists entirely of equal-sized, 
 loosely united cells, the perfectly similar elliptical nuclei of which show no trace of a nuclear corpuscle, 
 a circumstance which has led me to suppose that these nuclear corpuscles are only formed at a later 
 period, and are probably to be regarded as cavities of the nucleus. At this inferior extremity the 
 strip appears to be perfectly flat, but higher up it becomes curved, and still higher triangularly 
 prismatic. In this form one sharp edge of the prism is directed outwards towards the follicle, and by 
 the two others each prism is applied to its two neighbours. The flatter side, which in this position is 
 turned towards the matrix, is not really flat, but somewhat hollowed, and into this cavity a membranous 
 fold penetrates, which at the first glance appears to be a fold of the matrix itself, but is really derived 
 from a peculiar membrane situated between the matrix and the feather-material. In some cases I have 
 seen blood-vessels in this membrane ; in others I have distinctly recognised cellular structure, and 
 indeed cells similar in formation to those seen in the strip. The latter condition belongs probably 
 to an early, and the vascular condition to a later period of the membrane. As soon as the for- 
 mation of the barb is completed, however, it separates from the membrane, and the latter remains, in 
 the form of a perfectly close dry sac, with its surface finely lined, in the cylinder of the feather above 
 the matrix. From, it originate the dry membranous structures, which are perceptible above the upper 
 extremity of the matrix (Plate I, fig. 11, dtl), and which project from the umbiliciform pit at the 
 upper end of the tube (fig. 18, a). These parts acquire the aspect of cells, or rather saccules, appa- 
 rently in the following manner : as soon as they begin to become dry above, the matrix forms a new 
 layer beneath the old ones, and pushes this into the others. These membranes are therefore never 
 true closed sacs, but merely caplike pouches, partly stuck one into the other like conical sugar-papers. 
 The "soul" (Seele) or pith in the interior of the tube (fig. 18, c) is formed in the same manner, from 
 which it follows that this also is to be regarded as the partially thrown-off outer layer of the matrix. 
 The reason why no striation is observed on the surface of these pouches of the pith is perfectly 
 clear, the cylinder of the tube being smooth, and not striated. We must now return to the examination 
 of the barb. 
 
 If the prismatic strip be spread out upon a flat surface, at a point where it already possesses the 
 above-mentioned oblique lines on each side, we obtain the appearance shown in fig. 15. I must, 
 however, remark, that the preceding figure (14) was taken from the colourless feather of a goose, and 
 this from a gray pigeon's feather. In the colourless barb of a feather neither the dark spots in the 
 middle of the future central stem, nor the sharply circumscribed dark spots upon the barbules are to 
 be seen ; both are unquestionably accumulations of pigment, and in those of the central part I could 
 very distinctly recognise the branch-like excrescences emitted by every pigment-cell, which, moreover, is 
 much larger than one of the primitive cells. If the feather be colourless the oblique striaj on each side 
 of the barb are much less distinctly seen, but at the same time it shows all the more clearly that each 
 stria is produced by the separation of a series of cells running obliquely across the lateral surfaces 
 of the prism, and that this separation becomes more and more complete, the nearer the position of the 
 
8 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 tube. Moreover, in all the larger feathers, the shaft is nearly quadrangular, although sometimes 
 quite flat, as in Aptcnodytes. 
 
 2. The AFTERSHAFT (Plate I, fig. 1,6), originates from the underside of the feather beneath 
 the umbiliciform pit, and, indeed, pretty nearly at the same place where this penetrates the main 
 
 stria approaches the superior extremity of the barb. But if the feather be coloured, an accumulation 
 of pigment is formed on each of the oblique striae above each of its individual cells, and this is larger 
 the nearer the cell is to the main stem of the barb. This accumulation of pigment is the cause of the 
 spotted appearance of the barbules. It is, however, unequal on the two series of barbules, and 
 is stronger on that which subsequently becomes the anterior series and bears the booklets, but weaker 
 on the opposite one, which is shown to the left in our figure. The portion here represented is, 
 moreover, from a portion of the barb in which the separation of the barbules from each other has not yet 
 taken place, and the different series of cells are still attached together by their walls. Higher up this 
 union is dissolved, and the striae become perfectly isolated barbules. Each barbule has now a necklace- 
 like appearance, each joint of which, however, is not round, but much compressed, and consequently 
 possesses narrow upper and lower sides, and broad right and left sides. On the former the barbule 
 very soon undergoes its principal change, which consists in the gradual formation by one-sided 
 thickening of the cell-membrane on the narrow sides, of elevated combs, which soon increase into 
 large teeth. Each cell forms its own processes, which only become amalgamated with those of 
 the neighbouring cells at a later period. At the basal portion of the barbule this amalgamation is 
 complete, but towards the middle it is only partial, so that here the teeth may be seen still separate 
 even on nearly perfect barbules (fig. 12, from the left, and fig. 13, from the right side). This, 
 however, is the case especially at the lower edge, where the barbule forms a very thin lamella ; on the 
 upper edge, such excrescences never occur in the barbules of the left side, nor in those of the right 
 side at the base ; but the barbule becomes thickened here, and forms a ridge, which is the strongest 
 part of the barbule. Where this ridge ceases, the teeth commence. Fig. 13 shows, that at first each 
 cell still furnished with a nucleus, only forms a tooth beneath, and that this becomes elongated, 
 and curved and hooked at the end ; and also, that a remarkable abbreviation of the cells in a 
 longitudinal direction, is associated with this formation of hooks. Where the hook-formation ceases, 
 excrescences at the ends of the cells make their appearance on the upper edge of the barbule also, and 
 these become larger in proportion as those of the opposite side are less hooked. Simultaneously with this 
 the cells again increase in length, and afterwards form thin, cylindrical joints, which emit from their 
 extremities a little point above and below, the barbicels of the perfect barbule (fig. 4). The barbs of 
 all down-feathers and filoplurnes are formed in the same way ; all exhibit a very distinct knotted 
 structure, which indicates their origin from series of cells, and that each cell has formed peculiar and 
 very differently formed excrescences at its extremity. If the barbules be still young, the original cells 
 are distinctly seen in it (figs. 9 and 12) ; but if it be older, the cells disappear, and it appears 
 homogeneous (figs. 4-5, 19-25). I must also remark, that the dark streaks seen in figs. 12 
 and 13, are enlargements of the pigment spots situated immediately above the cells, and are 
 wanting in all colourless barbules (figs. 4 and 5). The downy barbule also, when it is coloured, 
 does not usually show a homogeneous, but most frequently an interrupted coloration (figs. 21, 22, and 24.) 
 In this way the exceedingly multifarious barbules, with, their appendages, knots, barbicels and 
 hooks, are formed from the simple series of cells ; but at the same time the barb itself which bears these 
 barbules, undergoes a gradual alteration, which consists especially in a transformation of its cells. 
 Even in fig. 15, when compared with fig. 14, we find these more angular and less regular, and ou the 
 whole somewhat larger. In this mode of development they gradually advanca, becoming still larger, 
 
OF THE PARTS OF FEATHERS. 9 
 
 stem. It resembles the main shaft, and like it emits two series of barbs, thus forming along with the 
 shaft an apparently double feather. It is found on the feathers of very many birds, but is always 
 deficient on the remiges and rectrices. It is largest in the two Cassowaries, in which it attains 
 the same length as the main shaft, and is exceedingly similar to the latter in the general form of 
 the vane. In other birds, it is shorter, and merely supports downy barbs. This is especially the 
 case in the gallinaceous birds, 1 the structure of the feathers in which may be learnt from the 
 figure of a dorsal feather of Argus gigantem, shown in Plate I, fig. 1. I find it similar in the 
 Swifts (Cypselus). It is smaller in the diurnal rapacious birds, with the exception of the genus 
 Pandion ; and also in Caprimulgus, Prodotes (Indicator, Aucrr.), Musophaga, Psittacus, most 
 Wading birds, and amongst the Natatores in the Longipennes, the Nasuta or Tubinares (but 
 with the exception of Diomeded), and the Pygopodes. I find a small, soft, and very weak after- 
 shaft in most passerine birds (in some of which, indeed, it seems to be wanting), and in the 
 genus Picus. There are, however, a great many birds in which it is deficient, and in its place a 
 few isolated barbs occur, amongst these, are the genus Pandion, the nocturnal rapacious birds, 
 the genera Cuculus, Centropus, Coracias, Merops, Upupa, Alcedo, Rhamphastus, Columba, and 
 Pterocles, some species of Crypturus, and the natatorial families of the Unguirostres and 
 Steganopodes? 
 
 more unequal, and more angular. During this process their nucleus continues visible, and the larger 
 the cell is, the more distinctly can we recognise in its nucleus one or two nuclear corpuscles or cavities. 
 In its form each barb, like the barbules, is a lamella, terminating above and below in a sharp edge. 
 (Fig. 3 a shows the section of six barbs from the outer half of the vane of the primary of a goose.) The 
 lower margin of the barb is thinner and more delicate, and finally quite membranous without cellular 
 contents, and is therefore certainly produced like the barbule, by one-sided extension of the walls of the 
 last series of cells. The upper margin, on the contrary, has an oblique terminal surface, which bears 
 the anterior, booklet-bearing series of barbules near its upper edge, and the posterior, hookless series near 
 its lower one. (These conditions are shown very distinctly in the section of six barbs, with their 
 barbules, in fig. 3.) This upper margin, which might more correctly be called the upper surface, 
 undergoes a change in its texture ; that is to say, the cell-structure disappears in it, and in its place 
 a very distinct longitudinal striation, a sort of fibrillation, makes its appearance. This is likewise 
 caused by a modification of the cells originally situated here, and appears to be produced by each cell 
 becoming elongated and fusiform, and amalgamated by its pointed extremities with the cells placed 
 before and behind it. The cells then also form filaments inflated into knots, as is shown in fig. 16 
 magnified 500 diameters, and still exhibit the cell-nuclei very distinctly in their knots as the origin of 
 the cells. The same structure is visible distinctly enough, although on a smaller scale in fig. 6, both 
 in the shaft and in the barbs issuing from it. I have not detected any other fibrification of the cells 
 except this, but indeed I have not sought for it, so that it is quite possible that the formation of fibres 
 described and figured by SCHWANN (' Mikroskospische Untersuchungen/ Berlin, 1839, p. 87, tab. ii, 
 fig. 13), as detected by him in the uppermost cells of the main shaft of a raven's feather, may be a 
 peculiarity of the solid horny substance of the shaft and tube. 
 
 These are my observations on the formation of feathers ; they appear to me to explain the genesis 
 and metamorphosis of these interesting structures quite sufficiently for our purpose. B. 
 
 1 In the limitation and arrangement of the families I follow the system, founded mainly upon 
 anatomical characters, proposed in my memoir De Avium Arteria Carotide (Halse, 1829, 4to). 
 
 2 In Anas clangula and A. fuligula there is an aftershaft, which, although small, is still rigid. 
 Does it occur in all Plunging Ducks (Hydrobates, TKMM.)? 
 
 2 
 
10 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 3. The BARBS (Plate I, fig. 1, c) issue in rows on both sides of the main shaft, and also of 
 the aftershaft when the latter is present ; they form, with the parts seated upon them, the so-called 
 VANE (vexillum, Fahne). They are usually compressed lamellae of lanceolate form, which are 
 seated on the shaft in such a manner, that one of the two edges is directed upwards and out- 
 wards, and the other downwards and inwards towards the body of the bird. These barbs 
 attain their greatest depth in the outer half of the vane of the remiges ; in other respects 
 they exhibit very great diversities in different birds as regards their form, length, and thickness. 
 
 4. The BARBULES (Plate I, fig. 3, b, c), are similarly emitted in two rows from the upper 
 margin of the barbs, anteriorly towards the apex and posteriorly towards the base of the 
 feather. But it must be noted, that barbules spring from the apex of both the mainshaft and the 
 aftershaft where the formation of barbs ceases, and that they sometimes occur even in the interspaces 
 of the barbs 1 when the latter stand wide apart. In this case they are extremely similar to those 
 of the barbs, and must, therefore, be indicated by the same term. The barbules, which might 
 be compared to the leaves of a tree, just as the stem to its trunk, are much more numerous than 
 the barbs, and are distinguished among the constituent parts of the feather by the great variety 
 which they present in form, length, and delicacy. Commonly, however, their base is compressed, 
 and their superior extremity somewhat filiform. Moreover, the anterior row of barbules on each 
 barb, or that which is directed towards the apex of the feather, is very frequently distinguished 
 from the posterior series, not only by the form, but also by the parts which in turn issue from 
 the barbules. 
 
 5. The BARBICELS (Plate I, fig. 4, #), when they occur, are the most numerous of all the 
 parts of feathers, and originate, like the hooklets, almost solely from the barbules of the anterior 
 series. They form, as it were, their branches, and are simple, filiform, straight, or nearly so, 
 and stand either in a single or double series. They never occur on the lower part of the 
 barbule (unless we are to regard the broader lobes (fig. 4, c), which are sometimes met with there 
 as representing them), and even on the upper part they are not always present ; in this case, 
 however, they are entirely wanting. When the barbules are downy in form, small knots, 
 alternating with thin interspaces, appear to take the place of the barbicels, especially if the knots, 
 as is not unfrequently the case, are produced into opposite points, and thus represent barbicels 
 (figs. 9, 20, and 23). 
 
 6. The HOOKLETS (Plate I, fig. 4, b), like the barbicels, are only perceptible under the 
 microscope, and likewise constitute lateral processes of the barbules, but they only occur on the 
 anterior series of the latter, never on the posterior, and also only on one side of each barbule, 
 namely, the lower side. They appear to differ from the barbicels only by their hooked curvature 
 and their peculiar purpose. The hooklets of the anterior series of barbules of each barb interlock 
 with the posterior series of barbules of that which immediately follows it (see Plate I, fig. 2), 
 in such a manner that each booklet of one barbule lays hold of a barbule of the next barb, and 
 
 This is the case, for example, iu the feather represented in fig. 1 at the part of the shaft where 
 the barbs of the basal half stand somewhat wider apart. With regard to the remarkable structure of 
 this part see the explanation of figure 6. 
 
OF THE PARTS OF FEATHERS. 11 
 
 the whole of the hooklets of each barbule thus grasp as many barbules of the following series as 
 are crossed by the hamuliferous barbule of the preceding series. An examination of the drawing 
 given in Plate I, fig. 2, will render this relation easily intelligible. It is seen, at once, that each 
 barbule of the anterior series crosses over eight or nine barbules of the posterior series of the 
 following barb, and when the enlarged figure of the hamuliferous barbule (fig. 4), is compared 
 with the equally magnified representation of the barbule destitute of hooklets (fig. 5), it will be 
 easily understood how a hooklet of one barbule must catch in each of the little pits visible in the 
 other (fig. 12). 1 It is to this peculiar and ingenious arrangement alone that we must ascribe 
 the faculty of the vanes of serving as an apparatus for flight. 2 
 
 1 I give NITZSCH'S notion of this matter, although I do not believe that it is the correct one. In 
 the first place, these so-called "pits" are very often wanting in old barbules (fig. 5). But if the 
 curvature of the hooklets in the barbule correctly figured by me be compared with the position of the 
 pits in another barbule (fig. 12), it will easily be seen that the curvature is much too small to enable 
 them to reach down over the upper margin of the barbule to the pit. Nor do I believe that these 
 spots regarded by NITZSCH as pits are really depressed, but I consider them merely as the still existent 
 cavities of the primitive cells of which the barbule is composed. (See my observations on the genesis of 
 feathers, p. 4 et seq.) Lastly, I have noticed in all barbules a strongly thickened superior margin, which 
 is precisely of such a size that the hooklets can just grasp it. It is behind this margin, and not in the 
 pits, that the hooklets take hold, and thus fix the posterior barbules much more securely, because when 
 a pressure is applied to this connexion by the force of the air during flight, the hooklet need not let 
 go its hold of the margin, as must necessarily often occur if the hooklet was inserted into a pit 
 so wide, and situated so far below the upper margin, over which moreover the hooklets must extend 
 themselves. B. 
 
 2 It is certainly remarkable, that the true relations of these barbules and barbs, which were well 
 indicated even by PERRALT and HOOKE (' Microgr. Rest./ p. 32, fig. 19), have remained quite unknown 
 to most writers of the present day, so that, in attempting to explain them, they put forward the most 
 preposterous notions, and do not take any notice of the hooklets. 
 
1 2 PTERYLOGRAPIIY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 OF THE PRINCIPAL FORMS OF FEATHERS. 
 
 THE feathers of birds, and especially their barbnles, exhibit a great number of different 
 modes of structure. Nevertheless, one form passes into another, and not unfrequently several 
 forms are found combined in the same feathers, and even in the same parts. For this reason I 
 do not intend, nor indeed, is it possible, to give a complete discrimination and definition of the 
 forms of feathers. However, I consider the definite indication of some of the chief forms to be 
 necessary, and I distinguish three of them under the names of PENNACEOUS (pennaced), DOWNY 
 (plumulaced), and FILOPLUMOUS (jiloplumacea). 
 
 1. The pennaceom structure is recognised by its complete and strong stem, parenchy- 
 matous shaft, rigid barbs and barbules, and by the compressed, or, as in the case of metallic and 
 irridescent feathers, flattened form of the barbules, the anterior rows of which usually possess 
 barbicels and hooklets. 
 
 2. The downy structure is produced when the stem is weak and short, and the shaft (where 
 it occurs) and barbs remain soft ; the barbules are very fine, very mobile, and commonly very 
 long, but compressed only at the base, and afterwards round and filiform. With this the above- 
 mentioned interrupted dilatation into dark knots with two points, and a complete deficiency of 
 hooklets is always combined. 1 
 
 3. The filoplumous structure is distinguished from the two others by a very thin, rigid stem, 
 usually a translucent shaft in which the pith is wanting, very fine, rigid, round barbs, and 
 short, somewhat rigid, fiiliform barbules. Neither hooklets nor knots occur in this form. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FEATHERS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the four kinds of feathers formed upon the primary types above described cannot 
 be separated by any determinate boundaries, I believe that only these four can be admitted. I 
 have endeavoured to distinguish them by the names of CONTOUR-FEATHERS or SURFACE-FEATHKRS 
 
 1 See my observations on the variegation of the downy plumage, in VOIGT'S ' Magazin fur den 
 neuest. Zustand der Naturkunde/ Band xi, p. 393, tab. vi, 1866. 
 
OF THE KINDS OF FEATHERS. 13 
 
 (pennte, Kontur- or Lichtfedern) ; DOWN-FEATHERS (plumula, Dunen) ; SEMIPLUMES (pennoplumai, 
 Halbdunen) ; and FILOPLUMES, (filoplumee, Fadenfedern). To the latter I formerly gave the name 
 of arrested feathers (Kummerfedern). 
 
 1. Contour-feathers may be the name given to the feathers furnished with a stiff and perfect 
 stem, which, being exposed to the action of light on the surface, form the external outlines of the 
 feathered body. The upper part, at least, of their vanes consists, to a greater or less extent, of 
 barbs, and usually also of barbules <& pennaceous structure, whilst the lower part, which is nearer 
 the tube, and concealed, has these parts usually downy, especially on the sides. The most perfect 
 contour-feathers, or those in which the pennaceous vane is largest and the downy part smallest, 
 are the remiges of the wings and the rectrices of the tail. In the other contour-feathers, which 
 are often provided with an aftershaft, the greater part usually belongs to the downy structure, and 
 it is precisely in these that we find exhibited the greatest variety in the different families, genera, 
 and species of birds, and also in birds of different ages, and even of different sexes. There are 
 also contour-feathers which are imperfect in various degrees. Thus, for example, some, which 
 have the upper part pennaceous, have no barbicels and booklets, such as those of the Ostrich 
 (Struthio) and Nandu (Rhed) ; others have no barbicels on the pennaceous barbs, as in the two 
 Cassowaries (Casuarius and Dromceus). Nay, there are some contour-feathers which are even 
 destitute of barbs, either on the parts most exposed to the light, as in the bristles of the angles 
 of the mouth and of the chin and the eyelashes (in which, however, a sort of vane occurs at the 
 lowest part), or throughout the whole shaft, as in the so-called wing spurs of the Indian Cassowary, 
 which I regard as feathers, although they possess no barbs, and depart from the regular form in 
 other respects. 1 
 
 2. The down-feathers are recognised by the downy structure of all their parts ; they are 
 always found at a distance from the external outlines formed by the plumage, withdrawn from 
 the light and covered by contour-feathers, or by the folded wings. They frequently stand 
 between the contour-feathers, namely, one in the midst of the space enclosed by four of the latter, 
 so as to form, with them, a quincunx. This arrangement I have met with especially in Dysporus, 
 Podoa, and others. But we by no means always find a single down-feather between the four 
 contour-feathers, but frequently several of them ; as, for example, in the Unguirostres, in which 
 large and small ones occur together, and sometimes great numbers of them, as on the neck of 
 the Eagle. They are also found on spots which bear no contour-feathers ; or they occur on such 
 spots only, but are then more scattered. In this case they are certainly free from the usual covering 
 formed by the contour-feathers, and constitute the external outlines of the plumage, as, for 
 example, on the head and neck of certain Vultures ; but then the superior barbs possess compressed 
 
 1 I cannot here suppress the observation, that to complete the character of the contour-feathers 
 we must notice their capability of being moved by peculiar muscles concealed beneath the skin. 
 These muscles start from the skin, and are inserted upon the portion of the tube which projects within 
 the skin, or more properly upon its sheath. It is true that these muscles, which are wanting to all 
 downy feathers, are sometimes so small, as not to be easily detected. But in some birds, especially in 
 members of the families Steganopodes and Unguirostres, I have distinguished them very readily on the 
 trunk, and indeed four, or more rarely five, of them to each feather, so that the total number of these 
 muscles must certainly amount to 12,000, as both in Anas marila and in Dysporus bassanus I have 
 counted about 3000 contour-feathers. 
 
14 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 and nearly pennaceous barbicels, and thus form a transition towards contour-feathers. 1 As regards 
 their structure down-feathers have either a simple shaft, or combined with this an aftershaft, when 
 the contour-feathers are likewise furnished with the latter, as, for example, in the diurnal rapacious 
 birds, the Cranes, the Herons, and others; or they are umbelliform, in which case the shaft is entirely 
 wanting, and the barbs are seated on the upper extremity of the tube, as, for example, in 
 Pelecanus. I shall speak hereafter of the peculiar powder-down-feathers, which continually 
 produce a dusty matter. 
 
 The downy covering of newly-hatched young birds consists, according to some authors, of 
 down-feathers, and, according to others, of hairs ; in most birds, however, it is formed neither of 
 one nor the other, but solely of early-deciduous, down-like, or setiform processes, seated upon the 
 apices of the first-formed barbs of contour-feathers, or even of down-feathers. It is only in the 
 Unyuirosfres that the nest-clothing consists of true down-feathers furnished with a shaft and 
 tube. But these down-feathers are stiffer, in all parts, than the subsequent ones, and their 
 barbules are remarkably thin. They exhibit no knots, or very small ones, and these bent 
 alternately in different directions. 
 
 3. The semiplumes hold, as it were, a middle place between the down- and contour-feathers, 
 possessing the larger and more rigid stem of the latter, and the downy barbs and barbules of the 
 former. They never stand, like the true down-feathers, between contour-feathers, but at the 
 margins or extremities of the feather-tracts, where they complete the series of contour-feathers, or 
 entirely take their place. They even form tracts without contour-feathers, when they stand 
 closer together. They are, nevertheless, covered by contour-feathers, and withdrawn from the light. 
 Frequently they have an aftershaft when this also occurs in the contour-feathers ; they are then 
 distinguished from the neighbouring contour-feathers only by the want of the pennaceous apex. 
 Others are more like down-feathers. They are largest in some Storks, as, for example, in 
 C. aryala and C. marabu, in which they are seated beneath the lower tail-coverts, and are often 
 employed as ornaments by our ladies ; they also occur in the same situation in Falco albicilla. 
 
 4. The filoplumes (Plate I, fig. 7) are very strikingly distinguished from the other three 
 kinds of feathers by their peculiar position, their extraordinary slenderness, and by the entire 
 deficiency or very small size of their vane. At the same time they are, as it were, associated 
 with the contour-feathers, one, or even two, filoplumes standing quite close to every contour- 
 feather of the head, neck, and trunk, apparently issuing almost out of the same pouch of the 
 skin. More rarely, as in the Herons and Unguirostres, several filoplumes (sometimes as many as 
 ten) stand near each contour-feather. In their structure they belong to the filamentous type, and 
 no other occurs in them, except that sometimes, for example in some gallinaceous birds, they have 
 downy barbs and barbules at the base. 2 The stem is usually so thin that it can scarcely be seen 
 by the naked eye. In the Cassowaries alone it is much thicker, and, contrary to the general rule, 
 greatly compressed. It is, however, always rigid, straight, long, and filiform, and has a very 
 
 1 Perhaps these surface down-feathers (Licht-dunen) should be referred to the contour-feathers, 
 under the assumption that the downy part, which in most contour-feathers occurs only at the inferior 
 extremity, ascends in these to the extreme apex. 
 
 2 A filoplume of this kind found in the common fowl (Gallus Bankiva domestica), is figured 
 by HEUSINGEK (' Histologie' I, tab. iii, figs. 1 and 2). Our figure (PI. I, fig. 7) shows no downy barbs, 
 and is taken from the feather of a Goose. 
 
OF THE KINDS OF FEATHERS. 15 
 
 short tube, scarcely distinguishable from the pithless shaft. This stem either emits no barbs, 
 just like hair, or gives origin to a few barbs (frequently only one or two), and these always at 
 the extremity of the naked shaft. These filoplumes are probably common to all birds, at least I 
 have never sought them in vain where I have taken the necessary trouble. Those standing very 
 close to the contour-feathers are shorter, and entirely covered by them, but in most passerine 
 birds, especially in Fri-ngilla, Sylvia, and Turdus, some longer filoplumes occur at the nape, and 
 these project and pass beyond the apices of the neighbouring contour- feathers. In the genus 
 Trichophorus TEMM. ; they even project a long way and curve downwards, in the form of simple, 
 barbless hairs. Filoplumes of a different and far more highly developed kind occur in the genus 
 Halieus, ILL. (Carlo, MEYER), in which they almost acquire the character of contour-feathers, for 
 I believe that the delicate, narrow, white, downy feathers which project on the neck from the 
 otherwise metallic black plumage of this genus of birds must be regarded as filoplumes, as 
 although they are furnished with perfect vanes, they agree both in position and in the slenderness 
 of the stem and other parts with the feathers of this kind. 
 
 I think I have described the structure and kinds of feathers sufficiently for the necessi- 
 ties of this work, and now pass to their position as the true subject of my present communication, 
 although I well know that the preceding furnishes but a very scanty indication of the infinite 
 differences which may be detected by a careful study of the plumage of birds. 
 
SECOND SECTION. 
 
 OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PLUMAGE OF BIRDS IN DEFINITELY 
 
 LIMITED TRACTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF FEATHERS IN GENERAL. 
 
 IT is only in a very few birds that the contour-feathers are distributed, like the hairs of the 
 Mammalia, uniformly, and in uninterrupted sequence over the whole body, in such a manner 
 that only the horny covering of the beak, and the toes and tarsi are not covered by them ; in 
 most birds they are arranged in crossing rows. An uninterrupted covering of feathers occurs, for 
 example, in the genus Aptenodytes, LINN., in which I have found it to be particularly complete ; 
 also in the Cassowaries, in which, besides the naked parts of the head and neck, only the 
 pectoral callosity has no feathers ; in Palamedea cornuta, in which the axillary region alone is 
 destitute of feathers, and in Palamedea ckavaria, which, however, also possesses the well-known 
 featherless band on the neck. There are some other birds in which a similar character may be 
 detected, although in a less degree of development. But most birds have an incomplete feathery 
 covering, the contour-feathers on the head, trunk, and anterior limbs, forming more or less 
 elongated, narrow bands, bounded by other bands which are either naked or only clothed with 
 down. The latter are certainly covered, but by no means clothed, by the contour-feathers of the 
 neighbouring feathered bands. 
 
 To these feathered bands I give the name of FEATHER-TRACTS or CONTOUR-FEATHER-TRACTS 
 (pterylae? Federn-fluren), and to the naked bands, or those which are not beset with contour- 
 feathers, that of FEATHERLESS-SPACES (opteria, Federnraine). Both kinds of bands may be 
 readily distinguished and named according to the parts of the body on which they occur; 
 I will, therefore, mention them at once, and propose the denominations which I shall employ to 
 denote them in future. 
 
 I. I have particularly distinguished the following Tracts : 
 
 1. The dorsal tract (Pt. spinalis, Riickgratflur). 
 
 2. The humeral tracts (Pt. humerales, Schulterfluren). 
 
 1 Properly feather-forest, derived from TrrtpoV and O'Xj). 
 
OF THE CAUSES OF INTERRUPTED PLUMAGE. 17 
 
 3. The femoral or lumbar tracts 1 (Pt. femorales seu Inmbales, Oberscbenkel- or Lenden- 
 
 fluren). 
 
 4. The (single or double) inferior tract (Pt. gastrcei, Unterflur). 
 
 In a very few birds there are 
 
 5. Lateral neck-tracts (Pt. colli laterales, Halsseitenfluren), which pass into the 
 
 dorsal and inferior tracts. 
 
 The other parts covered with contour-feathers would furnish the following tracts, if, from 
 their uniform feathering, they may be regarded as such. 
 
 6. The head-tract (Pt. capitis, Kopfflur). 
 
 7. The alar tracts (Pt. alarum, Fliigelfluren). 
 
 8. The crural tracts (Pt. crurales, Unterschenkelfluren) ; and 
 
 9. The caudal tract (Pt. caudee, Schwanzflur). 
 
 II. I distinguish as spaces : 
 
 1. The lateral neck spaces (Apt. colli later alia, Halsseitenraine). 
 
 2. The lateral spaces of the trunk (Apt. trunci later alia, Rumpfseitenraine) . 
 
 3. The inferior space (Apt. mesogastrai, Unterrain). 
 Besides these, the following occur more or less commonly : 
 
 4. The spinal space (Apt. spinale, Riickgratrain). 
 
 5. The upper wing-spaces (Apt. alee superior a, Oberen fliigelraine). 
 
 6. The lower wing-spaces (Apt. alee inferiora, Unteren fliigelraine). 
 
 7. The crural spaces (Apt. cruralia, Unterschenkelraine) ; and 
 
 8. The head spaces (Apt.' capitis, Kopfrainc). 
 
 I shall treat first of all these in general, and afterwards of each one by itself. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 OF THE CAUSES or THE INTERRUPTED PLUMAGE. 
 
 THESE must be sought on the one hand in the considerable weight of the feathers, and on 
 the other, in the bending and movements of the limbs and neck. Thus, the contour-feathers of 
 the neck and trunk, although they are usually much smaller than those of the wings and tail, are, 
 when compared with the down-feathers or hair, evidently so large and especially so broad, that 
 they cover the unevennesses and hollows of the surface of the body, fill up the differences of the 
 external outlines, and confer upon the body that smooth and rounded form which is equally 
 conducive to beauty, and to the power of flight. Nevertheless, the feathers, by their size alone, 
 would certainly obstruct, if they did not prevent, the movement and free use of the limbs, 
 especially the wings, whilst they could not render the outer surface any more uniform, if they 
 
 ' The plural indicates that the tracts are in pairs or double. 
 
18 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 closely covered the whole body in every part, and did not leave those naked spots, or at least 
 spots destitute of contour-feathers, on which the limbs are more readily moved and in which 
 they fit much better in repose, whilst on the other hand many excessive projections of the body 
 are effaced and concealed by them. There is no question, that every featherless space has 
 some such object, which, however, will be treated of hereafter. For, I believe, that the 
 interrupted feather- clothing must be deduced, as a necessity, from the great size of the contour- 
 feathers ; as, on the one hand, such large structures could not be produced uniformly over the 
 whole surface of the body without a great consumption of organic material and activity, whilst on 
 the other hand, their size must be dependent on the extension and number of the feather-tracts, 
 the latter diminishing in the same proportion as the former are extended and enlarged. 
 
 This view is confirmed by those birds which only possess narrow spaces, as, for example, 
 the Unguirostres, the Steganopodes (Plate X), and the genera JBuceros (Plate VI, figs. 1 and 2) 
 and Coitus (figs. 10 and 11), all which have very numerous, but small contour-feathers on the 
 neck and trunk ; whilst the birds provided with very broad spaces have the contour-feathers in 
 their tracts very large, but few in number. Lastly, those birds which exhibit no spaces, have the 
 wings rudimentary and useless for the purpose of flight, and their feathers are either very small, 
 as in Aptenodytes, LINN., or, if not small, very narrow, as in the Cassowaries. In Palamedea, 
 indeed, a different condition occurs, inasmuch, as the wings are available for flight ; but, 
 on the other hand, the plumage is not truly uninterrupted. (See the Second Part, Fain. 
 Aledorides.) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 ON THE METHODS OF INVESTIGATING THE FEATHER-TRACTS AND FEATHERLESS SPACES. 
 
 IN all those birds the young of which are nestlings, and at the same have tolerably naked 
 spaces, the examination of the plumage for the tracts and spaces is very easy, so long as they 
 are in the nest, and the contour-feathers are in course of formation so that they do not cover 
 the spaces ; but even then only in cases where there is no general downy coat. As, however, spaces 
 of this kind do not always occur, and we have not always the opportunity of examining such 
 young birds, some artificial contrivances are necessary to enable us to discover the feather-tracts. 
 
 To effect this three methods are especially applicable : (1), we may carefully pluck the 
 bird, and note the pouches, or pits, in which the contour-feathers were inserted; or (2), we may 
 cut off the contour-feathers at the root, and then wet the body ; or (3), we may strip off' the skin, 
 and after carefully cleaning it, examine it from the inside. In this last method, the contour- 
 feathers reveal themselves at once by the projecting extremities of their tubes. The method to be 
 adopted must depend upon circumstances, but it is always advisable to apply more than one to 
 the same bird, because, according to the individual nature of the bird, sometimes one and some- 
 times another, furnishes the best results. But, after an external examination of the entire 
 
OF THE GENERAL DIFFERENCES OF THE FEATHER-TRACTS. 19 
 
 plumage, which must never be omitted, an inspection of the inner surface of the skin is generally 
 sufficient, and, indeed, this must always suffice when we can only obtain skins intended to be 
 stuffed for collections. If I had not employed this third method, I should have found some 
 difficulty in studying the arrangement of the feathers upon so many genera and species, some of 
 them of great rarity. 1 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE GENERAL DESIGN OF THE FEATHER-TRACTS. 
 
 IN the design of the feather-tracts I have noticed two chief differences, namely, densely- 
 feathered tracts (dcnsipennte), as I may call them for the sake of brevity, or those in which the 
 feathers stand close together, and scantily-feathered tracts (raripenna}, in which the feathers are 
 more scattered and separated by greater intervals. Besides the contour-feathers, the tracts 
 always contain filoplumes, and here and there also some semiplumes, especially at their margins- 
 True down-feathers are wanting in the feather-tracts of all the groups characterised by me as 
 air-birds and ground-birds, but in the water-birds they always occur between every four contour- 
 feathers of the tracts; sometimes one, sometimes more (see ante p. 13). Other differences of 
 the feather-tracts may be indicated by the following terms : strong, when the contour-feathers 
 have very thick tubes ; weak or stunted, when the contour-feathers are small and insignificant. 
 The tracts usually appear very distinct when they are circumscribed by a definite boundary, 
 consist of strong feathers, and are margined by naked or merely downy spaces. Sometimes, 
 however, they dwindle away towards the margin, and lose themselves as weak tracts in the neigh- 
 bouring spaces, which then bear strong down-feathers or even semiplumes. By this arrange- 
 ment, which I have met with in Buceros and Colius, the interrupted plumage passes into the 
 continuous form. 
 
 The feather-tracts also vary greatly in their breadth; in some birds, such as Galbula, 
 Merops, Upupa, and Ardea (see Plates IV and VIII), they are extraordinarily narrow, in 
 others, on the contrary, moderately broad, but with the spaces reduced in the same proportion. 
 This kind of plumage, as it occurs, for example, in the Steganopodes and Unguirostres (Plate X), 
 
 1 I have made observations as above described, not only in Halle, but also in the far richer 
 museums at Berlin, Frankfurt-on-the-Maine, Leyden, Paris, and Geneva, the treasures of which were 
 placed at my disposal by the great kindness of their chief authorities, MM. Lichtenstein, Cretschmar, 
 Temmiuck, the two Cuviers, and the two Geoffroys. I was also greatly assisted by the distinguished 
 artists, to whose talents and industry these collections are indebted for a great part of their lustre, 
 namely, M. Rammelsberg, at Berlin ; MM. Florence Prevost, Perrot and Bibron, at Paris ; and 
 M. Linder, at Geneva. All of these gentlemen have rendered me particular services in this depart- 
 ment of my studies. 
 
20 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 also resembles the continuous form in some degree, and might be regarded as continuous on a 
 cursory examination. 
 
 The differences just indicated sometimes occur on the same bird, nay, even in the same 
 tract. For there are tracts of which one part is densely, and another sparsely feathered ; and 
 others appear strong in one part, and weak in another. Some have a sharply marked margin 
 on one side, whilst on the other they pass almost imperceptibly into the neighbouring space. 
 And we also meet with tracts which are broad in one place, but very narrow in the rest of their 
 extent. 
 
 In this way many different forms are produced. It is true, that nearly all tracts form bands 
 longer than broad, following the direction of the length of the body, but although in many birds, 
 they are continued without interruption, in others they are broken up by real or apparent gaps. 
 A real gap is a spot in the tract, which bears no feathers at all; an apparent, or false ffap, on 
 the contrary, is one which is covered by weaker contour-feathers resembling down- feathers. A 
 tract is also often merely divided longitudinally in some birds, and double in others ; or another 
 may be double which generally occurs in a simple form ; then again, two tracts which are 
 usually distinct may unite ; and lastly, the tracts may extend or contract themselves, sometimes 
 in one form, sometimes in another. In some birds, tracts may be wholly or partially wanting, 
 which are generally present. I shall have to recur to these distinctions hereafter in the de- 
 scription of the different tracts, and therefore dwell no further upon them here, from a con- 
 viction that the indications already given will show the reader that there is a great variety in 
 them. 
 
 Although the design of the tracts is sometimes very different in similar birds, or more 
 accordant in others which have but little affinity, the attentive observer cannot fail to perceive 
 that the tracts are partly in accordance, and partly different in the different families of birds, 
 and that they by no means occupy the lowest place amongst those characters which are regarded 
 as available for the establishment of families, or higher groups of birds. This is clear, 
 from the simple fact, that there are some whole families and many genera of birds, which 
 cannot be better distinguished from other similar forms by any external character than by the 
 form and structure of their feather-tracts. As examples of this, I shall only mention the 
 Nocturnal Rapacious birds, the Passerine, Macrocliircs, Columbina?, Gattinacete, Herodii, and 
 Limicolce ; and, as a few genera, among very many: Rhynchodon NOB. (including the Noble 
 Falcons), Pandion, Hybris NOB. (Strix Jlammea, and its allies), Cindus, Ocypterus, Merops, 
 Gallula, Cuculus, Prodotes (Indicator Cuv.), Colius, Pavo, Otis, and Psophia. 
 
 In certain families of birds, as for example, the Cuculince, Lipofflossce, and Amphiboly, 
 the design of the feather-tracts is so discordant that it is scarcely available for the formation of a 
 general character of the family ; but then we find that the genera are all the better distinguished 
 by the design of the tracts. But when a very definite family-type of the feather-tracts makes its 
 appearance, as in the Passerine, Limicolts, Lonyipennes, Stcganopodes, and Unguirostres, the 
 generic distinctions gradually disappear, although not entirely. Thus, among the Passerines, 
 some genera have the dorsal tract divided on the back, while most of them have a simple one. 
 This tract usually forms at this spot a dilatation, which in most genera is of a rhombic form, but in 
 some is elliptical, laterally rounded, or almost circular. In other genera again, the anterior part 
 of the tract in front of the dilatation is broader than the posterior part ; or the reverse is the case. 
 The inferior tracts in this family are somewhat enlarged upon the breast, or, in many genera, 
 
OF THE DIFFERENT FEATHER-TRACTS. 21 
 
 they emit a larger or smaller branch at this spot. Tn Oriolus, and other genera, these tracts 
 dwindle away at the inner margin, whilst in most they are very strong at that part. It is only in 
 the genus Cincltis, in this family, that down-feathers occur between the contour-feathers, and 
 also usually on the spaces. 1 Lastly, in Ocypterus (Plate III, fig. 4) alone, we find the singular 
 powder-down spots, to which I shall refer hereafter. But I have now said enough about these 
 differences. 
 
 The species of the same genus of birds usually agree with one another in the design of the 
 feather-tracts when the genus has natural limits, and its species are sufficiently known. But if it 
 has too wide a compass, and contains numerous dissimilar species, it cannot be surprising if 
 differences are to be found with respect to the feather-tracts, corresponding to the groups of 
 species. Thus I have found striking specific distinctions in the genera Falco, Alcedo, and Bucco, 
 and their allies. 
 
 In the numerous individuals of one species no distinctions, except sexual ones, occur in the 
 feather- tracts. When these occur it is not merely the structure of the feathers (as in Paradised), 
 but also their position, that appears to be changed, if I have been right in my observations. (See 
 below, the genus Paradisea among the Passerine birds.) I have never met with accidental 
 differences. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 OF THE DIFFERENT FEATHER-TRACT'S. 
 
 HAVING already named the various feather-tracts observed by me, and explained their general 
 properties and differences, I now pass to the detailed description of each tract. 
 
 I. THE SPINAL TRACT (Pteryla spinalis). 
 
 This extends along the whole vertebral column, upon the middle of the whole of the back 
 (in the sense of Illiger's noiaum), from the nape of the neck to the tail, and is bounded by the 
 lateral spaces of the neck and trunk. To the portion of it from the nape to between the 
 shoulders I give the name of the anterior (pars antica), or free (apricd) part ; to the rest, which 
 is situated upon the back, that of the posterior (postica) or covered (tecta) part. The contour- 
 feathers of the anterior part on the nape and between the shoulders always remain freely visible, 
 whilst those of the posterior part are usually covered by the wings when folded up and drawn to 
 the body. 
 
 In its form the spinal tract presents very great variations. In a very few birds only it 
 
 Thus this genus agrees with the water birds, not only in its mode of life, but also in a 
 remarkable detail of organization. 
 
22 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 retains the same breadth throughout its entire course. Most frequently it is widened in one of 
 two places, namely, either between the shoulders or behind them on the back, or in both spots, 
 afterwards becoming narrow again. There are, however, some birds in which it is much broader on 
 the whole of the back than on the neck. It is sometimes continuous, and sometimes has real or false 
 gaps. These gaps likewise usually occur at two spots, near the above-mentioned widened portions, 
 namely, either at the boundary of the free and covered portions, which is most frequently the case, 
 or further down on the back. The spinal tract in such cases usually appears very broad, densely 
 feathered, and strong, immediately before the gap ; whilst behind it is weakened, and only gradually 
 acquires stronger feathers. Moreover, the spinal tract is often divided, and then contains a 
 spinal space, varying in length and breadth, at the point where otherwise the widening usually 
 occurs. Sometimes, and this is very singular, a row of distant feathers accompanies the sides of 
 the hindmost part of the tract, as I find to be the case in the Woodpeckers (Plate V, fig. 15). 
 The different forms which I have observed in the spinal tract are as follows : 
 
 1. Continuous throughout its course and strong, without any perceptible dilatation or 
 division, as in Priorities momota and Epimaclius superbm ; this form is, however, distinguishable 
 with difficulty from a similar tract interrupted by a false gap. 
 
 2. Continuous along the whole back, and scarcely perceptibly widened in the middle, but 
 weak and somewhat stunted at the nape, as in some species of Alcedo, especially A. ispida. 
 
 3. Like the preceding, but strong at the nape, and interrupted between the shoulder-blades 
 by a false or real gap, which is either broad or narrow. Examples of this form are furnished by 
 Alcedo rudis, A. maxima, and A. capensis. In Dacelo gigantea the whole dorsal portion is weak, 
 whilst the cervical portion is strong. 
 
 4. Continuous and strong, narrow almost throughout, but widened on the back into a shield 
 or saddle, usually rhombic (rarely elliptical or roundish) in form, and then again narrow. This 
 form of spinal tract occurs in nearly all those passerine birds which do not exhibit the fifth form ; 
 I have also seen it in one genus of Cuculints, namely Trogon. Sometimes the portion before the 
 saddle is broader than that behind it, sometimes the reverse is the case. In Oriolus (Plate III, 
 fig. 8) and Pardalotus the dilatation is more elliptical, as also in Trogon viridis ; in Trogon 
 glocitans, on the contrary, it is rhombic (Plate IV, fig. 19). 
 
 5. Exceedingly similar to the preceding form, but the partially-covered rhombic saddle 
 encloses an insular lanceolate or rhombic space. I have met with a spinal tract of this kind in 
 the passerine genera Corvus, Ampelis, Coracina, Eurylaimus (E. nasutus, Plate III, fig. 15), 
 Chasmorhynchus, Psaris, Ptilorhynchus, Cephalopterus (Plate III, fig. 10), Sericulus, Glaucopis 
 (G. varians), Pipra, Orinus NOB. (Rupicola AUCTT.), Phibalura, Alauda, Dic&um, Edolius, Oxyrliyn- 
 chus, Tyrannus, and Arachnotheres ; and also in the Cuculine genus Prodotes (Indicator AUCTT., 
 Plate IV, fig. 17). 
 
 G. Agreeing with the fifth form, but the dilated portion, which is situated very far back, is 
 interrupted once or twice, and thus becomes bilobed. A tract of this kind occurs in Picus, in 
 which there are two gaps, one before the other at the posterior extremity of the bilobed saddle 
 (Plate V, fig. 15), in Yunx, Bucco (armillaris, Plate V, fig. 2), Pogonias (sukirostris) , in which the 
 arms of the furcate saddle are united to the posterior portion of the tract by a row of distant 
 feathers (Plate V, fig. 7), and in Micropogon (erythropygos) , in which the gap is exactly in the 
 middle of the saddle (Plate V, fig. 5). Lastly, this form also occurs in the passerine genera 
 Hirundo (Plate III, fig. 14) and Dicceum. It readily passes into the preceding form when the 
 
OF THE SPINAL TRACT. 23 
 
 commencement of the portion of the tract behind the gap is cleft, as I have found to be the case 
 in several species of the genus Bucco, as circumscribed by Linne and Latham. 
 
 7. Continuous and strong, narrow on the neck, but widened from the shoulder-blades, and 
 at the same time not divided longitudinally. I have seen this form of the spinal tract in 
 PJiasianus, Gallas, Numida, Perdix (P. cinerea and P. coturnix), Crypturus (Plate VII, fig. 12), 
 and Musophaga paul'ma (Plate VI, fig. 9). 
 
 8. Like the preceding form, but the broader portion is cleft by a longitudinal space from the 
 shoulders onwards. Examples of this tract are furnished by Tetrao uroyallm, Perdix javanica, 
 and Hemipodius. In the Pigeons the same structure occurs, but in them the feathers at the 
 commencement of the widened part between the shoulders are much stronger, and represent a 
 bilobed saddle (Plate VII, fig. 2). When the modification just indicated is destitute of the 
 longitudinal space it passes into the eleventh form. 
 
 9. Continuous and strong throughout, elliptico-lanceolate on the back, and enclosing, in 
 this widened part, a long and likewise lanceolate space. This form, which readily passes into the 
 fifth, when the saddle is abbreviated, or into the tenth when the space reaches to the end of the 
 tract, occurs in several families of birds, namely, among the Macrochires, in the genera Trochilus 
 (Plate III, fig. 19), Cypseltts (Plate III, fig. 17), and Hemiprocne NOB. ; in the Cuculine genera 
 Galbula (Plate IV, fig. 8), Scythrops, Nyctornis NOB. (Nydibius VIEILL., Plate IV, fig. 4), Phce- 
 nicoplianes, Centropus (Plate IV, fig. 14), Crotophaga and Cuculus (Plate IV, fig. 12); also in 
 Upupa (Plate VI, fig. 4) belonging to the family Lipoglossa ; in some Fulicaria, such as Fulica, 
 Rallus (Plate VIII, fig. 6), and Gallinula ; and, lastly, in Dicholophm, which genus I associate 
 with the Alectorides. 
 
 10. Continuous and narrow, furcately divided between the shoulder-blades, but not uniting 
 again afterwards, giving origin to a right and a left dorsal tract, both of which are continued to 
 the tail. I have found this very singular form only in Rhamphastos (Plate V, fig. 1 3) and 
 Pteroylossus. Sometimes the tract is weakened exactly at the point of division, where it then 
 appears to be interrupted. 
 
 11. Interrupted at the ends of the shoulder-blades in such a manner that the anterior free 
 part is separated partly by a true and partly by a false gap of varying size from the posterior 
 covered part. The anterior part is very strong, gradually becomes broader, and furcate ; the 
 posterior part is weaker, generally narrow, and neither partially dilated nor cleft. A spinal 
 tract of this kind is possessed by most of the rapacious birds, and among the diurnal forms by 
 the genera Aetos, NOB. (including Aqnila and Buteo of authors), Circus, Milvus, Elanus, Pernis 
 (Plate II, fig. 4), Astur, Polyborus, Morpknus, and many others, all of which I unite in the single 
 genus Falco, excluding from it, however, the genera Rhynchodon NOB. (Fulco AUCTT. sensu stricto, 
 Plate II, fig. 6), and Pandion. It likewise occurs in Gypogeranus, Gypaetos (Plate II, fig. 2), 
 Vultur, Neophron, and Catkartes, although in the last three the commencement of the cervical 
 portion is wanting. In the nocturnal raptores two bands formed of several series of feathers 
 unite the fork with the posterior part of the tract (Plate II, figs. 9, 10), and precisely the same 
 thing occurs in Gypaetos and Pernis, except that in these each band consists only of one series of 
 feathers, which is rarely met with in the Owls. A similar spinal tract is also presented by many 
 species of the genus Psittacus (Plate V, fig. 17), and likewise in Coracias (Plate IV, fig. 6), 
 Opistkocomus (Plate VI, fig. 13), Eurypyga (Plate VIII, fig. 15), Diomedea (Plate X, fig. 4), and 
 T/talassodroma, 
 
24 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 12. Interrupted like the preceding form, and furcate at the end of the anterior portion, but 
 the entire posterior part weak and very broad. Examples of this form, which is not frequent, are 
 furnished by Falco cachinnans and F. brachypterus (Plate II, fig. 5). The spinal tract of 
 Phcenicopterus (Plate IX, fig. 7) is very similar. It is also closely approached by the genera 
 Crax, Penelope, and Pterocles (Plate VII, fig. 4), although in these the posterior portion of the 
 spinal tract is so much widened that it coalesces with the lumbar tracts, as is likewise the case in 
 the Nasutas (with the exception of Diomedea, Plate X), and in the Unguirostrcs. This form then 
 approaches the fourteenth, in which, however, the broad posterior part has a central longitudinal 
 space, and is, therefore, cleft. 
 
 13. Interrupted like the eleventh form, with a narrow and weaker posterior position; but 
 the division of the anterior part extends along the whole neck up to the occiput. I have only met 
 with this form once, namely, in Scopus umbretta (Plate IX, fig. 4). 
 
 14. Interrupted between the shoulder-blades, the anterior part cleft at the end and tolerably 
 strong, the posterior part cleft throughout nearly its whole length, but more or less weakened at its 
 commencement; the outer margins are also gradually stunted, the inner ones sharply marked, 
 and the undivided extremity immediately before the tail is much narrower. This form passes 
 into the ninth, from which it cannot always be exactly distinguished ; it occurs frequently in 
 various families of birds. Among the diurnal rapacious birds the genera JRhynchodon (Plate II, 
 fig. 6) and Pandion possess it, and among the parrots Psittacus pullarius ; it also occurs in all 
 the genera of Longipennes (Plate IX), among the swimming birds ; in several genera of wading 
 birds, especially Limicolte, for example, in (Edicnemus, Charadrius (Plate IX, fig. 9), Strepsilas, 
 Totanus, Triuga, Numenius, Ibis, Limosa, Recurvirostra, Dromas, Scolopax, Cursorius, and 
 Glareola ; in some Fulicarice, such as Grus, Psophia (Plate VIII, fig. 4), Aramus and Podoa 
 (Plate VIII, fig. 9), and Storks (Pelargi), such as Tantalus and Platalea. 
 
 15. Exceedingly like the preceding form, but with the cervical portion of the anterior region 
 of the tract so broad as to coalesce with the throat-tract to form a feather-coat covering the whole 
 neck, so that the lateral neck-spaces are wanting. I have met with this form only in Ciconia 
 (Plate IX, fig. 2) and Colymbus ILL. (Podiceps LATH., Plate X, fig. 11). The structure in 
 Ph<nicopterus (Plate IX, fig. 7) is similar; but I have already referred this genus to the twelfth 
 form, on account of the undivided dorsal portion. It is also worthy of notice that the division 
 of the cervical portion does not become visible only between the shoulders, but much farther 
 forward upon the hinder surface of the neck. Hence the two long arms of the tract run parallel 
 to each other, whilst the much shorter ones of the preceding form are very distinctly divergent. 
 
 16. Continuous and very broad, but weakened, and especially stunted at the margin of the 
 covered part ; longitudinally divided by a narrow space on the neck and between the shoulders. 
 A spinal tract of this form occurs in Buceros (Plate VI, fig. 2), in the Unguiro&tres (Plate X), 
 and in Eudytes (Plate X, fig. 12), Aha (Plate X, fig. 14), and Una (alle]; it is similar in 
 Proccllaria glacialis (Plate X, fig. 2), P. capensis, Dysporus (Plate X, fig. 9), and Halieus. In 
 other genera of the Steganopodcs, especially in Phaeton, Plotus, and Pelccanus, the spinal tract is 
 much broader and coalesces with the humeral and inferior tracts, so that a nearly continuous 
 feathery covering is produced, 
 
 17. Imperfect, the cervical portion being deficient; two fine spinal tracts running between 
 the shoulder-blades issue from the lateral neck-tracts, which are here present, but soon terminate, 
 even before reaching the extremities of the shoulder-blades. Corresponding with these are two 
 
OF THE HUMERAL AND LUMBAR TRACTS. 25 
 
 stunted dorsal bands, which are united only at the tail. This form occurs in Ardea (Plate VIII, 
 fig. 11) and Cancroma (Plate VIII, fig. 14), and a similar structure in Otis tetrax ; but Otis 
 tarda differs from it in having the neck-tracts connected on the throat, and the dorsal portion of 
 the spinal tract broader, with a narrower median space (Plate VIII, figs. 1 and 2). 
 
 II. THE HUMERAL TRACT (Pterylct humeralis). 
 
 This is one of the double tracts ; a pair of such tracts occurring in all birds. In its design, 
 it constitutes an extremely narrow band which springs from the middle of the shoulder, a little in 
 front of the shoulder joint, immediately from the margin of the great wing-membrane, and is 
 continued obliquely upon the humerus in a direction parallel to that of the shoulder blades. 
 Anteriorly, it not unfrequently coalesces with the portion of the inferior tract which approaches 
 most closely to the shoulder, or with the plumage of the great wing-membrane ; elsewhere, it is 
 completely circumscribed by spaces, being separated from the spinal tract by the lateral space of 
 the trunk, and from the plumage of the fore-arm by the upper wing-space. It varies some- 
 what in position, however, being removed in some birds nearer to the shoulder-blade, whilst in 
 others it runs nearly over the middle of the humerus. The latter is the case in the Passerine 
 birds amongst others (Plate III) ; the former in the GallinaR (Plate VII), and Columba. Scarcely 
 any great differences occur, however, in the humeral tracts. They are usually the strongest of 
 all the tracts, except those which bear the remiges and rectrices, and this is seen particularly at 
 their posterior extremity, where the axillary feathers, which lie upon the wing in its folded position, 
 and which are characterised by their thick tubes, are inserted into it. The few differences of 
 form which I have been able to discover in the humeral tracts, are founded upon the number, 
 size, and degree of approximation of these feathers. I find it strong and broad in the Rapacious 
 birds, especially the Falcons (Plate II), in the Waders (Plate VIII), such as Ardea leuce, 
 A. egretta, and A. garzetta, which possess peculiar, very large axillary feathers, and in the 
 Longipennes (Plate IX) ; it is much weaker in the Passerine and CuculineB (Plates III V) ; and 
 generally very small, but also sometimes very large (as in Cofymbus), in various Pygopodes (Plate X). 
 The genus Picus (Plate V, fig. 15) is remarkable for its double humeral tract on each side, namely, 
 a small inner one and a much larger outer one, both of which pass into the plumage of the great 
 wing-membrane. In some birds, as, for instance, the Steganopodes (Plate X), and in Buceros 
 and Colius, which possess a very broad spinal tract, the humeral tracts are united to the latter, 
 but may nevertheless be recognised as distinct tracts by the stronger formation of their feathers. 
 
 III. THE FEMORAL OR LUMBAR TRACT (Pteryla femomlis sew lumbalis). 
 
 Like the preceding always double, right and left, this tract forms a long, oblique band on 
 the outer side of the thigh ; its extension varies in both directions, and it is bounded by parts of 
 the lateral space of the trunk. It varies in many ways. 
 
 1. Narrow, simple, straight, and oblique, that is to say, not parallel to the median 
 line of the back, but rather tending to meet it if prolonged in imagination. In this form it 
 may be : 
 
 4 
 
26 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 a. Long, that is to say extending from the extreme end of the iscliium to the knee. I t 
 
 presents itself in this state in the genera Cypselm (Plate III, fig. 17), Trockilu s 
 (Plate III, fig. 19), Priorities, Musopliaga (s. Corythaix, Plate VI, fig. 9), Alcedo 
 (Plate VI, fig. 6), Upupa (Plate VI, fig. 4), and Psittacus (Plate V, figs. 17 
 and 18). 
 
 b. Short, when it reaches neither the knee nor the pelvis. It has this form in some Owls, 
 
 and in most of the Passerine birds (Plate III), and also in Galbula (Plate IV 
 fig. 8), Todus (Plate IV, fig. 10), Trogon (Plate IV, fig. 19), Scythrops, Micropogon 
 (Plate V, figs. 4 and 5), Bucco (Plate V, fig. 2), and Merops, and in the genera 
 Sterna and Rhynchops among the Loiigipennes. 
 
 2. Like the preceding form, but the posterior end coalescent with the spinal tract. Examples 
 of this form are furnished by Lestris (catarrhactes, Plate IX, fig. 14), Procellaria (qlaciulis, 
 Plate IX, fig. 2), and Coracias (garndus, Plate IV, fig. C). 
 
 3. Resembling the first form in direction, but so broad that it is connected with the spinal 
 tract even at its anterior extremity. I have found this rare arrangement in Cuculus (Plate IV, 
 fig. 12), and Puffinus (obscurus, Plate X, fig. 3), in which the tract is short, and in the Columla 
 (Plate VII, fig. 2), in which it is of considerable length. 
 
 4. Long, straight, and united with the spinal tract both before and behind, so that an 
 apparently peculiar space is formed between them. I have seen this form only in Coitus (Plate 
 VI, fig. 11). 
 
 5. Very broad and strong, so that it extends over almost the whole outside of the thigh, 
 but remains completely separate from both the spinal tract and the crural tract. Most Gallince 
 have a femoral tract of this kind (Plate VII), especially Phasianus, Gallus, Puvo, Tetrao, and 
 Perdix. 
 
 6. Narrow but double, that is to say, divided into an outer and inner band, of which the 
 former is much more oblique and extends to the knee. I have found it in this form, in Strix 
 bracJiyolus, and the Toucans (Plate V, fig. 13). In the Woodpeckers, particularly Picus viridis 
 (Plate V, fig. 15), the two very short bands meet together behindhand the inner one consists 
 only of a single series of feathers. This is also the case with the Toucans. 
 
 7. Sparsely feathered, clothing the whole outside of the thigh, and completely united with 
 the spinal tract. Examples are presented by the genera Diomedea (Plate X, fig. 4), Plolus 
 and Dysporus (Plate X, fig. 9) ; by several genera of Pygopodes, e. g., Colymbus (Plate X, fig. 11), 
 and by the genus Plicsnicopterus (Plate IX, fig. 7). 
 
 8. I have found it to be entirely wanting in some rapacious birds (Plate II), such as 
 Gypaetos (fig. 2), Falco brackypterus (fig. 5), and Strix bubo (fig. 9), and in these cases the 
 crural tract is very strong. In other rapacious birds, a short band composed of a single series 
 of feathers occurs upon the hindmost part of the thigh, for instance, in Falco apivorus (fig. 4), and 
 Rhyncliodon peregrinus (fig. 6). The Veiled Owls (Hybris, such as H.Jlammea, fig. 10), alone 
 possess a strong, very oblique femoral tract, consisting of several rows of feathers. 
 
 IV. THE VENTRAL TRACT (Pteryla gaslr&i) . 
 
 This is usually simple at first, and only subsequently divides into a right and a left 
 
 * 
 
OF THE VENTRAL TRACT. 27 
 
 portion. It alone constitutes the plumage over the whole inferior region of the body to which 
 llliger has given the technical name of gastraum, and it commences at a greater or less distance 
 from the angle of the throat, except when it is connected with the uniform plumage of the head 
 and nape by means of the throat-feathers. It is separated from the other tracts by the lateral 
 spaces of the neck and trunk, and in proportion as the neck-space ascends towards the head, 
 so does the ventral tract commence nearer to the head or throat. Usually, however, it commences 
 at the chin, as in the nocturnal birds of prey (Plate II), or it, at least, originates at the angle of 
 the throat, and is undivided through its first and shorter portion, but is soon divided, by the intru- 
 sion of the ventral space, into a right and a left band, which pass separately and uninterruptedly 
 upon the breast, 1 after receiving the humeral tracts, or a lateral lobe of the plumage of the 
 great wing-membrane ; they are then continued along the belly and extend as far as the anus, 
 or the tail. On the breast, each band generally emits an external lateral branch ; and in very 
 rare instances there is a second but earlier branch running inwards to the furcula, as in Galbula 
 (Plate IV, fig. 7). We may, therefore, readily distinguish three parts in the ventral tract, 
 namely 1, the yular portion (Kehtthcil) which is situated on the neck; 2, the truncal portion 
 (Ptcryla thoraco-ffastricd) which extends over the breast and belly ; and 3, the branch, or 
 external offshoot, which I sometimes call the lateral tract (Pteryla lateralis), and which is situated 
 on the side of the breast, beside the truncal portion, and gives origin to those feathers, usually 
 of large size, and often standing very close together, upon which the folded wings rest. Lastly, 
 the inner branch, when it occurs, originates from the lower -extremity of the gular portion, and 
 is always quite short. 
 
 In different groups of birds the ventral tract presents differences as great and as deserving 
 of notice as those of the spinal tract. These differences relate to the width, to the closeness of 
 the plumage ; and to the direction and form of the tract. The arrangement of the branches is 
 particularly variable; sometimes they may be distinguished clearly enough, from their well- 
 marked separation from the truncal portion ; but sometimes they are united with the latter, and 
 have only the extremities free. At the same time, they are sometimes long, sometimes short ; 
 sometimes broader than the truncal portion, sometimes equal to it in width, and sometimes nar- 
 rower. In form, I have seen it lanceolate and pointed, and also truncated or rounded at the apex. 
 In some birds, as, for example, the genera Coracias, Bamphastus (Plate V, fig. 12) and Strix 
 (Plate II, fig. S), and in the Falcons, it is of a hook-like form, emitting a linear band extending 
 from the hepatic region to the humerus. This line seems to pass over upon the inner wing- 
 membrane, into the false winy (ala notlid) described by MOIIRING. In a few birds the branch 
 returns posteriorly into the truncal portion again, thus forming an insular space, which is com- 
 pletely surrounded by the ventral tract (e. y., in Centropus, Plate IV, fig. 13). The branch is, 
 however, deficient in many birds, and when this is the case the truncal portion becomes dilated 
 upon the breast ; its outer margin may then remain quite straight without any indication of an 
 angle or lateral projection ; or, it may be suddenly narrowed at an obtuse angle at the region 
 where the knee lies, to which I give the name of the knee-covert (latibulum yeniculi seu cruris). 
 Such a dilatation of the tract is to be regarded as essentially analogous to a branch which has 
 not been separated, but is combined with the main tract throughout its whole length. The 
 ventral tract is almost always continuous ; I have rarely met with a false (e.y, in Nyctornisyrandis, 
 
 1 I give the name of the breast to the whole region of the body that lies over the sternum. 
 
28 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 Plate IV, fig. 3), or true gap (Ardea stdlaris, Plate VIII, fig. 10, Scopus umbrella, Plate IX, 
 fig. 3), situated either at the end of the gular portion, or at the commencement of the branch 
 (for example, in Gypaclos barbatus, Plate II, fig. 1). 
 
 I have observed the following principal forms in the ventral tract : 
 
 1. Without an external branch, sparsely feathered, divided, even on the throat, by a narrow 
 space into a right and left band, each of which, instead of emitting a branch, becomes greatly 
 dilated upon the breast, is then suddenly narrowed at the region of the knee, and afterwards remains 
 of the same width. A ventral tract of this kind occurs in some Diurnal Rapacious birds, such as 
 Gypaetos (Plate II, fig. 1), Falco ccaudatus, DAUD., in which there is an inner or gular branch, 
 and all the Vultures, in which, however, on account of the nakedness of the neck, the gular 
 portion is wanting, except in Neophron, in which it is nearly complete ; also the genera Buceros 
 (Plate VI, fig. 1), Poyonias (sulcirostris, Plate V, fig. 6), Ciconia, and the other Pclargi (Plate 
 IX), PJtcenicoptcrus (Plate IX, fig. 6), and Fulica (Plate VIII, fig. 8). In GaUinula cMoropus we 
 meet with a similar structure, but the pectoral band is narrower, and exhibits a trace of a 
 branch. 
 
 2. Like the preceding, broad or very broad ; but the truncal portion gives off a short branch 
 in the region in front of the knee-covert, and is not much narrower behind the latter. Examples 
 of this peculiar form are presented by Procellaria (ylacialis, Plate X, fig. 1, and capensis], 
 Puffinus (obscurus), Diomedea, in which the band is very broad, and the emargination behind the 
 branch deep ; likewise by the Unyuirostres (Plate X), in which this tract is widest, and scarcely 
 divided, but the emargination is inconspicuous. 
 
 3. Without a branch, very broad throughout, scarcely separated at the neck, divided by a 
 narrow ventral space only at the upper part of the breast. I find the ventral tract thus 
 constituted in Dysporus (Plate X, fig. 8) and the other Steganojwdes. 
 
 4. Without a branch ; distinct and divided, even on the throat ; broader on the breast, but 
 without any sudden external dilatation ; gradually narrowed posteriorly. It appears in this form 
 in Cypselus and Trochilus (Plate III), and is similar in the true Cuculina and in Ptcrocles, 
 although in these it is broader on the breast, and has the inner margin weakened. 
 
 5. Without a branch ; first distinguishable on the breast (the plumage of the neck being 
 uninterrupted), and then divided into a right and left band, both of which are very broad at 
 the commencement, and gradually diminish backwards, without any indication of a branch or 
 separated dilatatipn. I found it in this form in Opistliocomus crislalus. 
 
 6. Without a branch, and very anomalous, namely, combined on the neck and fore part of 
 the breast to form an uninterrupted plumage, but divided, on the breast, into four bands, which 
 run down to the tail, and enclose three spaces (one in the middle and one on each side near it). 
 The outer bands are dilated externally on the breast as far as the knee-covert, and then narrowed ; 
 the inner bands, on the contrary, are linear throughout, and narrower than the outer ones. I 
 have met with this truly singular arrangement in Otis tarda (Plate VIII, fig. 1) and similar 
 species; in Otis tetrax, on the 'other hand, the inner bands are much weakened, sparsely 
 feathered, and imperfect, or divided again. 
 
 7. With an indistinct branch, narrow, and commencing on the throat, but divided by a 
 median space, which is particularly broad on the breast and belly ; the lateral branch projecting 
 but little, if at all, and only at the end, where it is abruptly truncated. A ventral tract of this 
 kind is presented by the Passerines (Plate III) and the genera Plioenicophanes (viridin/fas), 
 
OF THE VENTRAL TRACT. 29 
 
 Trof/on (viridis, glocita/is, Plate IV, fig. 18), Prodotes (Plate IV, fig. 16), Prionites, Capita 
 (melanotis, Tamatia, Plate V, fig. 9), and Monastes (fuscus). 
 
 8. With an indistinct branch, and resembling the last form, but with a true gap at the end 
 of the undivided gular portion ; the latter contains very large feathers, and clothes a pendent, 
 dewlap-like fold of the skin. This remarkable structure occurs in Coracina cephaloptera 
 (Ccphaloptcrus ornatus, GEOFFR.), Plate III, fig. 9. 
 
 .9. With a double branch ; very narrow throughout, distinct on the throat, and already 
 divided into a right and a left band, with a broad median space : the outer branch is very short, 
 placed almost perpendicular to the main stem, and issues close to the knee-covert ; the internal 
 branch, which is longer, runs along the furctila, and starts from the lower extremity of the gular 
 portion. This form is seen in the genus Galbula (Plate IV, fig. 7). 
 
 10. Very like the preceding form, but without the inner branch. This form occurs in 
 Merops (viridis, milieus) ; nearly the same arrangement is also met with in Coracias (from which 
 Colaris cannot well be separated generically), Plate IV, fig. 5 ; but the external branch is somewhat 
 longer, and nearly hooked, and the main stem is weakened from the breast downwards. 
 
 11. With one branch; narrow but strong, often distinctly separated, even on the throat, and 
 soon afterwards cleft into a right and left band, which enclose the broad median space. The 
 truncal portion linear, weakened; the branch distinct, long, densely feathered, standing off 
 widely, truncated at the end, sometimes hooked. This form of the ventral tract occurs in many 
 Rapacious birds (Plate II), especially the Falcons (in which a notch, resembling an internal 
 branch, is observable at the lower part of the gular portion) and the Owls. It also occurs in the 
 genera Picus (Plate V, fig. 14), Yunx, Pogonias (sencgalcnsis and unidcntatus, but not sulcirostris), 
 Micropoffon (crythropygos, cat/cnnensis), and Bucco (armillaris, rost'icollis, sm&jlavifrons), Plate V, 
 fig. 1. 
 
 12. With a branch, and similar to the preceding form, but sparsely feathered, and weakened 
 throughout ; the branch tolerably long, obtuse, and indistinctly limited on its inner margin. 
 This form occurs in the Parrots, but with the following variations : in some species, such as Psitt. 
 yaleritm and pertinax, the outer branch is very distinctly separated ; whilst in others, such as 
 Psitt. htematodes, pullarius, and crithacus, it is for the most part amalgamated with the main 
 portion ; a weak plumage having introduced itself between the branch and the main stem, which 
 gives this form a great resemblance to the first one. 
 
 13. With a branch, like the eleventh form ; but the branch long or moderately long, dis- 
 tinctly bounded, obtuse, densely feathered; the truncal portion appears weakened, dilated behind, 
 and much approximated to its neighbour, especially on the breast, by which the ventral space is 
 rendered narrow, although it extends nearly to the throat. I have seen a ventral tract of this 
 kind in most of the Limicolcs seu Scolopacincs namely, in Numcnius, Charadrius, Tringa, 
 Scolopax (rusticula, in which, however, the division only commences at the lower part of the 
 neck) ; also in the Fulicarice, such as Grus (cinerea), Psophia (crcpitans, which possesses the 
 narrowest and most approximated pectoral bands, see Plate VIII, fig. S),Ralhis (Plate VIII, figs. 
 5 7), and Crex. The ventral tract is also similar in the Longipcnncs ; but in some of the larger 
 species, such as Lcstris cafarr/tactes (Plate IX, fig. 13), the pectoral band is so broad, and the 
 branch so short and narrow, that its formation agrees rather with that of the second form, such 
 as we have found in Diomedea. 
 
 14. With a branch, broad, strong, and densely feathered throughout, divided by a narrow 
 
30 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 space; the branch long, rounded at the end, separated by a narrow cleft from the pectoral band, 
 to which it runs parallel. I have seen this kind of ventral tract in Uria. 
 
 15. With a branch ; distinct, and divided into a right and left band, even on the neck ; each 
 of these bands, on reaching the breast, emits a very large, broad, acute, lanceolate branch ; the 
 pectoral band, on the contrary, is very narrow or mucli weakened, and separated by a true or false 
 gap from the branch. This form occurs especially in the gallinaceous birds (Plate VII), but not 
 in all of them. 
 
 16. With a branch, and narrow; the branch very distinctly separated, but curved and 
 united again with the stem posteriorly, so as to enclose an insular space. I have found this 
 remarkable form of the ventral tract in the Disk-Owls (Ht/lris, Plate II, fig. 11), in Crotopliaga, 
 Coccygius (Guird), and Saurothera (Cuculus viaticus, LICHT). It is similar also in Scythrops (Plate 
 IV, fig. 15) ; but the insular space is here clothed with isolated feathers, and thus weakened. 
 
 17. Irregular, inasmuch as the gular portion is wanting, its place being taken partly by the 
 lateral neck-tracts, and partly by the cervical portion of the spinal tract. Thus the ventral tract 
 consists entirely of a narrow pectoral band, with or without a branch, separated from its neighbour 
 by a broad ventral space, and united anteriorly with the humeral and spinal tracts. I have 
 found this very peculiar structure only in the Herons (Erodii). The pectoral bands are sometimes 
 separated by a false gap from the lateral neck-tracts, as in Ardea stellaris, minuta and scapu- 
 laris, and Cancroma cochlearia ; and sometimes united with them, as in Ardea cinerea, A. 
 purpurea, and other thin-necked Herons. A complete branch occurs only in Cancroma ; in 
 Ardea it is either entirely wanting or very imperfect (Plate VIII, figs. 10, 12, and 13). 
 
 V. THE LATEKAL NECK-TRACT (Pteryla colli lateralis). 
 
 This occurs only in a few birds, namely, the above-mentioned Herons and the Little Bustard 
 ( Otis tetrax) ; it is always paired, left and right. Properly speaking, it does not constitute a 
 distinct tract, but is produced by the union of the spinal and ventral tracts, when both of these 
 are divided throughout their whole length by broad spaces, and the lateral neck-spaces are 
 wanting. In the tldn-necked Herons, therefore, these lateral neck-tracts pass without any 
 interruption into both the spinal and ventral tracts of each side; in the thick-necked forms 
 (Butaurus), on the contrary, at least in Ardete stellaris, minuta, and scapularis, they are 
 separated from both by a false gap (Plate VIII). In Ardea iiycticorax and Cancroma the 
 arrangement occupies a middle place between the two forms ; for in these the lateral neck-tracts 
 are only continued into the spinal tract, and not into the pectoral bands of the ventral tract. In 
 Cancroma they are also united in a peculiar manner at the end of the neck, so that they enclose 
 a median neck-space. 
 
 The tracts which we have hitherto had under consideration are those which especially 
 deserve the name, and I believe that their description would suffice for the representation of the 
 different kinds of interrupted plumage ; the other tracts, namely, those of the head, wings, and 
 tail, usually consist of a scarcely interrupted or perfectly continuous plumage, and require no 
 further detailed description. Nevertheless, any one with a predilection for uniformity of nomen- 
 
OF THE HEAD, WING, CRURAL, AND CAUDAL TRACTS. 31 
 
 clature may certainly give the name of tracts to these portions of the plumage also, and in this 
 case the following must be added to those already mentioned. 
 
 VI. THE HEAD-TRACT (Pteryla capitis). 
 
 This usually clothes all the regions of the head, and passes over directly into the spinal and 
 ventral tracts, so that these, as it were, originate from it ; but if the lateral neck-space be only 
 visible lower down on the neck, the head-tract may also be regarded as continued on the 
 neck. 
 
 VII. THE WING-TRACT (Pteryla alaris). 
 
 This is double, one for each wing ; it comprises all the feathers inserted upon the wing, with 
 the exception only of those which form the humeral tract. To this tract, therefore, belong the wing- 
 feathers (rcmigcs) inserted into the hinder margin of the whole wing, from the finger-tips to the 
 elbow ; the arm-feathers (ptcromatci), which run down the inner surface of the lower arm in from 
 one to three series ; i\\G feathers of the wing-coverts (tcctrices), or the feathers of the upper side of the 
 wing-membrane and of the upper surface of the arm ; the bastard winy (alula spuria) inserted upon 
 the thumb, and also the upper and lower accessory wings (parapterum superius et inferius, or, as I 
 call them, the parapterum and kgpoptervm), 1 of which the one is usually inserted at the hinder 
 margin of the upper arm, and the other on its inner surface. The wing-tract further includes 
 the plumage of the great wing-membrane, especially the portion inserted on its margin, which 
 is separated from the rest of the plumage by the upper and lower wing-spaces, and usually passes at 
 the shoulder into the ventral and axillary tracts. 
 
 VIII. THE CRURAL TRACT (Pteryla crumlis). 
 
 This tract is also double, and occurs of the same form on both the right and left legs. It 
 clothes the whole or the greater part of their surface, and extends, in some birds, also over the 
 tarsus, and in a very few even to the toes. It is often weak throughout, or at least on the inside 
 of the leg ; on the outside, however, it is very strong in some birds, especially in all the diurnal 
 birds of prey, and in the true Cuckoos (Cuculus). It will be more particularly described when 
 the crural space comes under notice. 
 
 IX. THE CAUDAL TRACT (Pteryla caudalis). 
 
 This occurs on the true tail, or the last caudal vertebrae. From it originate the rectrices, 
 
 MOHRING named these accessory wings (which ILLIGER singularly confounded with the axillary 
 feathers) alee nothce. The lower accessory wing is, however, composed of a series of flat feathers which 
 runs along the inner side of the upper arm, not unfrequently as far as the breast, or even issues from 
 the lateral branch of the ventral tract. It covers the lower wiug-space, or, when longer, even a great 
 part of the lateral space of the trunk. 
 
32 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 and both the upper and lower tail-coverts (tegmina caudce superiora et inferiora). It also 
 includes the oil-gland, to which we shall refer more particularly hereafter. It likewise receives 
 the posterior extremities of the spinal tract, the two truhcal bands of the ventral tract, and the 
 extreme portion of the lumbar tract. 
 
 Lastly, if we are to take into consideration certain very small specially-feathered spots, we 
 might admit an anal tract (Pteryla ani) and an oil-gland-tract (Pteryla glandules uropygii olcosa;], 
 The former surrounds the anal orifice in the form of a ring of contour-feathers, and occurs most 
 distinctly in the Passerines, being particularly well shown in Parus caudatus. The latter clothes 
 the apex of the above-mentioned gland in the circumference of its orifices, and consists not 
 unfrequently of umbellated down-feathers, but usually of delicate little feathers, which occupy a 
 middle place between contour-feathers and down, but are never exposed to the light. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 OF THE SPACES. 
 
 As the spaces and tracts mutually form each other, the form of the spaces has been already 
 pretty well indicated during the description of the tracts ; indeed, in describing the latter, some 
 notice of the former could hardly be avoided. Hence I have only to indicate briefly here what 
 was passed over in the description of the tracts, or could not well be mentioned. 
 
 We have already seen (p. 16) that the spaces are portions of the surface of the body which 
 are not clothed with contour-feathers, but are covered by the contour-feathers or by the folded 
 wings. I think it necessary to distinguish them from the truly naked portions of the skin, 
 which are not even covered in this manner, but remain always freely visible, and have therefore 
 selected this expression. They may be investigated at the same time as the tracts, and in 
 the same manner; but for their accurate recognition an examination of the bird with the plumage 
 uninjured should never be neglected, because the more perfect the tract the more distinctly does 
 the space make its appearance. 
 
 With regard to their structure, the spaces are sometimes quite naked, and sometimes 
 sparsely or densely clothed with down-feathers ; the latter is especially the case in water birds. 
 I have never hitherto found filoplumes upon them, but perhaps this may occur when the denser 
 plumage has more resemblance to contour-feathers, To such spaces I give the name of false 
 spaces (apteria spurid) ; and I may remark that they are usually less definitely bounded, and 
 therefore add to the difficulty of distinguishing the tracts. Moreover, there are birds in 
 which all the spaces are of the nature just described ; whilst in others they are either naked or 
 partially clothed with down. In no single bird, however, have I found the spaces perfectly 
 naked ; that is to say without any traces of down-feathers throughout their whole extent ; but 
 they are very bare, or almost naked, in a great number, as, for instance, the Passerine, 
 MacrocMres, Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, nocturnal Rapacious birds, and Gallinaceee. More fre- 
 quently the lateral neck-spaces and axillary spaces are perfectly naked, even when down-feathers 
 
THE LATERAL NECK-SPACE. 33 
 
 occur on the other spaces. Moreover, the character of many spaces changes at the breeding 
 season. At this period portions of the spaces on the breast and belly of a great many birds 
 usually lose all the down with which they are clothed at other times, notwithstanding that 
 the skin is at the same time very full of blood ; they thus acquire naked spaces, to which Faber's 
 name of brood-spots may be applied. These occur in the females, and also frequently in the 
 males, according as the incubation of the eggs is performed by the two sexes alternately or by 
 the former alone. 1 
 
 Let us now examine the different spaces above mentioned. 
 
 I. THE LATERAL NECK-SPACE ( Apterium colli laterale). 
 
 This is essentially only a continuation of the lateral space of the trunk, and is indicated by a 
 distinct name merely for facility of description. Ascending on each side of the neck, between 
 the cervical portion of the spinal tract and the gular portion of the inferior tract, it extends, in 
 most birds, scarcely beyond the middle of the neck, but in some cases reaches the head, and in 
 the Owls (Plate II, figs. 8 and 11) only terminates close to the chin. I find it shortest in the 
 Uiiffiiirostres (Plate X, fig 7), Steyanopodes (Plate X, figs. 8 and 9), and in some Waders, c.y. 
 Platdea. It is entirely deficient in the Herons (Plate VIII) and Storks (Plate IX), where its 
 place is occupied by the lateral neck-tract, whilst the rest of the surface of the neck is a space. 
 In the birds with continuous neck-plumage, such as Opisthocomus (Plate VI, figs. 12 and 13), 
 also, it does not occur. 
 
 In all long-necked birds, in which that part of the body is curved in the form of an S, 
 so that the head rests between the high shoulders, the latter insert themselves in these lateral 
 neck-spaces as in a covert, and this reception of the shoulders seems to be the chief purpose of 
 the space. 
 
 1 The brood-spots which I have had the opportunity of observing were generally situated in the 
 median inferior space, or also in the branch-like processes of the lateral spaces. I have, however, 
 ascertained that in some Owls even contour-feathers are destroyed in consequence of incubation, and 
 thus gaps are produced iu the inferior tracts. Faber and Brehm distinguish brood-spots according to 
 their number and position, and even employ them to characterise birds ; but their description of 
 them is inaccurate and valueless, as they do not notice the regular distribution of the feathers, nor 
 do they even state whether the brood-spots occur in the spaces or the tracts. Nor can this be deduced 
 from Faber's distinction between true and false brood-spots (' Ueber das Leben der hochnordischen 
 Vogel/ pp. 136, 138). He only states that the former occur solely on the bellies of some northern 
 aquatic birds, and are produced by the birds themselves by tearing out the feathers (whether down- 
 or contour-feathers is not mentioned) ; while the latter also appear on the breast, and are produced 
 by simple wearing away during incubation. I have most certainly seen the two brood-spots ascribed 
 by this writer to the species of Phalaropus between the lateral branch and the main stem of the 
 inferior tract, and have convinced myself of the spontaneous shedding of the down-feathers at this spot. 
 This may also be the case with the contour-feathers, when these are wanting at the period of incubation/ 
 as in the Owls (see that family). The birds may, however, in some cases pull out the feathers which 
 have already become loose, and thus assist in the production of the brood-spots. 
 
 
 
34 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 II. THE LATERAL SPACE of THE TRUNK (Aptcrium triinci luteralc}. 
 
 This is of constant occurrence, and chiefly assists in producing the incontinuous plumage. 
 
 Although it is the largest of all the spaces, and is only covered by the folded wings, it is not 
 
 visible during flight, because the contour-feathers of the lateral branch of the inferior tract lie 
 
 over it, or, if this is but small, the lower accessory wings assist in concealing it. It is smallest in 
 
 Palamedea, the plumage of which has no vacant space except in the axillary region ; usually, 
 
 however, it is very large. Occupying the whole side of the trunk, it becomes broader as the 
 
 spinal tract is narrower; it surrounds the greater part of the wing and thigh, and is continued 
 
 from the shoulders between the spinal and inferior tracts, which bound it, to a greater or less 
 
 distance backwards, often even as far as the tail. Its anterior and dorsal part, situated between 
 
 the spinal and inferior tracts, passes into the lateral neck-space ; the portion placed beneath the 
 
 axilla, on the contrary, passes into the inferior wing-space. It also extends itself over the 
 
 thigh, the spaces of which I am inclined to regard as parts of the lateral space of the trunk, 
 
 because they stand off very little from the trunk. Thus, this space includes the femoral space. 
 
 When the external lateral branch of the inferior tract occurs this space surrounds it, as the sea 
 
 flows round a peninsula, and in fact separates it from the main stem of the inferior space. The 
 
 purpose of this space seems not to be only the facilitation of the movements of the wing, but 
 
 likewise to serve for the reception of the folded wing, in such a manner that it may be supported 
 
 upon the feathers of the branch of the ventral tract. Hence, whenever the wings do not fit 
 
 themselves very closely to the body in repose, or do not rest upon the feathers of this branch, the 
 
 lateral space is very small in proportion to the size of the wings. The opening between the outer 
 
 branch and the main body of the inferior tract appears, however, to favour the movement of the 
 
 leg, and also, as we have already seen, to assist in incubation. 
 
 III. THE INFERIOR SPACE (Apt. mcsoyastrai) . 
 
 This runs as a simple median space in the middle line of the ventral surface, between 
 the two stems of the inferior tract, and commences at various points in the gular region. In a 
 few birds only, e.g. the Herons (Plate VIII), it originates near the chin ; in general it makes its 
 first appearance upon the anterior half of the neck, and runs along the breast and belly to the 
 anus. Hence, it may be divided into three parts. The gular portion is wanting almost 
 entirely in most Palmipedes and in Alcedo ispida, as, indeed, generally in all birds with a con- 
 tinuous neck- plumage. The pectoral portion, like the ventral, differs chiefly in breadth, and in 
 this respect stands in an inverse ratio to the inferior tract the broader the latter the narrower the 
 inferior space, and vice versa. I find it broadest in many aerial birds, such as the Actipitrirue 
 (Plate II), Passerines (Plate III), and MacrocMres (Plate III) ; in most Cuculinee (Plate IV), 
 the Picince (Plate V), and in Vpupa (Plate VI, fig. 3). It is particularly narrow in the G alii nee 
 (Plate VII) and many aquatic birds, as, for example, the Fulicaria (Plate VIII), Limicola; 
 (Plate IX), Longipennes (Plate IX), and Nasulce (Plate X) ; but in all these the ventral part 
 gradually becomes broader. I found it to be narrowest in the Stcganopodes, TJnyuirostrcs, and 
 Pygopodes (Plate X). Of its peculiar form in Otis (Plate VIII, fig, 1), in which there is neither 
 
THE SPACES. 35 
 
 cervical nor pectoral portion, and the ventral portion consists of three narrow, parallel, insular 
 bands, I have already spoken in describing the ventral tract of that bird (see p. 28). 
 
 The purpose of this space must apparently be sought for in the fact that the neck, when it 
 is retracted, and, in consequence, forms a large projection at its lower extremity, meeting the 
 equally prominent ridge of the breast, would disproportionately increase the amount of the 
 feathery covering if it were present on this spot, and thus, of course, deform the body of the 
 bird, instead of making this projecting part as inconspicuous as possible, by concealing it under 
 the neighbouring plumage. But for this purpose the region of the body in which the above- 
 mentioned projections occur must itself be destitute of feathers. The inferior space may, like- 
 wise, perform an important part during incubation, as I have already indicated. 
 
 IV. THE SPINAL SPACE (Apt. spinale). 
 
 This is produced by a longitudinal division of the spinal tract, which it renders double at 
 those places where it occurs. This space is very often wanting, and when it is present it is 
 short and even insular. It is usually seen only on the back, at those spots where the spinal tract 
 is dilated. Only in Ardea and Cancroma (Plate VIII) it makes its appearance in the place of 
 the otherwise simple cervical portion of the spinal tract, and is bounded by the lateral neck- 
 tracts, which are continued as spinal tracts upon the back. In HUampliastus (Plate V, fig. 13), 
 on the other hand, it occurs only on the trunk, and not upon the neck and nape. The other 
 variations of this space may be easily ascertained from the differences of the spinal tract which 
 have already been described. 
 
 V. THE UPPER WING-SPACE (Apt. alee superius). 
 
 This space extends over a larger or smaller portion of the upper arm and the great wing- 
 membrane, separates the axillary tract from the other feathered parts, and is covered by the 
 axillary feathers which form the tract just mentioned. It is probably never wanting, except in 
 some birds with continuous plumage ; but is sometimes very small and almost abortive, as in many 
 water-birds. It is large in the aerial birds, especially in the Passerines (Plate III) and Picince 
 (Plate V). 
 
 VI. THE LOWER WING-SPACE (Apt. dice inferius). 
 
 This is generally much larger than the preceding space, and extends over the lower part of 
 the upper arm, the great wing-membrane, the axillary wing-membrane, and even the forearm, but 
 is covered anteriorly by the contour-feathers inserted in this margin of the great wing-membrane, 
 which are broadened and lengthened for this very purpose. It is usually a continuation of the lateral 
 space of the trunk, and is directly connected therewith, when not restricted to the great wing-mem- 
 brane alone. In some birds, as, for example, the Accipitrina; (Plate II, fig. 1), and the water-birds, 
 it contains in the middle of its surface a row of contour-feathers, and is more or less concealed by 
 them ; but it also disappears when the plumage of the anterior margin of the great wing-mern- 
 
36 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 brane is disseminated over the surface of the latter. In many other birds, on the contrary, this 
 space is either entirely naked or sparsely or densely clothed with down. I find it to be broadest 
 in the Passerine (Plate III), in many of the Cuculina (Plate IV), in Vpupa (Plate VI, fig. 3), 
 Alcedo (Plate VI, fig. 5), the Picina (Plate V), Fulicaria> (Plate VIII), Erodii (Plate VIII), 
 and some other birds. The accessory wing of the forearm, however, when it occurs together 
 with this space, is attached to it and partly covers it. 
 
 Both the upper and lower wing-spaces are necessary for facilitating the movements, and espe- 
 cially the folding, of the wing. 
 
 VII. THE CRURAL SPACE (Apt. crurale). 
 
 This usually separates the femoral tract from the rest of the plumage of the leg, and appears 
 as a naked ring at the upper end of the tibial region, on the inner surface of which it spreads 
 out, and generally covers it. It is sometimes entirely or nearly naked, sometimes densely 
 clothed with down -feathers. In the water birds it is generally very indistinct, and by no means 
 definitely bounded ; indeed, it is always of subordinate importance in the pterylographic cha- 
 racters of birds. Its purpose is, doubtless, to assist the free movement of the leg, and especially 
 to allow of its being bent backward. 
 
 VIII. THE HEAD-SPACES (Apteria capitis). 
 
 Besides the perfectly naked spots which may be detected upon the heads of many birds , 
 there are in this region several truly featherless spaces, which, however, are concealed by the 
 neighbouring plumage. A featherless space of this kind occurs, for example, in the Wood- 
 peckers in the middle of the vertex, following its longitudinal direction (Plate V, fig. 15), and a 
 second smaller circular one is seen on each side close to this. Beneath the former lie the cornua 
 of the hyoid bone, which are rolled up when in repose. In Vpupa cpops (Plate VI, figs. 3 
 and 4) I have likewise met with both these spaces ; and in the Cockatoos a large round vertical 
 space is present behind the transverse crest. In Coracias, Oriolus, and most, but not all, 
 of the Passerine (Plate III, figs. 2, 3, 7, 9, and 13), I have also remarked a small naked spot 
 near the eye, which might be named the temporal space (apterium temporale] ; but in these the 
 median space is wanting. A proportionately larger space appears at the nape in TrocMlus 
 moschitus (Plate III, fig. 19), and may be indicated as the nuclial space (apt. nuchale). I have 
 also met with this, although in a less perfect form, in Colitis capcnsis (Plate VI, fig. 11). 
 
 To the general considerations which properly close with the description of these various 
 spaces, I shall add a few words upon the remarkable powder-down-tracts and upon the oil- 
 aland of the rump, as I cannot find any better place in which to give a general account of 
 them. Indeed, the former, as tracts, belong more properly to the end of the fifth chapter; 
 but as these tracts do not consist of contour-feathers, but of down, and, moreover, do not occur 
 in all or many birds, I thought it better to exclude them from the description of the feather- 
 tracts. Still less does the description of the anal gland or oil-gland of the rump appear to belong 
 
THE POWDER-DOWN TRACTS. 37 
 
 here. Nevertheless, as this gland is sometimes naked and sometimes clothed with a circlet of 
 feathers, at least at its outlets, it may be regarded either as the bearer of a particular tract when 
 the latter is the case, or when the circlet of feathers is wanting as endowed with a peculiar space, 
 and thus its consideration may be combined with that of the plumage of birds. These con- 
 siderations determined me to give a general description of both these objects at the close of the 
 section on General Pterylography. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Or THE POWDER-DOWN-FEATHERS AND THEIR TRACTS. 
 
 IN certain birds belonging to very different groups, there are down-feathers of very remark- 
 able structure, the shafts of which are never completed at their lower extremities, but continue 
 growing out of the persistent follicle, whilst the upper ends of the barbs are broken off. To 
 these feathers I give the name of Powder- or Dust-down-feathers (Puder- or Staubduneri), because 
 they are constantly pouring out a white or bluish dust from the upper open extremity of the 
 follicle which surrounds the shaft, no doubt the dry residue of the fluid from which this feather 
 is formed. 1 
 
 Such down-feathers, which might, in some degree, be regarded as secretory organs, occur 
 particularly in the lumbar region and on the sides of the back, but likewise in other places. In 
 some birds they are scattered all over the body and not collected into tracts, as in Gypaetos barbatus, 
 in which they produce a yellow dust ;" likewise in RJiynchodon subbuteo and some Parrots, such as 
 Psittaci yaleritus, sulpUureus, dufresnii, ochroccpJudus, alexandri, and pondicerianus. On the 
 other hand, in other birds they form very dense tracts, and always on certain spots, which are 
 not usually covered with contour-feathers. 
 
 I have found these definitely limited powder-down-tracts of very different forms, numbers, and 
 positions, in certain Hawks of the sub-genera Elanus and Circus, and also in Ocypterus, Crypturus, 
 Eurypyya, all the Ardece, and Cancroma. 
 
 In Elanus furcatus there is a simple, large, continuous powder-down-tract on the hinder 
 surface of the back and the lumbar region, accompanying the portion of the spinal tract which is 
 situated over the sacral vertebrae and distinctly separated from the scapular portion, and extending 
 forwards far beyond it. 
 
 In Elanus melanopterus and Cymindis uncinata, on the contrary, the powder-down-feathers 
 form two symmetrical tracts on the sides of the pelvis, and the posterior portion of the spinal 
 
 1 May not this dust be produced by the crumbling of the membrane which intervenes between 
 the feather and the matrix, and which is dried and thrown off in proportion as the latter becomes 
 enlarged ? See my observations on the Genesis of Feathers, p. 9 (B.). 
 
 8 In this bird I could not find any true powder-down-feathers; consequently, if it possesses 
 them, they are probably transitory. 
 
38 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 tract runs through between them. I find them similarly arranged in Circi aruyinosus, pyyaryus, 
 and cinerarias, except that each tract tapers off anteriorly into a narrow band. 
 
 In Ocypterus leucorrliynchus (Plate III, fig. 4) I have found on each side four powder-down- 
 tracts, which form continuations or borders of contour-feather-tracts, in a very peculiar manner, 
 such as I have met with in no other bird. One of them lies close to the rhombic saddle of the 
 spinal tract, the second and third accompanying the two sides of the femoral tract ; the fourth 
 is a nearly square appendage to the extremity of the lateral branch of the inferior tract. 
 
 In Crypturus varieyatus the powder-down-feathers are intruded among the lateral feathers of 
 the great saddle of the spinal tract, and form, with them, a mixed tract, the portions of the 
 spinal tract before and behind this spot being much narrower (Plate VII, fig. 12). 
 
 In the Herons (Plate VIII), the only birds in which these powder-down-feathers were pre- 
 viously known, although their nature was not understood, there are always two large tracts on the 
 hinder part of the hips, and two smaller ones near the furcula ; a third pair, composed of narrow 
 bands, in the inguinal region, is not always present. I have found all three pairs in Ardeee 
 cinerea, purpurea, nycticorax, and ralloides ; the third pair was wanting in Ardece stettaris and 
 minuta, and probably does not occur in any of the Bitterns. 
 
 Cancroma cochlcaria agrees with the true Herons in the form and position of its powder- 
 down-tracts (Plate VIII, figs. 13 and 14). In Eurypyya Jtelias (fig. 15), which I was enabled 
 to examine in Paris by C.uvier's kindness, I found only the two large dorsal tracts, like those of 
 the Kites. 1 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ON THE ANAL OIL-GLAND. 
 
 THE remarkable gland surrounded by the caudal tract, which is generally known by the 
 name of the oil-yland, and which occurs in most birds, has hitherto been but superficially treated 
 by authors, and by no one carefully examined in many birds ; so that, with the exception of what 
 I have myself stated in my contributions to Naumann's ' Naturgeschichte der Vo'gel Deutschlands' 
 and in some other places, scarcely anything special has been published about it. 2 
 
 It is situated above the last vertebrae of the tail, between the tubes of the rectrices ; it is 
 usually covered only by the skin, but sometimes by a tendon, from which the elevator muscles of 
 the tail originate, and it secretes the oleaginous fluid with which birds lubricate their feathers. 
 
 Essentially it consists of two glandular bodies, more or less united together, but always at 
 their posterior extremity ; and as each lobe is broader and rounded anteriorly, and narrow and 
 pointed behind, where they have a common issue, they together present the general form of a heart. 
 
 1 For some additional remarks ou the powder-down-tracts ia various birds, see Appendix, note 
 1. P.L.S. 
 
 2 Something will be found about it in Tiedemanu's ' Zoologie/ ii, p. 135 ; in Cuvier's 
 ' Lejons sur 1' Anatomic Comparee,' v, p. 2GO ; and also in Blainville, ' De 1'OrganiEation des 
 Animaux,' i, p. 104. 
 
THE OIL-GLAND. 3!) 
 
 Internally the gland consists of parallel, filiform, closely packed, secretory tubules, which com- 
 mence in caecal extremities, and gradually unite into several stems or sacs, which open either into 
 a common cavity of very variable size or directly at the end of the elongated posterior 
 process. 1 
 
 The oil-gland is largest in the water-birds and in those aerial birds which go into the water ; 
 in the others it is smaller. I find it of the largest proportional size in Pandion, Dysporm, Sterna, 
 and Proccllaria ; the comparatively smallest that I have seen is in Caprimulym europceus. 
 
 It appears to me to be very remarkable that this gland is regularly deficient in certain 
 birds. 2 Thus, I have been unable to find it in any specimen of the Common Bustard (Otis 
 t(trda) examined by me, and also in two of the Little Bustard (Otis tetrax] which were killed 
 near Halle. In the same way it is wanting in Casuarius nova hottandice, of which I was 
 enabled by Cuvier to examine two specimens in Paris, and have since obtained a third for the 
 Academic Collection at Halle ; likewise in the same number of individuals of Casuarius indicus 
 which lately died in Halle, and the skins of which are now set up in the Zoological Museum of 
 the University. The other cursorial birds, to which I have given the name of Platysterna ; such 
 as Strutldo camelus and Rhea americana, are also destitute of the oil-gland. In Aptenodytes, on 
 the contrary, to which I formerly denied the gland, it is really present, but is concealed beneath very 
 stiff feathers. It is wanting, however, in many of the American Parrots, of which I have repeatedly 
 examined fresh specimens, as, for instance, in Psittaci rufirostris, ILLIG., dominicensis, leucocephalus, 
 ochrocephalus, dufresnii, menstruus, imAjjurpureus, and this is the more remarkable as most of 
 the other species, among which are some very nearly allied to those just mentioned, possess very 
 perfect oil-glands. However, other similar apparent anomalies occur, and I may mention, among 
 those with which I am acquainted, the deficiency of the gland in Columba coronata and C. mili- 
 faris, and also in Argus giyanteus, although the nearest relatives of these birds are well provided 
 with it. 
 
 But even leaving these exceptions out of the question, there are many remarkable differences 
 in this organ. I regard it as a difference of great importance whether the elongated issue of the 
 gland is furnished with a circlet of feathers at the end or destitute of it. This circumstance 
 always furnishes a definite group-character it is either an indication of family, or at least a 
 generic character. Thus, I find the circlet of feathers above mentioned in all the Diurnal Birds of 
 Prey (with the exception of CatJiartcs), in the Picinee, Amphiboly, PsittacintE, Lipoglossa, Galli- 
 naccce, and all the Aquatic Birds ; on the other hand, it is deficient "in the Nocturrial Birds of 
 Prey, Passerine, MacrocMres, Cuculincn (except Prodotes s. Indicator), and the Columbints. 
 
 The plumage of the skin over the gland itself stands in near relation to the absence or 
 presence of this circlet of feathers. Thus, it is always wanting in those birds in which the circlet 
 of feathers at the orifice is deficient, but in the opposite case it is usually present ; but even then it 
 presents differences, the feathers sometimes standing close together, sometimes at greater distances 
 
 1 The internal structure of the oil-gland of the Swan has recently been accurately described by 
 Joli. Miiller, in his admirable work on the glands, ' De Glandularum Sccernentium Structura Penitiori,' 
 Lipsise, 1830, fol., p. 41, tab. ii, figs. 1 a, b, 
 
 2 I say regularly, and by no means as a deformity, as in the case of the tailless Domestic Fowls, 
 in which alone, so far as I am aware, this deficiency of the oil-gland has hitherto been noticed. 
 See Reaumur, 'Art de Faire Eclore des Oiseaux Domestiques,' 1752, ii, p. 332; and Tiedemann's 
 ' Zoologic,' loc. cit. supra. 
 
40 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 apart, and being either down-feathers or, at least in part, stiffer contour-feathers. I have found 
 such contour-feathers, mixed with downy plumes, largest and most abundant upon the oil-gland 
 of Diomedea exulans. 
 
 In the general form of the gland I find the following chief differences : 
 
 Nearly triangular in Vultur leucocephalus, Falco milvus,Lanius minor, and most of the Passerine. 
 
 Truly cordate, and consequently not longer than broad, in most of the Diurnal Rapacious 
 Birds, in Slrix nyctea and S. Jlammea, Cypselus opus, Picus viridis, Junx torquilla, Musophaga 
 paulina, Alcedo ispida, (Edicncmus crepitans, and many others. 
 
 Elongato-cordate in some Owls, such as Striz aluco and S. otus ; also in the Common Pigeon, 
 and in Scolopax rusticula. 
 
 Obtusely cordate, that is to say, bilobed anteriorly and truncate behind, in Ciconia, Larus, 
 Sterna, and Halieus. 
 
 Deeply bilobed, the two halves being widely separated, and only united at the extremity, in 
 Cuculus, Coccyffius, Picus martius, Psittacus aracunya and ararauna, and in the Ducks and 
 some of the Mergansers. 
 
 Transversely reniform in Sturnus, and very similar to this in many other Passerines. 
 
 Very broad, transversely elliptical, in Tetrao tetrix. 
 
 Cordato-elliptical, longer than broad, in Perdix coturnix, Dysporus bassanus, and Pelecanus 
 crispus. 
 
 There are, however, some forms which occupy a middle place between those just described, 
 and even variations among different individuals of the same species, apparently dependent on 
 differences of age, sex, or individual conformation. 
 
 It is usually thick and convex in the Aquatic Birds, although even in many of these it is flat ; 
 it is flattest in Dysporus. 
 
 In Slrix Jlammea and Caprimulyus europaus I find it nearly erect, so that only the hinder 
 part lies upon the tail. 
 
 In many instances the efferent duct is not distinctly separated from the gland, but passes 
 gradually into it, by becoming thickened anteriorly ; in other cases it is very thin from its com- 
 mencement, and readily distinguishable from the body of the gland. I find this latter form in all 
 the Passerines, and in Upupa, in which the efferent duct forms a hollow, nearly pyriform body, in 
 some of the Gallinacea and Ducks, and in Scolopax rusticula ; the former structure is the usual 
 one in all "other birds. Thus, the duct is usually produced by the gradual posterior elongation of 
 the two halves of the gland, but it also issues from the posterior surface of the gland, and then 
 the body of the gland at the base of the duct is more or less elevated, as I have seen it in the 
 Passerines, and in Tetrao, Perdix, and Colymbus. 
 
 In Dysporus and Pelecanus this process is entirely wanting, and in these I find in each of 
 the flat halves of the gland, which are truncated behind, a peculiar orifice, situated before the 
 apical margin ; this is simple in Dysporus, but consists of several small apertures in Pelecanus. 
 Moreover, even when the above-mentioned process is not deficient the external orifice is double, 
 each half of the gland having its own aperture. The two apertures may generally be dis- 
 tinguished with ease ; but in the Passerine, the Owls, and perhaps generally in all birds of which 
 the outlet has no circlet of feathers, they are so small and placed so close together that their 
 recognition is difficult. In Upupa epops, in which, as I have already mentioned, the efferent 
 
THE OIL-GLAND. 41 
 
 duct is pyriforra, this has really only a simple orifice, but at the base of its rather wide cavity 1 
 each half of the gland pours out its secretion through a distinct orifice. Whether there are any 
 other cases of the same kind I do not know, but they are certainly very rare ; for in many birds 
 in which I have at first thought that I could detect only a simple orifice, I have afterwards, on a 
 more careful examination, found two apertures, which were certainly small, but nevertheless 
 perfectly distinguishable. ' ' 
 
 I have already mentioned, with regard to Pclecanus, that several external orifices may occur 
 on each half of the gland. In fact, this is the ordinary case in the Water-birds, which possess a 
 short, thick issue, crowned with feathers, such as the Pelarffi, Lonyycnnes, Diomedea, Uria, and 
 Alca. In Ciconia alba, C. nigra, and Diomedea cxulans, there are on each half of the gland five 
 orifices, arranged in a curved line ; in Grus cinerca, Sterna hirundo, Lestris catarrhactes, and 
 Uria troile, I find only three, which in the two last-mentioned species are situated in a pit. In 
 Tantalus ibis numerous o'rificcs on each half of the gland form a complete circle ; and in the very 
 large gland of Pelecanm crispus, the two sets, each of six openings, lie in two parallel longitudinal 
 lines upon its back. 3 In all cases where the oil-gland has several apical apertures, there are the 
 same number of main stems or sacs, in which the gland-ducts open. But if there be only two 
 apertures, one for each half of the gland, each of the latter has also a simple cavity, which contains 
 the secretion poured out by the gland-ducts. This cavity, however, presents many differences. 
 It is sometimes narrow and short, and passes so short a distance into the mass of the gland, that 
 it almost appears to be only a cavity of the efferent nipple ; in other cases, on the contrary, it is 
 much wider and longer. I found it to be largest in the great oil-gland of the Osprey (Pandion 
 haliai : tos), in which it has a very thick peculiar wall, perforated by the orifices of the numerous 
 secretory canals. 
 
 Lastly, the matter secreted by the gland is always of an oleaginous nature, but differs in 
 density, colour, and odour. In most cases it has the consistence of a salve, rarely that of a fluid 
 oil ; its colour is usually whitish, but sometimes brownish ; in Water-birds it is commonly 
 yellow I even remember to have seen it of a saffron colour. As a general rule it is inodorous, 
 but not un frequently has a peculiar but variable odour; that of Anas moschata, as already 
 
 1 In this cavity, which is kept extended by the tubes of the feathers of the circlet situated 
 in its wall, the secretion of the gland, which is at first yellow, but afterwards becomes blackish, 
 collects iu the female (but only in this sex, and not in the male, who does not take part in 
 incubation, although he does assist in feeding the young), and is the cause of the powerful odour 
 which the Hoopoe diffuses about this period. This odour is given off only by the females and 
 the young ; by the former as long as they are sitting and feeding their young, by the latter as long 
 as they remain in the nest. Is this odour intended to protect the females and young from the pursuit 
 of predaceous animals ? 
 
 2 Joh. Miiller (loc. cil.) describes in the gland of the Swan two large apertures, surrounded by 
 numerous smaller ones. The latter, however, are by no means glandular orifices, but the holes in which 
 the feathers of the circlet are inserted. As the gland examined had been preserved in alcohol, these, 
 as usual in such cases when the fluid is not strong enough, had become loose, and fallen out, in con- 
 sequence of incipient putrefaction. The swan (Cygnus], like all the Unguirostres, has only one rather 
 wide aperture in each half of the gland. 
 
 6 
 
42 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 remarked by Tiedemann, has an odour like musk. But that many temporary differences may 
 occur in this respect, may be learnt from the example of Upupa epqps, already mentioned. 
 
 From these statements with regard to the oil-gland, it is easily seen that it is very well 
 adapted for the determination of natural groups of Birds, and that sometimes whole families, such 
 as the Diurnal Raptores. the Passerine, and the Columbince, and sometimes many individual 
 genera (e.g., Cathartes, Pandion, Cinclus, Uptipa, Caprimulgus, Dyspoms, and Pelccanus), may be 
 best and most certainly distinguished from their allies by its structure. 
 
SECOND PART. 
 
 SPECIAL PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 RAPACIOUS BIRDS ACCIPITRIN^E. 
 
 THE sole general and characteristic condition of the tract-formation in this group, is the 
 furcate division and degradation of the portion of the spinal tract situated between the shoulder- 
 blades, by which it may be distinguished with certainty at least from the Passerines. To this 
 may be added some less characteristic peculiarities, especially the wide separation of the two 
 stems of the inferior tract, and also the emission, by each of them, of an external branch, whicli 
 is usually connected with the main stem only in front. The lumbar tract is but little marked 
 throughout, or is entirely deficient; the crural tract, on the other hand, is just as strongly 
 developed. There are always ten primaries ; and in the spurious wing I have always found four 
 feathers. The number of tail-feathers amounts in most Accipitrinae to twelve, and is never less; 
 some Vultures have fourteen. 
 
 I. DIURNAL RAPACIOUS BIRDS AccipitrincK Diurnce. 
 
 The most important pterylographic characters of these consist in the presence of an aftershaft 
 on the contour- feathers, which is wanting only in Cathartes and Pandion ; in the occurrence of 
 down-feathers among the contour-feathers in the tracts ; and in the presence of a circlet of feathers 
 at the apex of the oil-gland, which, however, singularly enough, does not occur in the Vultures of 
 the New World (Sarcorhamphns and Cathartes). Both in this character, and in the form 
 of the pectoral portion of the inferior tract, these Vultures approach the Owls, especially Hybris 
 flammea ; and the same statement applies to Pandion, which also approaches the Owls in its 
 reversible toe. Between the Vultures of the Old World, those of America, and the Falcons, there 
 are, however, other pterylographic differences of considerable significance. 
 
 A. VULTURES OF THE OLD WORLD. 
 
 The chief pterylographic character of these is, the enormous dilatation of each half of the 
 inferior tract upon the great pectoral muscles into an external branch, which, however, remains 
 
44 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 united with the main stem throughout its whole course. To this may be added the separation 
 of the gular portion of the inferior tract from the pectoral portion by a space, which is found 
 only in these Vultures, and runs round the neck close in front of the furcula. This may be 
 called the jugular space (apt. jugular e). 
 
 1. GYPAETOS larbatus (Plate II, figs. 1 and 2). 
 
 Of this bird I have repeatedly examined skins, and finally two perfectly fresh specimens (an 
 old female and a young male), sent to me from Coire by the chamois-hunter George Gutscher, 
 the skins and skeletons of which now form beautiful preparations in the zoological collection of 
 the University of Halle. I find the following pterylosis : 
 
 In the feathers of the trunk and head the aftershaft is pretty distinct, even in the 
 bristles of the beak and beard, which are true contour-feathers, and are rendered particularly 
 remarkable by the fact that the barbs are almost entirely deficient on the main shaft, whilst the 
 aftershaft, which is very little shorter, bears distinct barbs on its basal half. All the spaces 
 were densely clothed with large down-feathers of a white or yellowish colour, with the exception 
 of the inferior space in the female, in which the down-feathers were wanting on the breast and 
 belly, forming a brood- spot. The contour-feather tracts also have down-feathers among their 
 feathers ; but in the continuous plumage of the head and neck they were almost, if not entirely, 
 deficient. As these down-feathers are discoloured by a yellow dust, which is also perceived 
 as a hoary (hauchartiges] coating upon the contour-feathers of the head and neck, I was led to 
 regard them as powder-down feathers, which, however, they do not appear to be. They certainly 
 do not form true powder-down tracts. 
 
 From the uniform plumage of the head, which extends downwards for about one third of the 
 length of the neck, three processes originate, one of which runs down the back of the neck, as a 
 spinal tract, as far as the shoulders, where it divides into a broad fork. The other two pass, 
 gradually diverging, along the anterior surface of the neck, and embrace its base by the approxi- 
 mation of their pointed extremities ; a circumstance which is characteristic of Gypaetos. The inferior 
 tract consists of two symmetrical widely separated halves, which are very greatly dilated upon the 
 pectoral muscles. Posteriorly, towards the extremity of the sternum, they are again narrowed, 
 and are continued over the belly as mere narrow bands, which converge from the extremity of the 
 pelvis and terminate near tie anus. The lower portion of the spinal tract is united to the above- 
 mentioned fork between the shoulders by two converging rows of single feathers, and is then con- 
 tinued uninterruptedly as a narrow band along the dorsal vertebra, to terminate at the oil-gland. 
 We may also see very distinctly a broad axillary tract separated from the rest of the plumage of 
 the upper arm, but the femoral tract is entirely deficient. On the upper surface the wings have 
 a homogeneous plumage, uniformly distributed over the great wing-membrane; beneath they 
 exhibit two rows of successively larger feathers on the anterior margin of the great wing-membrane, 
 and the rest is a true inferior iciny-space, clothed, however, like all the spaces, with a soft down, 
 and concealed by the contour-feathers of the anterior margin. In this space is situated the 
 musculus extensor metacarpi radlalis ; the other part of the upper arm bears the feathers of the 
 inferior winy-coverts (pteromata), arranged in three rows, which increase considerably in length 
 towards the elbow. The parapterum inferius (Mohring's ala nolJta) is of considerable size, and 
 
THE VULTURES. 45 
 
 consists of ten feathers in a row running down the inside of the upper arm : of these, the fourth 
 from the elbow is 8 inches in length. The paraptcrum superiits is small, and consists of five 
 feathers (indicated on the left side of fig. 1), in the axilla, which certainly stand exactly in the 
 direction of the axillary tract, but are separated from it by the superior wing-space (apterium 
 alare super ius). The number of remiges is 31, of which 10 are inserted upon the hand, as in all 
 the Diurnal Birds of Prey ; the first and fifth are of equal length, as are also the three intervening, 
 much longer ones. All the five are distinguished from the following feathers by a dilatation of 
 the inner half of the vane, which is very long and large on the first, and gradually becomes 
 shorter. Prom the sixth to the tenth these feathers rapidly decrease in length, but those inserted 
 on the forearm are all of equal length ; the twenty-eighth is the elbow-feather, and the thirty-first 
 is very short. The crural tract is of considerable strength, especially on the outside ; it extends 
 over the greater part of the tarsus, which, however, is truly naked at its lower extremity, although 
 it is covered by the feathers inserted higher up. The long tail projects considerably beyond the 
 contracted wings, and contains twelve graduated rectrices. The oil-gland is clothed with downy 
 feathers, not only at its apex, but also upon its anterior surface. 
 
 2. VULTUR. 
 
 Differs from Gypa&os in having the head and upper part of the neck sometimes quite naked, 
 sometimes clothed with down, but is allied to it in having the two pectoral bands of the inferior 
 tract separated by a gap from the plumage of the lower surface of the neck or gular portion 
 of the inferior tract. This gular portion, however, is undivided, and not, as in Gypaetos, 
 furcate, and forms a peculiar, large shield, composed of densely packed, down-less contour- 
 feathers beneath the throat. 
 
 Savigny's beautiful investigations ('Descr. de 1'Egypte,' tome xxii, p. 231) first showed 
 that the Vultures form two clearly distinguishable families. These two sections differ from 
 each other pterylographically. 
 
 a. GYPS, Savigny. 
 (SMALL-HEADED VULTURES.) 
 
 With a small head, naked above ; nearly vertical, namnv, fissure-like nostrils ; a tongue with 
 spinose margins ; and fourteen tail-feathers. 
 
 Of this group I have examined Vulturf/dvus, one of which I kept alive for five months, and 
 V. indicus and V. yalericulatus, both in skins from Lamare-Picquot's collection. The most 
 important common pterylographic character, besides the above-mentioned number of rectrices, is 
 probably the presence of a distinct lumbar tract, composed of one or two rows of feathers, and 
 separated by a true space from both the crural and the spinal tracts. To this may be added, the 
 dilatation of the posterior portion of the spinal tract, which is very considerable upon the pelvis, 
 but becomes pointed anteriorly, and projects with its apex between the arms of the anterior 
 part. 
 
46 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 1. V. indicus, Terum., PL Col. 26 (the adult Bird). Head and upper part of the neck 
 perfectly naked, without any feathers. Contour-feathers of the trunk with a few single downy 
 barbs, instead of the accessory shaft. The down-feathers are extremely soft, with very long, 
 fine, soft barbs, and scattered transverse barbules. Nevertheless, they are not umbellated 
 down-feathers, but are distinctly divided into two shafts, which are of equal length, but must be 
 regarded as main and accessory shafts. Their colour is snow-white. They clothe all the spaces, 
 and also occur among the contour-feathers. 
 
 Neck-ruff but slightly developed, consisting of short, somewhat decomposed (serscJilisscnen) 
 feathers. The only other matters that deserve notice are, that the inferior tracts, which are very 
 broad upon the pectoral muscles, do not nearly extend to the anus ; that the lumbar tract forms 
 only one row of 6 or 7 feathers, above which a single feather stands ; and that the posterior half 
 of the spinal tract is composed of six rows of feathers, which are at first white and afterwards 
 brown. 
 
 In the wings I found the feathers arranged as follows : Remiges thirty-six, of which ten 
 are on the hand. In folding, all the remiges of the hand pass beneath those of the arm, which 
 increase in length posteriorly, and reach as far as the longest of those of the hand. The first 
 primary is as long as the seventh ; the second and fifth are of equal length ; the third and fourth 
 the longest of all. Feathers of the lower wing-coverts in three rows ; the hinder ones, towards 
 the elbow, perceptibly longer, equal in length to the rectrices of the same part. Parapterum 
 (superius) formed of few (about 5 or 6) large feathers, which appear to be separated from the 
 axillary tract ; liypopterum large, composed of about ten flat principal feathers, which are protected 
 at the base by the same number of flat inferior covert-feathers, standing in a row before them. 
 The crural tracts form externally true breeches, as they may be termed, but internally consist 
 only of whitish down ; the tarsi with rounded scales, which also extend over the bases of the 
 toes ; beyqnd this there are scutes. Middle toe remarkably long, united with its neighbours by 
 a curved membranous fold. All the claws strong and crooked. 
 
 Tail-feathers stiff, somewhat worn away, but still reaching beyond the folded wings ; all of 
 nearly equal length. 
 
 2. V. yalericulatus. Head and upper part of the neck clothed with bristly feathers, the 
 lower part to the ruff stronger. Neck-ruff distinct, white, as are also the dorsal half of the spinal 
 tract, the lower wing-coverts, the lesser wing-coverts, the inside of the thighs, and all the down- 
 feathers. Contour-feathers brown, with a whitish streak along the shaft ; in general stiff, with 
 but little down, and scarcely perceptible aftershaft. The inferior tracts commence only at 
 the shoulders, and are very broad upon the pectoral muscles, where they consist of scattered 
 feathers ; they are afterwards narrow, composed of three rows of feathers, and do not reach to the 
 anus. Cervical tract strongly furcate, broad. The spinal tract commences between the arms of 
 the fork, and soon becomes broader, but consists only of short and rather isolated feathers. 
 Lumbar tract very distinct, composed of two rows of rather large feathers. 
 
 Remiges thirty-six, ten of which are on the hand ; the first five with a very distinct cmargi- 
 nation of the inner vane, and narrowed from this to the apex ; the first as long as the seventh ; 
 the second and sixth, and the third and fifth, also equal ; the fourth somewhat larger and the 
 longest of all. 
 
 Tail-feathers probably fourteen, but in this specimen I could only detect twelve. Oil-gland, 
 as usual in the Vultures, with a short circlet of feathers at its apex. 
 
THE VULTURES. 47 
 
 3. V. fttlvtis. The pterylosis agrees exactly with that of V. yalericulatus, even in the light 
 plumage of the head and upper neck, formed of bristly feathers, and afterwards becoming downy. 
 The true tracts of the neck only commence in the ruff, and those of the breast are separated from 
 them by a narrow space. In no part can I find anything peculiar; even the lumbar tract 
 is present. The number of remiges is thirty-six ; the first five have an emargination of both the 
 outer and inner vanes, extending very far down, which becomes gradually less marked from the 
 first primary, and is precisely similar to that in V. indicns. In length the first is equal to the 
 seventh, the second to the fifth, and the third is somewhat shorter than the fourth, which is the 
 longest. In this species, also, the primaries and the entire hand lay themselves beneath the arm- 
 feathers, and are concealed by these during repose, so that, as the last remiges of the arm are very 
 long, only about an inch of the apex of the primaries continues visible. Tail-feathers very distinctly 
 fourteen. Oil-gland covered with down, and consequently scarcely perceptible externally ; its 
 apex short and broad, with the ordinary circlet of feathers. Two distinct orifices at its 
 extremity. 
 
 b. JEGYPius, Savigny. 
 (LARGE-HEADED VULTURES.) 
 
 With a larger head, usually clothed above with bristly feathers ; circular, open nostrils ; a 
 wide auditory aperture ; a smooth, fleshy tongue, thicker and raised at the margin ; and twelve 
 tail-featliers. 
 
 Of the members of this section I have examined V. cinereus (s. arrianus, Temm.), V. pondi- 
 ccrianns, and V. aiiyolemis, Lath. ; of the two latter only the skin, and tliis in the stuffed 
 condition. The complete absence of the lumbar tract seems to be common to all of them, and 
 to constitute their chief pterylographic character. Not less characteristic is the narrower form 
 of the dorsal portion of the spinal tract, which moreover does not extend forward between the 
 arms of the furcate scapular portion, but is iinited to the extremities of the branches of the fork 
 by two divergent rows of single feathers. In these two particulars these Vultures agree exactly 
 with Gypaetos. 
 
 1. V. cinereus. Head with peculiar, scattered contour-feathers, running out at the extremities 
 of the barbs in the form of capillary, setiform points. On the occiput these feathers are longer, 
 and the main shaft with its barbs is curved upward, producing an appearance as if each feather 
 were reversed, and the aftershaft, which is scarcely one third of the size of the main 
 shaft, inserted on the outer surface. Auditory aperture surrounded by a ring of feathers, and 
 above it a naked streak, which is directed towards the equally naked nape. Sides of the head 
 also perfectly naked. The throat, or space between the rami of the lower jaw, is clothed with 
 long, narrow, bristle-like contour-feathers, which extend anteriorly as far as the jugular tract, and 
 form with this a connected whole. The latter runs down the fore part of the neck, gradually 
 becoming broader, and forms, beneath, the shield peculiar to all Vultures, which is here separated 
 from the two inferior tracts by a space, but is less strongly marked than in Gyps. The spinal 
 tract, commences higher up, very little behind the naked nape, and is equally broad from the 
 first. Where it passes on to the trunk, it divides into two less divergent branches, which, as has 
 
48 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 already been mentioned, are connected by two rows of single feathers with the narrow 
 dorsal portion, which is three feathers in breadth. On each side of the latter, at some little 
 distance, there is another row of distant contour-feathers. Inferior tracts exactly as in the other 
 Vultures, and somewhat separated from the anus behind. Lumbar tract wanting. The crural 
 tracts form breeches, but the feathers in them are not very large. Humeral tracts greatly 
 developed, becoming broader and densely feathered behind, intimately united with the inferior 
 tract in front. When this union occurs, there stand, on the top of the axilla, several longer 
 feathers curved somewhat forwards and upwards, which are correctly represented in the figures 
 of this bird. The wing- feathers present no peculiarities: remiges thirty-five, of which ten are on 
 the hand ; the first five with a gradually diminishing emargination on the inner margin. First 
 primary as long as the seventh ; second longer than the fifth, but shorter than the fourth ; the 
 third the longest of all. Tail much rounded, with twelve feathers. Oil-gland feathered, and with 
 a circlet of feathers at the end of the scarcely distinct apex. 
 
 All the spaces clothed with long, bushy down-feathers, particularly large in the lateral neck- 
 spaces, which are very distinct, continued between the throat and the inferior tract, and connected 
 with the inferior space. 
 
 Contour-feathers with an accessory shaft, which is especially firm and rigid on the long, 
 narrow feathers of the lower surface of the neck. 
 
 2. V. pondicerianus, Temm., PI. Col. 2. Head and upper part of the neck naked, the 
 former with scattered setiform feathers, the latter on each side with a projecting naked fold of 
 skin, which extends down upon the lateral neck space, even in the feathered part of the neck. In 
 other respects exactly like V. cinereus, but the contour-feather plumage weaker in all parts, pro- 
 bably weaker than in any other predaceous bird. The jugular shield is longer and narrower, and 
 its feathers less dense or less depressed than in the other Vultures. The inside of the shank is 
 merely clothed with down, perhaps even perfectly naked in the middle. Humeral tract united 
 anteriorly Avith the inferior tract; -feathers of the latter strongest and longest on the inner margin, 
 where they are usually narrowest. The down of the contour-feathers more abundant, and, with 
 that of the down -feathers, very soft, white, and easily moved. Both these characters also occur 
 in the Cinereous Vulture, but not in the Small-headed group. Wings and tail with no peculiar 
 characters. 
 
 3. V. angolcnsis, Lath. This rare bird, of which I have seen two stuffed specimens in the 
 Imperial Cabinet of Natural History at Vienna, is of about the size of Neophron percnopterus, 
 which it also resembles in its slender beak, but at the same time is distinguished from it by its 
 small, vertical, elliptical nostrils. The two specimens were of different sexes ; the male has a 
 thinner beak, with a much longer and more strongly hooked tip. It is the original of the figure 
 in the 'Museum Leverianum,' and was obtained from the Leverian collection. The specimen figured 
 in Brown's ' Illustrations of Zoology ' is likewise this bird. The female, which is someAvhat larger 
 than a Raven, has the beak nearly of the same form as in V. cinereus, but the nostril is more 
 elliptical. In both sexes the upper part of the head, the region of the ear, and the neck are 
 covered with bristle-like contour- feathers ; the rest of the contour-feathers have a large downy 
 aftershaft. The pterylosis, so far as I could examine it, was exactly as in the Vultures, with 
 the pectoral part of the inferior tracts broad. Tail in both individuals with twelve feathers ; but 
 on the wings I found not more than twenty-five remiges, amongst which, however, there were 
 evidently some gaps ; the first two graduated : the third, fourth, and fifth longest ; all five with a 
 
NEOPHRON. 49 
 
 diminution of the inner vane, which, although slight, extended far down. The apices of the 
 
 wings reach to the end of the tail. Complete breeches on the shanks. Presence or absence of the 
 femoral tract uncertain. 1 
 
 3. NEOPHRON. 
 
 Judging from an examination of N. percnopterus and N. monacfius, this genus has all the 
 pterylographic characters of the true large-headed Vultures, especially the narrow dorsal portion of 
 the spinal tract, which does not reach up between the branches of the cervical portion, but is 
 united therewith by rows of single feathers. The lumbar tract also is entirely wanting. Of 
 course the inferior tract is much dilated upon the breast, and the gular portion is separated from it 
 by a space, and united to the axillary tracts. All the spaces are likewise clothed with soft down- 
 feathers, and these are not wanting among the contour-feathers. In the structure of the wings 
 Neophron seems to be distinguished by a smaller number of remiges (twenty-eight in N. monackus, 
 of which ten are on the hand) ; in other respects these are as in Vultur, namely, the first five with 
 a diminution of the inner vane, and graduated so that the first is equal to the sixth, the second to 
 the fourth, and the third the longest. It is remarkable, however, that N. percnopterus constantly 
 has fourteen tail-feathers, and N. monachus only twelve. The complete absence of a jugular tract 
 in N. monachus, in which the neck, as is well known, is perfectly naked, whilst in N. percnopterus 
 there is a furcate jugular tract, starting even from beneath the jaws, and also a simple cervical 
 tract commencing at the occiput, appears to indicate the distinctness of the two forms. This 
 furcation of the jugular tract, however, furnishes the chief pterylographic distinction between 
 Neophron and Vultur. In N. percnopterus the long narrow tongue is not toothed at the margin ; 
 that of N. monachus I have not been able to examine. Structure of the foot as in Vultur, all 
 the naked parts being covered with small round scales, with only three or four scutes immediately 
 above the claws ; a moderate web between the outer and middle toes. Claws strong, pointed, 
 and curved not much less than in the Buzzard (Falco buteo] ; those of the hinder and inner toes, 
 as usual, most strongly curved. 
 
 1 In the above-mentioned collection this bird stood under the genus Falco, to which it certainly 
 does not belong. Nor do I think it is a Vultur, but rather a Neophron. The supraciliary bone, 
 which occurs in the Vultures, is evidently deficient, as in Neophron and Cathartes ; but the beak is 
 less elongated than in the former, and the position of the nostrils is quite different. The plumage in 
 the male is white, in the female clay-yellow ; the tail black, white at the extremity ; spurious wings and 
 remiges of the arms black, as are also the coverts ; but the primaries are white, with black tips in the 
 female. Axillary feathers large, black, whitish at the tips. Tarsi thick, moderately long, covered 
 throughout with coarse scales ; those in the middle of the fore part rather larger. Toes also scaled, 
 but with 3 4 scutes at the extremity. Claws tolerably curved and acute ; tips of the toes beneath 
 furnished with just such sharp papillae as in Pandion ; a membrane between the middle and 
 outer toes. 
 
50 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 B. VULTURES OF THE NEW WORLD. 
 
 The chief pterylographic character of these, as of the Old World Vultures, is to be found in 
 the formation of the pectoral portion of the inferior tract. This is not separated by a space from 
 the jugular portion, but the two sections of the tract are perfectly continuous. Just as the 
 inferior tract, gradually enlarging, has arrived over the pectoral muscles, it receives the axillary 
 tract, and thus acquires a very remarkable breadth. It then divides into two branches, which, 
 however, are generally weak, and are rendered indistinct by the circumstance that the feathers of 
 the tract are more scattered. The two branches are at first of equal width, and run parallel ; 
 towards the extremity of the great pectoral muscles they curve in towards each other ; and whilst 
 the inner one is continued unchanged as the ventral portion, the outer one is narrowed, and 
 returns by a narrow process, running along the margin of the musculus pectoralis major, to the 
 ventral part again. In this way the two branches enclose a pretty large insular space, the whole 
 tract thus presenting a very close resemblance to that of Centropus (Plate IV, fig. 18). This, how- 
 ever, does not conclude the list of the pterylographic peculiarities of the American Vultures ; but 
 we must add: 1. The amalgamation of the jugular part of the inferior tract with the cervical 
 portion of the spinal tract, which woiild convert the plumage of the lower part of the neck into a 
 continuous one, if the inferior space did not entirely or partially penetrate it. 2. The remarkable 
 narrowing of the dorsal portion of the spinal tract, which frequently consists only of two rows of 
 feathers, gradually diverging anteriorly, and connected with the branches of the fork of the cervical 
 part. 3. The presence of a large lumbar tract. 4. The constant and invariable presence of 
 twelve feathers in the tail. 5. The absence of a circlet of feathers at the apex of the oil-gland. 
 The broad, obtuse form of this organ seems to stand in relation to this. At its extremity there 
 are two distinct orifices. 6. The covering of the feet may also be cited as a characteristic element; 
 it consists of small scales upon the tarsus, but of scutes upon the whole of the toes : moreover, 
 besides the outer and middle toes, the middle and inner toes are united by a membrane. 
 
 The elongated nostrils, paralled to the longitudinal axis of the beak, certainly remind one of 
 Neophron; but the absence of a bony septum between them is one of the most characteristic 
 external distinctions of the American Vultures : the tongue, moreover, has a series of teeth on its 
 margin, at least in C. papa and C. aura. 
 
 I have examined C. yryphus, papa, aura and urubu (fcetens ILLIG.), and found in all some 
 little differences in the form of the tracts, but no characters from which I could justify their 
 division into the genera Sarcorrhamphus and Cathartes. 
 
 4. CATHARTES. 
 
 Down-feathers everywhere upon the spaces and between the contour-feathers ; the latter with 
 a few soft barbs in place of the deficient aftershaft. Head entirely or nearly naked, as also 
 the upper part of the neck ; the latter probably always. The pterylosis only commences at the 
 ruff of feathers, and is continuous, being only interrupted beneath by the inferior space ; the latter 
 
CATHARTES. 51 
 
 is at first quite naked. Wings with a very variable number of remiges, at the utmost thirty-six, at 
 the lowest twenty-three, of which ten are on the hand; the first three rapidly graduated, the 
 third probably always the longest, the first equal to the seventh ; all as far as the sixth emarginated 
 on the inner vane ; spurious wing with four feathers. Parapterum not well marked, composed of 
 eight feathers not easily distinguishable from the rest ; hypopterum more distinct, consisting of 
 twelve long, flat feathers running clown upon the upper arm. 
 
 1. C. gryphus. Short, hair-like feathers on the head and upper part of the neck; neck-ruff 
 formed only of down-feathers. Lateral neck-space short, reaching from the shoulder to the base 
 of the neck. Spinal tract very broad (6 10 feathers) from its commencement, and strong; but 
 the short lobes of the furcate portion soon taper off, so that they terminate with a single feather. 
 Dorsal portion consisting, for the first half, of two distant rows of feathers ; afterwards of four rows, 
 but becoming no wider. Humeral tract large and broad, apparently with air-cells among its 
 quills ; the space between it and the upper plumage of the wing very narrow. Inferior tract very 
 sparsely feathered, the insular space not very large, and therefore not particularly perceptible ; 
 the ventral portion extends to the anus. Lumbar tract of two rows, with twelve feathers in each, 
 distinctly separated from the spinal tract, but coalescent with the crural tract. Down-feathers 
 behind the oil-gland, partly standing beneath it, and not to be regarded as apical feathers. Alto- 
 gether thiriy-six remiges, of which the thirty-third is at the elbow ; on the hand, as usual, ten. 
 
 2. C. papa. Neck quite bare, except at the nape, where there is a band composed of hair- 
 like feathers, which also extends over the vertex ; lower part of the neck feathered all over above, 
 but with the plumage unequal, thicker anteriorly, where it forms the ruff, and similarly thickened 
 on a small band in the direction of the spinal tract ; lateral regions sparsely feathered, interrupted 
 beneath by the perfectly naked inferior space. Lateral neck-space limited to the shoulder. 
 Scapular portion of the spinal tract distinct, with a deep bifurcation ; the branches slender, obtuse 
 at the end. Axillary tracts strong and large, situated close to the shoulder-blades, whence the 
 space separating them from the plumage of the arm becomes broader. Posterior half of the spinal 
 tract entirely formed of two rows of feathers, which at first diverge and have the feathers distant, 
 but are subsequently parallel and denser ; somewhat widened in the pelvic region. Lumbar 
 tract short, separated from the crural tract, biserial. Inferior tract rather more densely feathered 
 than in C. gryplius ; but the insular space much larger, and quite naked. Inferior space at first 
 narrow, in consequence of the inward bending of the inner branch of the inferior tract ; somewhat 
 broader on the belly ; perfectly naked in front. Wing plumage as in C. gryphus, but only thirty- 
 tivo remiges, of which the last but one stands at the elbow. 
 
 3. C. aura, VIEILL. The head and fore part of the neck are quite naked. The plumage 
 of the neck goes further towards the head, but is weakened towards the trunk and abridged 
 on the sides, when the lateral neck-space is perceptible in front of the shoulder. Spinal tract 
 exactly as in C. papa, except that the feathers in the middle of the dorsal part are somewhat 
 softer and almost downy. Lumbar tract separated from the crural tract. Inferior tract similar 
 in arrangement to that of C. papa, but with the feathers more sparse, so that this is rendered 
 small and indistinct. All the rest as in C. papa, but only twenty-seven remiges ; the ten primaries 
 in the same proportions as in C. yryphm and C. papa ; the twenty-fifth at the elbow, and the 
 longest of the arm-feathers. 
 
 4. C. urubu (fattens ILLIG. ; atratus TEMM. ; BUFF. PL Eul., 187). Head and fore part of 
 the neck warty, with very scattered, hair-like feathers. Neck plumage uninterrupted, commencing 
 
52 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 with an ascending point near the occiput, forming no ruff, and apparently divided anteriorly 
 beneath only by a continuation of the inferior space j 1 feathers generally sparse ; cervical and 
 scapular portions of the spinal tract exactly as in C. papa, as also the somewhat broader dorsal 
 portion, which is triserial posteriorly. Lateral neck-space short, but perceptible. The femoral 
 tracts pass into the crural tracts. Inferior tract very broad, but sparsely feathered, with a small 
 insular space on the pectoral muscles ; outer branch anteriorly very broad, broader than usual. 
 Remiges only twenty-three, or at the outside twenty-five in number ; but ten of these are still on 
 the hand. Tail not rounded as in the other species, but abruptly truncated ; the middle feathers 
 are, consequently, somewhat abbreviated. Oil-gland quite naked. 
 
 All these four species are described from skins in the collection at Halle ; the second was 
 also examined in a fresh state. 
 
 C. FALCONS. 
 FALCO, Linn. 
 
 This group, which includes so many species, and is so readily and certainly characterised by 
 the structure of the beak and feet, has no single, equally general and exclusive pterylographic 
 character ; for although in most Falcons the inferior tract possesses a freely diverging external 
 lateral branch, which, if it were only universal, would clearly distinguish them from the Vultures 
 both of the Old World and of America, there are, according to my observations, two exceptions 
 to this rule, as both in Falco haliaetus (Plate II, fig. 7) and in F. ecaudatus DAUD. we find a 
 simple, generally enlarged pectoral tract, in which respect these two Falcons agree perfectly with 
 the Old- World Vultures. Still, notwithstanding this great similarity, a pterylographic difference 
 between them and the Vultures may be demonstrated ; namely, that in the latter the jugular 
 portion of the inferior tract is completely separated by a space from the pectoral portion, whilst in 
 the Falcons referred to the two parts are connected and pass into each other. This union of the two 
 tracts is, indeed, proper to all the Falcons, but is not always so distinct and perfect. The jugular 
 portion of the inferior tract forms an inner branch at its lower extremity just before the furcula, 
 which passes down along the furcula to its lowest part, and there terminates ; this is wanting only 
 in Pcmdion and Rhynchodon. This branch is frequently very short, but is, notwithstanding, 
 recognisable from the fact that the inferior tract itself is diminished immediately behind the 
 branch, and then consists only of a single row of feathers, which is continued over the furcula, 
 and effects the union of the jugular with the pectoral portion. If it were altogether wanting 
 (which, however, I have never found to be the case), there would be a complete approximation to 
 Gypaetos, if at the same time the outer branch of the pectoral portion were coalescent with the 
 main stem ; but, as far as I know, this case never occurs, and the above-mentioned mode of 
 union, together with the undivided condition of the pectoral band of the inferior tract, always 
 constitutes a characteristic distinction of the Falcons. As, moreover, the jugular portion of the 
 
 1 As the skin of the only specimen examined by me had been cut longitudinally beneath, it did not 
 allow the extent of the inferior space to be determined accurately. 
 
FALCONS. 53 
 
 inferior tract is always divided, and thus double, in one half of its extent in these birds, they 
 cannot for this reason be confounded with the true Vultures, and it would really be only to 
 Gypaetos and Neophron that the two anomalous Falcons above referred to would nearly approach 
 in the formation of the inferior tract. From the Vultures of the New World, on the other hand, 
 the Falcons are quite sufficiently distinguished by the absence of the insular space in the pectoral 
 tract, and the complete division of the inferior tract on the neck. 
 
 However, the pectoral portion of the inferior tract is always very variable throughout the 
 Falcons ; and besides the complete coalescence of the branch with the main stem, and its perfect 
 separation therefrom, there occurs a complete series of intermediate steps, which show how the 
 one form gradually passes into the other. Thus the branch is often free only at the end (F. 
 bidentatus TEMM. PL Col., 38), in other cases as far as the middle (F. lopJtotes TEMM., PL Col., 
 10), or to within one third from the base (Gypogeranus serpentarius), or, lastly, quite free, as I have 
 figured it in Fakofulvus (PI. II, fig. 3). The latter case is the most frequent. 
 
 Not less variable, and consequently equally inapplicable as a characteristic element, is the 
 posterior part of the spinal tract. In the Vultures it presented us with a character for the pterylo- 
 graphic distinction of Gyps and jfigypius, in its two different forms ; and its form in the Falcons is 
 still more liable to change. The narrow, band-like form, such as occurs in Gypaiitos and 
 jEyypius, appears to be most generally diffused ; but it is by no means a constant character, even 
 in those species in which it occurs, as the posterior part is sometimes remarkably short, as in 
 Falco buleo, and sometimes long and reaching to the fork of the anterior part, as in F. milvus ; 
 but even then it usually exhibits that division into the divergent rows of feathers (Plate II, 
 fig. 4) which also occurs in the above-mentioned Vultures. Another more constant, and there- 
 fore more characteristic form, consists in the complete division and dilatation of the two limbs of 
 the tract as far as the caudal pit, which characterises the genera Rhynchodon (Plate II, fig. 6) 
 and Pandion. More rarely I have met with a third primary form, which occurs as a generally 
 dilated tract, sparsely feathered at the sides (PI. II, fig. 5). Intermediate between this form and the 
 first-mentioned are two American Falcons (F. melanops TESIM. PL Col., 105, and F. anthracinus 
 LICHT., from Mexico), inasmuch as in these there is a narrow dorsal band of uniform breadth, but 
 inside it some sparsely scattered contour-feathers. 
 
 In the enumeration of such differences I must not omit to mention that the lumbar tract 
 also falls into the category of variable pterylographic structures, being sometimes entirely wanting 
 and sometimes present, but never, apparently, attaining any considerable extension or strength. 
 The occurrence of powder-down tracts in its vicinity has already (p. 37) been mentioned 
 generally, and will occupy us again hereafter. 
 
 I shall say nothing at present of the variability of structure of the wings and tail, as this is 
 well known, and has already been generally employed by ornithologists for characterising their 
 numerous subgenera. I need only repeat here that all the Falcons possess ten primaries and 
 twelve tail-feathers. 
 
 If we now take into consideration the differences of the pterylosis just indicated, in order to 
 arrange the Falcons in accordance with them, it is a matter of course that this classification 
 cannot be a natural one, being only drawn from a single character. We must, therefore, not 
 expect this from it, but rather rest satisfied with the result here given, namely, finding the 
 pterylographic multifariousness summarily represented in it. This, indeed, was our problem. 
 
54 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 1. Falcons with the pectoral stem of the inferior tract undivided. 
 
 a. With the posterior portion of the spinal tract of uniform breadth and furcate 
 
 anteriorly. 
 
 The representative of this remarkable combination, which is so extremely similar to the 
 
 Vulturine type, is the Falco ecaudahis DAUD. (Le Bateleur, LE VAILL. Ois. d'Afrique, I, pi. 7 
 
 and 8), of which Lesson has formed the subgenus Theratopius. I have also to mention, with 
 
 regard to the pterylography of this very singular bird, that the inner branch at the extremity of 
 
 the jugular portion of the inferior tract is very distinct, that the union of the jugular with the 
 
 pectoral portion consists of a single row of feathers, and that the lumbar tract appears to be 
 
 deficient. The two arms of the scapular part of the spinal tract are remarkably long, as'they 
 
 project beyond the apices of the scapulae. The dorsal portion reaches nearly to these arms, and 
 
 divides only into two very short, diverging rows of feathers, which unite themselves to the arms 
 
 of the fork. The number of remiges is thirty-three, a perfectly enormous number for a Falcon : 
 
 the first is, perhaps, the longest, but I must leave this uncertain, as it was in process of growth, 
 
 otherwise certainly the second : the third is a little shorter, and the remainder to the tenth 
 
 rapidly diminish. The first five have an emargination on both halves of the vane ; this is but 
 
 slight on the outer one, but on the inner it forms a very acute angle, and commences near the 
 
 middle of the length of the feather. By this means the second half is rendered very narrow and 
 
 acute. Tail very short, scarcely one fourth the length of the portion of the folded wings which 
 
 projects over it. 
 
 In other particulars of its structure this bird approaches the Buzzards ; but it has the feet 
 entirely covered with scales, and with only one or two scutes upon the backs of the toes imme- 
 diately above the base of the claws ; likewise a remarkable analogy with the Vulturine type. 
 
 b. With the posterior part of the spinal tract deeply divided, and dilated externally on 
 each arm. 
 
 FALCO (PANDION) fialiaetos. (Plate II, fig. 7.) 
 
 This Hawk, which is so remarkable in many respects, does not present only the two peculiar 
 characters already indicated, but it differs pterylographically in many other points from the rest 
 of its associates. These differences are as follows : 
 
 1. The contour-feathers have no aftersJiaft, and are generally very small and short; indeed, 
 smaller than in any other Falcon. Hence the legs present no appearance of breeches, and the 
 trunk seems very small in comparison with the wings and legs. The feathers of the inferior 
 tract are the smallest of all. 1 
 
 2. The inferior tract divides close to the throat, and its two arms separate considerably. la 
 the vicinity of the furcula they become dilated, but form no interior branch ; they pass uninter- 
 ruptedly and constantly becoming broader upon the pectoral muscles, of which they occupy the 
 whole of the middle surface, continue backwards at an equal distance from the crest of the 
 
 1 The absence of the aftershaft causes this Falcon to approach the Owls as much pterylogra- 
 phieally as it does zoologically in the reversible toe, and anatomically in the non-pneumatic femora and 
 the completely closed osseous canal on the os metatarsi for the passage of the sinew of the extensor 
 digitorum communis. 
 
RHYNCHODON. 55 
 
 sternum and the outer margin of the pectoralis major, and occur broader than usual upon the 
 ventral surface, upon which, however, they terminate before reaching the pelvis and the anus. 
 
 3. The hypoptcrum, which is generally confined to the inner surface of the upper arm, is 
 continued upon the breast, and forms a row of large contour-feathers close to the outer margin of 
 the pectoral tract. 
 
 4. The spinal tract, as far as the shoulder, is without any distinguishing marks ; but its 
 dorsal part consists, at first, of two rows of single feathers, which issue, parallel to each other, 
 from the points of the fork, become broader in proportion as they increase in length, and only 
 coalesce immediately in front of the oil-gland, to form a short, broad, main stem, which has 
 contour-feathers sprinkled beside it. 
 
 5. The lumbar tracts are probably entirely wanting. 
 
 6. The oil-gland is remarkably large, probably larger in proportion than in any other bird ; 
 it is cordate, with a short apical part with two orifices ; each half of the gland has a large, deeply 
 penetrating, wide cavity, of which the wall consists of a very thick membrane. 
 
 7. In the wings I find twenty-nine remiges, which is also a comparatively large number. Of 
 these the first is somewhat longer than the fifth, and the second and third exceed all the others 
 in length. The first three have an angular emargination -on the inner half of the vane, and are 
 diminished in size from this point ; the fourth exhibits a trace of this. The ala spuria has a 
 thin, straight claw, and, at least sometimes, Jive feathers. 
 
 8. Rectrices short, reaching only to the tips of the folded wings. 
 
 2. Falcons of which the pectoral tract emits a completely or partially free exterior branch. 
 
 a. With the dorsal portion of the spinal tract deeply divided, and each limb dilated 
 exteriorly. 
 
 Here belong all the Nolle Falcons, which, as they differ more than any other group from the 
 other Hawks, I regard as forming a distinct genus, for which I propose the name of Bhytichodon. 
 Judging from an examination of Eh. islandicus, pereyrinus, (Bsalon, subbuteo, tinnunculus, tinnuncu- 
 loides, ri/flpes, concolor, TEMM., and c&rulescens LATH., they present a very great and complete 
 agreement in the pterylosis, the chief peculiarity of which is expressed in the above-mentioned 
 form of the dorsal portion of the spinal tract and the jugular portion of the inferior tract (see 
 PI. II, fig. 6). The following points appear to me worthy of notice : 
 
 The down-feathers are white or gray, remarkably soft, mould-like, and clinging together 
 when pressed ; they all have a short main shaft and an aftershaft of equal length. They are 
 sometimes entirely wanting in some spaces, as, for example, on the lateral neck-spaces ; they are 
 everywhere sparse. 
 
 Contour-feathers with a considerable, but, as usual, merely downy aftershaft; main shaft 
 rigid ; barbs for the most part pennaceous. 
 
 Head uniformly feathered, but with the region of the eyes naked, and the lores clothed 
 with setiform feathers arranged in a whorl. 
 
 Spinal tract with robust feathers throughout ; it starts nearly from the occiput, and divides 
 in a long fork between the shoulders. The dorsal portion commences with two parallel rows of 
 simple feathers between the fork, and becomes perceptibly broader by the addition of new rows 
 on the outside of each of the ^original rows, but at the same time more sparsely feathered. The 
 
56 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 two rows unite only at the caudal pit, and then pass in the form of a broad band to the oil-gland. 
 We found just this tract also in Pandion, and its form is peculiar to these two groups. 
 
 Humeral tracts not very broad, with few, but very large and strongly tubular feathers. 
 
 Lumbar tracts always small, each consisting at the utmost of twenty feathers, sometimes 
 almost abortive, intermixed with powder-down-feathers, and very closely approximated to the 
 spinal tract. 
 
 Crural tracts formed of contour-feathers only on the outside, forming breeches ; internally 
 downy. 
 
 Inferior tract simple as far as the middle of the neck, narrow, separated from the spinal 
 tract by the lateral neck-spaces. Its two limbs likewise narrow, strongly divergent, and in con- 
 sequence united with the axillary tract at the shoulder, but destitute of the interior branch which 
 occurs in most Falcons, and descends from the furcula into the bend of the neck (fig. 3). On 
 the other hand, the exterior branch, equal in breadth to the main stem, is present on the pectoral 
 muscles. The interspace between them is considerable, and greater than usual ; the exterior 
 hook at its apex, which occurs in many Falcons, and leads to the hypopterum, is also wanting. 
 The main stem closely approaches the crest of the sternum anteriorly, and diverges behind, so 
 that the inferior space is much broader, on the ventral part ; the two main stems curve towards the 
 anus, and terminate close to it. 
 
 Remiges twenty-three, sometimes twenty-four or twenty-five, rarely only twenty-one; 
 primaries alway ten. The first more or less abbreviated, the second always the longest ; both, or 
 only the former, with an angular emargination situated very close to the apex. The third some- 
 times longer, sometimes shorter, than the first. 
 
 Rectrices very rigid, usually somewhat longer than the apices of the folded wings ; the 
 outer ones with their tips bent inwards, and at this point completely concealed beneath the inter- 
 mediate ones ; hence the tail appears narrow posteriorly. 
 
 The species examined differ only in the number and form of the remiges, and I therefore 
 describe these ; the latter might be appropriately employed as a specific character. 
 
 R. islandicus. Twenty-five remiges. The first two with an angular emargination ; the 
 third longer than the first, but the fourth shorter. 
 
 R. peregrinus. Twenty-three remiges. The first two with an angular emargination, which, 
 however, is imperfect on the second ; the third shorter than the first. 
 
 R. (Bsalon. Twenty-four remiges. The first two with a complete angular emargination, 
 which is also perceptible on the third ; the first as long as the fourth, or a little shorter. 
 
 R. subbuteo. Twenty-three remiges. The second the longest ; the first but little shorter, 
 longer than the third. 
 
 R. tinnunculus. Twenty -three remiges. First and second with a slight angular emargination ; 
 first nearly as long as the fourth. 
 
 R. tinnunculoides seu cenchris. Twenty-three remiges. The second the longest; first as long 
 as the third, or a little shorter. 
 
 R. rufipes. Number of remiges uncertain ; only the first with an angular emargination, and 
 somewhat shorter than the third. 
 
 R. concolor TEMM. PL Col, 330. Twenty-three remiges. Primaries very narrow and 
 pointed ; the first only with a perceptible angular emargination, and longer than the third ; the 
 fourth reaches to the emargination in the first ; the twentieth is at the elbow, and is the longest 
 
FALCONS. 57 
 
 of the remiges of the arm. Tips of the wings at least as long as the tail, if they do not 
 exceed it. 
 
 H. ccerulescens. Twenty-one remiges : the first and second with a slight angular emargi- 
 nation, which extends very far down ; first considerably longer than the third. I was parti- 
 cularly struck by the absence of the circlet of feathers at the apex of the oil-gland, which occurred 
 in at least two of the specimens examined by me. I do not venture to decide whether this is 
 the rule. 
 
 6. With the dorsal stem of the spinal tract enlarged on all sides, undivided and 
 sparsely feathered (Plate II, fig. 5). 
 
 Of this group I am acquainted with two Falcons, which are also very similar in their 
 external appearance, but nevertheless sufficiently distinct. 
 
 1. Falco cacMnnans LINN. Herpetotlicrcs cachinnmis, VIEILL. Galerie, I, PL 19. Eyelids 
 with distinct lashes. Plumage of the head uninterrupted, giving origin above to the spinal tract; 
 below to the inferior tract. The former without anything characteristic as far as the scapular 
 portion ; but the dorsal portion sparsely feathered to the caudal pit, thence diminished and con- 
 tinued as a narrow band along the caudal vertebra? to the oil-gland. It is consequently formed 
 generally as in Rhynchodon, but without the median longitudinal division, and is therefore more 
 sparsely feathered. Lumbar tracts distinctly present, but short and separated from the crural 
 tracts. Inferior tract narrow in all parts; inner branch at the end of the gular portion indistinct; 
 outer branch completely separated from the pectoral stem, somewhat broader than the narrow 
 main stem itself, and far removed from it ; the ventral portion of the main stem removed far 
 outwards, running along the margin, and terminating laterally in front of the anus. Remiges 
 imperfect, so that their number is uncertain : the first very much abbreviated, scarcely measuring 
 two thirds of the second; the latter as long as the fifth; the third and fourth very little longer, 
 but the longest of all ; the sixth somewhat longer than the first, but much shorter than the fifth ; 
 the following ones diminishing still more. The first three with a distinct emargination situated 
 about the middle of the vane, and a corresponding narrowing of the inner half of the vane ; this 
 narrowing is also slightly indicated on the fourth. Tail moderately long, somewhat longer than 
 the folded wings, rounded. Tarsi as long as in F. buteo, powerful, scaled throughout; toes 
 likewise scaled, but with three scutes above the claws. Beak large, particularly thick and high, 
 curved from the very base, most like that of the Buzzards. Nostrils round, with a central 
 cartilage perceptible at the bottom. 1 
 
 2. Falco brachypterus TEMM. PL Col. 116 young, 141 adult. Notwithstanding a great 
 external similarity to the preceding species, this is not merely superficially distinct from it, but 
 belongs to a totally different group. Pterylographically the cervical and scapular portions of the 
 spinal tract, and the entire inferior tract, agree perfectly with those of the preceding bird ; the 
 only thing to be remarked being, that the two stems of the latter are much more approximated 
 to each other, and run along the middle of the belly. But the case is very different with the 
 dorsal part of the spinal tract, inasmuch as this resembles an elongated ellipse (Plate II, fig. 5), 
 
 1 This Falcon is most remarkably distinguished from the Buzzards by the want of the supraciliary 
 bone, in which respect it approaches Rhynchodon, although the beak is quite differently formed ; the 
 feet are less powerful, and the structure of the wings is different. It holds an intermediate position 
 between the two forms. 
 
58 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 only contracted into a band immediately in front of the oil-gland, but even there still broad ; and 
 it consists exclusively of scattered feathers, which become stronger posteriorly. To these differences 
 we may add the complete absence of the lumbar tract, and of the large eyelashes on the eyelids. 
 The wings are also very different. The number of remiges was not ascertainable. The first five 
 gradually become longer, although the increase of each feather is less than that of the pre- 
 ceding one ; the fifth is the longest ; the sixth is somewhat longer than the third ; the remainder 
 are very gradually abbreviated. Tail remarkably long, covered by the folded wings only at the 
 base ; its feathers broad and rounded. Beak nearly as in the Buzzards, but stouter and more 
 powerful ; nostril round ; apex of the mandible emarginate, bidentate. Tarsi very long, entirely 
 covered with scales, as are also the toes, except that over each joint, and at the extremity above 
 the claws, there are two plates. 
 
 c. With the dorsal stem of the spinal tract narrow, composed of two or three rows of 
 feathers, but strong, either completely separated from the scapular portion, or 
 connected with it only by two rows of single feathers. 
 
 a. With sparsely scattered contour-feathers by the sides of the band-like dorsal stem of 
 
 the spinal tract. 
 Of this group I am acquainted with two species, namely 
 
 1. Falco metanopslEWX. PL Col., 105. The cervical portion of the inferior tract has at its 
 extremity a distinct but short branch, and is diminished, behind this, to a single row of feathers. 
 The exterior branch of the pectoral stem is perfectly free, but much narrower than the pectoral stem 
 itself; it is dilated at the extremity into a hook, which passes to the liypoptcrum. In the spinal 
 tract I find nothing remarkable as far as the shoulder : the dorsal portion is separated by a perfect 
 gap from the scapular portion ; its feathers are pretty stiff, and it has three or four series of sparse 
 contour-feathers beside it. The lumbar tracts are wanting. In the wings are twenty-three remiges : 
 the first much abbreviated ; the second and third less, but still perceptibly so ; the fourth nearly 
 equal to the fifth, which is the longest ; the remainder rapidly becoming shorter. The first three 
 have a remarkable emargination in the middle of the inner half of the vane, and exhibit a diminution 
 on this side ; hence the second half of the remiges is very acute. Tail moderate, rounded, pro- 
 jecting more than one half beyond the folded wings. 1 The tarsi with broad scutes behind ; those 
 of the front smaller and more scale-like. Beak and nostrils quite different from those of F, 
 cachinnans, and more like those of the Buzzards ; the eyelashes are also wanting, which are 
 possessed by F. cachinnans? 
 
 2. Falco anthracinus LIGHT., from Mexico. Pterylosis exactly as in the preceding bird, but 
 all the tracts rather broader and stronger, especially the scapular part of the spinal tract. The 
 dorsal portion with its main stem somewhat shorter, and the sparse contour-feathers surrounding 
 it distributed over the whole back and the loins, but without forming a true tract upon the latter. 
 
 1 In Temminck's figure the wings are represented too short and too blunt, and in my specimen 
 the caudal band is much broader and nearer to the apex : both these characters are perhaps due to 
 difference of age. 
 
 Hence it does not appear to be possible to unite this Falcon with the genus Herpe- 
 totheres VIEILL., as Lesson has done, especially as it possesses the supraciliary bone which is 
 wanting in the latter (see note, p. 57). Temminck describes it as an Astur, but I regard it rather as a 
 Buteo, 
 
AQUILA. 59 
 
 Twenty-four or twenty-five remigcs in the wings : the first five graduated, the difference between 
 them being nearly equal, or very gradually becoming less ; the fifth the longest ; the first scarcely 
 so long as the eleventh, or first of the secondaries ; all up to the fifth with a diminution of the 
 inner half of the vane, which descends very low down, and is scarcely recognisable on the last of 
 them. Tail moderately long, rounded. Tarsus with scutes both before and behind. 1 
 
 /3. No scattered contour-feathers beside the band-like dorsal portion of the spinal tract, 
 but either mere down-feathers, or two very sparse rows of single contour-feathers, 
 one on each side. 
 
 The pterylographic differences presented by the numerous species of this group are gene- 
 rally small, and relate merely to the greater or less separation of the external branch of the inferior 
 tract from its main stem, or to the comparative lengths of the remiges ; but we may also employ 
 the absence or presence of a lumbar tract, and the occurrence of powder-down-tracts, for cha- 
 racterising a few species in which they occur. I have observed the latter in the Harriers ( Circus) 
 examined by me, as also in Falconcs plumbeus, bidentatus, melanoptsrus, lophotes, and uncinatus, and 
 in all in the form of two elliptical fields situated on the sides of the spinal tract, not far from the 
 tail. Externally the narrow lumbar tract runs close to these powder-down-patches ; I have 
 found it at least in the Harriers, and in F. bidentatus, plumbeus, and lophotes. I have also met 
 with a very distinct lumbar tract in Gypoyeranus serpentarius, the Eagles and the Buzzards ; it 
 is less distinct and weaker in the Hawks and Honey Buzzards, and in the subgenera allied to 
 them, in which, indeed, it is sometimes wanting. The separation of the external branch of the 
 inferior tract is most complete in the groups Circus, Gypogeranus, Milvus, Astur, and Morpknus ; 
 it is less complete, the interval between it and the main stem being neither so deep nor so broad, 
 in Aquila, Buteo, Polyborus, and Cymindis ; and I have found it to be quite incomplete, so that 
 only the apical half, or even the last third, appears to be separated, in F. lophotes, plumbeus, 
 and especially F. bidentatus. In all these cases, however, the external branch is very distinctly 
 marked out by the different direction of its rows of strong feathers. As I have already repeatedly 
 remarked, a hook-like branch, which passes into the liypopterum, very often originates from its 
 apex, especially in Circus, Gypogeranus, Astur, Polyborus, and Pernis. Hence the character 
 which must chiefly occupy us is the number and relative size of the remiges. 
 
 1. AQUILA. 
 a. With feathered tarsi. 
 
 1. F.fuhus. The form of the inferior tract of this bird, which may serve as the type for most 
 of the other Falcons, may be seen at a glance in Plate II, fig. 3. The only peculiarity of the Eagles 
 
 1 Although this bird, which has not yet been figured, or perhaps even described, closely approaches 
 the Buzzards in its structure, it agrees best in the length of the tarsus with Falco urubitinga (TEMM., 
 PL Col., 55). It is entirely blackish -brown, except that the first four remiges are white at the base, 
 and the rest marked with lighter and darker bands. The tail has a median white band. The cere 
 and the feet are yellow. [This species is now usually called Urubitinga antJiracina (Nitzsch) the 
 present description of it being the earliest published. P. L. S.] 
 
60 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 is the greater breadth of the exterior branch, which also contains stronger feathers. With regard 
 to the dorsal portion of the spinal tract, it is to be remarked that between it and the fork of the 
 scapular portion some scattered contour-feathers are to be perceived, which are more numerous, 
 and consequently placed closer together, in the Sea Eagles. This arrangement forms, as it were 
 a transition from that occurring in F. melanops and F. anthracinus, to that of the ordinary Falcons 
 with two divergent rows -of feathers. The tipper surface of F. apivorus is represented in Plate 
 II, fig. 4. There are twenty-seven remiges ; the first five with the usual angular emarginations, 
 of which a trace is still visible on the sixth. The first primary perceptibly abbreviated, as long 
 as the eighth ; the second somewhat shorter than the sixth ; the third nearly equal to the fourth 
 and fifth, but the fourth really a little longer than either of the other two. 
 
 2. F. chrysaiitos seu imperialis. In all respects like the preceding, except that the first 
 primary is longer than the eighth, and but little shorter than the seventh. 
 
 3. F. navius. The first six remiges with an angular emargination, which is but slight on 
 the sixth; first primary longer than the eighth. 
 
 4. F. ditcalis LIGHT. (F. Bonettii TEMM., PL Col., 288) First primary of the same length 
 as the eighth, fourth longest ; first five with a strong emargination of the inner half of the vane, 
 placed far down the feather. 
 
 5. F. pennatm TEMM., PI. Col., 33. First five primaries with a considerable emargination : 
 first as long as the eighth ; second as long as the sixth ; third equal to the fifth ; fourth but little 
 longer than the latter. 
 
 b. With naked tarsi. 
 
 In the Eagles of this section the whole plumage is closer ; the external branch of the pectoral 
 portion of the inferior tract is only half free, and is united at its apex by a hook to the hypopterum. 
 The dorsal part of the spinal tract is also longen and scarcely separated from the scapular 
 portion. 
 
 1. F. leucocephalus BUFFON, PL Enlum., 411. Remiges somewhat imperfect, but the first 
 as long as the seventh, the third equal to the fifth, and the fourth a little longer than the latter. 
 
 2. F. albicilla. In all twenty-seven remiges : first five with an emargination situated far 
 down, of which a trace is perceptible also on the sixth ; first primary as long as the eighth ; 
 second longer than the seventh ; the fifth the longest, but the third, fourth, and sixth only a 
 little shorter. 
 
 3. F. brachydactylus. Likewise with twenty-seven remiges : first five with a very strong 
 angular emargination on the inner vane, situated low down on the first, but gradually ascending 
 on the following feathers. First primary scarcely so long as the seventh, second longer than the 
 sixth, and the third (in two of the specimens examined by me) the longest. 
 
 4. F. macei TEMM., PI. Col., 8 & 223. Twenty-seven remiges : the first five with an 
 emargination situated very low down. First primary scarcely so long as the eighth, second longer 
 than the seventh, third and fifth of equal length, fourth as much longer as the sixth is shorter than 
 the fifth. 
 
BUTEO MORPHNUS. 61 
 
 2. BUTEO. 
 a. With feathered tarsi. 
 
 F. layopm. Twenty-four remiges : the first four with an emargination ; the fourth longest. 
 External branch of the pectoral portion of the inferior tract quite free. Lumbar tract very 
 indistinct. 
 
 6. With naked tarsi. 
 
 1. F. buteo. Twenty-five remiges : first four with an emargination of the inner vane ; first as 
 long as the eighth, second longer than the sixth, third and fourth the longest. Dorsal part of the 
 spinal tract rather far removed from the scapular part. Internal branch of the jugular part of the 
 inferior tract distinct, but short ; its union with the pectoral stem very narrow. Pectoral stem 
 united in front with the humeral tract ; its external branch quite free, with a very distinct hook at 
 the end. 
 
 2. F. baccha (Htzmatornis GOULD). LE VAILL., Ois. d'Afr., PI. 15. Twenty-five remiges; 
 the first as long as the tenth, the second as long as the seventh, the third equal to the sixth, the 
 fourth and fifth of equal length and the longest ; first five with a slight diminution of the inner 
 vane. Pterylosis exactly as in F. buteo. Outer branch of the inferior tract quite free, with a 
 hook at the end. Tarsi and bases of the toes scaled; only the second half of the toes with 
 scutes. Tarsi long ; toes short. The separation of this bird from the Buteones appears to be 
 necessary on account of the shortness of the wings, which reach only to about the base of the tail. 
 It somewhat approaches the Harpyite. 
 
 3. F. busarellus, SHAW. Le Suseray, LE VAILL., Ois. d'Afr., I, PL 20. Twenty-five remiges ; 
 the first five graduated ; but the third, fourth, and fifth differing but little in length, although the 
 fifth is the longest. The narrowing of the inner vane very gradual, forming no emargination. 
 Pterylosis resembling that of F. buteo ; but the external branch of the pectoral stem of the inferior 
 tract only half free, as in the Sea-Eagles. 
 
 3. MORPHNUS. 
 a. With naked tarsi. 
 
 F. urubitinga TEMM., PI. Col., 55. Both eyelids with weak eyelashes. The remiges of the 
 specimen examined were being moulted, but were probably twenty-five in number ; the first very 
 short ; the second, third, and fourth uniformly graduated, the latter the longest, but the fifth only 
 a little shorter, and the sixth as long as the third. The first four with a deeply seated but slight 
 angular emargination. Secondaries long ; the longest of them equal to the second primary. 
 Pterylosis somewhat peculiar, especially on account of the very small breadth of all the tracts. 
 Jugular portion of the inferior tract with a very narrow inner branch, and united to the pectoral 
 
62 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 stem by a single row of feathers. Outer branch quite free, but narrow, with a hook of a single 
 
 row of feathers at its extremity ; main stem somewhat dilated near the branch. Lumbar tract 
 perceptible, but weak. 
 
 b. With feathered tarsi. 
 
 F. tyrannus TEMM., PL Col., 73. Both eyelids with weak eylashes. Twenty-jive remiges : 
 the first five graduated, the differences being uniform and small ; the first remarkably short, the 
 fifth the longest, the sixth shorter than the fourth, the seventh longer than the third. Pterylosis 
 as in the preceding species, but with all the tracts rather broader, and both the inner and outer 
 branches of the inferior tract shorter. Dorsal portion of the spinal tract very weak. 
 
 4. CYMINDIS. 
 
 The two species of this group examined by me, namely, F. hamatus TEMM., PL Col., 61, 
 and F. uncinatus TEMM., PL Col., 103, 104, and 115, differ but little in their pterylosis from 
 Buteo ; indeed, only in the fact that the outer branch of the pectoral inferior tract is placed very 
 close to the stem, and is somewhat more connected with it at the base. All the tracts are narrow, 
 but otherwise without anything remarkable about them. The wings, which extend nearly to the 
 end of the tail, consist in F. hamatus of twenty-Jive, and in F. uncinatus only of twenty-three 
 remiges, of which the first is as long as the seventh, the second is nearly equal to the sixth, but 
 stiU a little shorter indeed, just as much as the third is shorter than the fifth, and the fourth is 
 the longest. The first has a very strong and deeply seated angular emargination, of which a 
 slight indication appears on the two following primaries. This group is, however, best distin- 
 guished from the Buteones by the want of the connecting membrane between the toes, and the 
 notching of the sharp inner margin of the middle claw. 
 
 5. POLYBOR.US (Caracara, Cuv.). 
 
 The nearly-naked face and the strongly-developed eyelashes distinguish this group from the 
 preceding, and show its near relationship to the following one, which approaches very closely both 
 to Polyborus and to Morphnus. 
 
 1. F. aterrimus, TEMM., PL Col., 37 and 342. Twen ty- two remiges : the first somewhat 
 shorter than the seventh, the second somewhat longer than the sixth, the third having the same 
 proportion to the fifth, the fourth a little longer than either of them ; the primaries generally very 
 long, and the remiges of the arm very short ; first four primaries with a diminution of the inner 
 vane. 
 
 Pterylosis with no peculiarities ; all the tracts narrow, but the outer branch of the inferior 
 tract broader and quite free, with a strong hook at the end. Dorsal portion of the spinal tract 
 
GYPOGERANUS. 63 
 
 short, half sparsely feathered, posteriorly densely feathered. Eyelids with small lashes. Nostril 
 with a central process, as in the Noble Falcons. 
 
 2. F. degencr ILLIG. Beak with the nostrils and cheeks exactly as Jin the preceding 
 species, but the pterylosis somewhat stronger in all parts, and the spinal tract different, having a 
 remarkably short fork, with its limbs broad and strongly divergent. The posterior portion reaches 
 this fork with its most anterior sparse feathers. Remiges of the specimen examined not present 
 in their full number ; first four graduated, the first as long as the seventh, the second longer 
 than the sixth ; the third and fourth equal in length, and the longest ; the fifth but little shorter ; 
 the first three with a slight emargination of the inner vane. 
 
 3. F. cheriway seu brasilieiisis (ViEiLL., Gal., I, PI. 7). This species is distinguished by 
 the remarkable depth of its beak and the oblique position of its elongated nostrils. The ptery- 
 losis also, although closely agreeing with that of F. degener, differs in having the dorsal portion 
 of the spinal tract elliptically dilated upon the caudal pit, where it encloses a narrow, lanceolate, 
 insular space a structure which I have never met with elsewhere among the Falcons. Remiges 
 of the specimen examined imperfect ; the first five with a diminution of the inner vane, the third 
 and fourth the longest. 
 
 6. GYPOGERANUS. 
 
 i 
 
 The remarkable bird known as the Secretary (F. serpentarius GMEL.), which constitutes the 
 sole representative of this group, appears to me, from its general structure, to approach most closely 
 to the subgenera Morplinus and Polyborus, and to be essentially only an exaggerated form of the 
 long-legged type which is proper to most of the members of these groups. Moreover, the entirely 
 shielded tarsus is by no means a character peculiar to it, as it is already indicated in F. antliracinw 
 LICHT., which, except as regards the differences in the pterylosis, is very nearly allied to F. uru- 
 bitinga. Gypogeranus is, however, pterylographically peculiar in many respects, especially in the 
 connection of the two gular stems of the inferior tract as far as the point where the inner branch 
 issues from them. This is present, but very narrow. The outer branch, on the contrary, is much 
 broader, perhaps twice as broad as the main stem ; it is, at the same time, quite free, and far 
 removed from the stem. The latter descends very close to the crest of the sternum, and only 
 turns a little more outward upon the ventral region, where it terminates at a considerable distance 
 from the anus. The cervical portion of the spinal tract, in which the two rows of large nape- 
 feathers are situated, is broad and densely feathered; its branches between the shoulders are 
 short, but broad. The ^dorsal portion commences at the fork, with two parallel rows of single 
 feathers, and proceeds in the same form to the caudal pit, where it becomes broader, but is 
 imperfectly defined and sparsely feathered at the sides. The lumbar tracts are present, and 
 biserial, but not long. In the wings I counted twenty-eight remarkably acute remiges, of which 
 the first is equal to the seventh and the second to the sixth ; the third, fourth, and fifth are the 
 longest, and nearly equal ; the fourth slightly exceeding the other two. The first five show a 
 diminution of the inner vane, which extends very far downwards ; in repose they reach about to 
 the middle of the tail. The rectrices are graduated and acute, with the two middle ones obtuse, 
 and suddenly becoming much longer. The naked lores, cheeks, and eyelids are certainly not 
 
64 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 peculiar to this group, but are not so perfectly marked in any other. The large and very 
 strong eyelashes, of which I have counted thirty in the .upper and half that number in the lower 
 eyelid, appear to stand in relation to this, for I find them always much developed in naked- 
 cheeked Falcons, and, on the contrary, small in those in which these parts are feathered. Beak 
 without any denticulation or angle on the margin of the upper mandible, exactly as in Morpknus, 
 Polyborus and Buteo, and also of the same comparative size ; much more powerful than in Pernis, 
 Astur, Milvus, and Circus, in which genera a more or less perceptible angular emargination 
 of the margin of the upper mandible usually occurs. 
 
 7. PERNIS. 
 
 F. apivorus (Plate II, fig. 4). Lores and region of the eyes densely feathered, even to the 
 eyelids, which are quite destitute of lashes. The pterylosis exactly as in Buteo ; the outer branch 
 of the pectoral tract quite free, with a notable terminal hook; the inner branch at the end of the 
 gular portion more distinct and longer. Dorsal portion of the spinal tract with two divergent 
 rows of feathers, which reach to the scapular fork; elsewhere narrow. Remiges twenty-four, 
 sometimes one less ; the first scarcely so long as the seventh, the second longer than the sixth, the 
 third but little shorter than the fourth, Avhich is the longest; only the first three exhibit a 
 diminution of the inner vane, commencing low down towards the base. 
 
 8. ASTUR. 
 
 Of this group I have examined F. palumbarius, F. nisus, F.gabar (TEMM. PI. Col., 122), and 
 F, nitidus LATH. (F. striolatus TEMM., PL Col, 87). In the pterylosis I found everything as in 
 Pernis, except that the outer branch of the pectoral stem appears to be somewhat shorter, but at 
 the same time more closely approximated at the base to the equally broad stem : on the other 
 hand, the terminal hook and the inner branch are equally distinct. The lumbar tracts are either 
 entirely wanting, or consist, as in Pernis, only of a single row of a few feathers. The wings reach 
 to the commencement of the tail, and contain from twenty-three to twenty-six remiges ; the first 
 is often scarcely equal to the tenth, the second to the seventh or eighth, the third to the sixth, 
 and the fourth to the fifth : the fourth is, however, usually a little longer, and is then the 
 longest of all. The first five or six present a gradually decreasing narrowing of the inner half of 
 the vane. 
 
 9. MILVUS. 
 
 Pterylosis not peculiar ; inner branch on the jugular part distinct, but short ; outer branch 
 entirely free, with a perceptible terminal hook. Dorsal portion of the spinal tract usually long. 
 Remiges remarkably long, very acute, the third and fourth the longest, the first as long as the 
 seventh or eighth ; from three to five of the first with a strong, deeply-seated angular emargi- 
 nation, followed by a diminution of the inner half of the vane. 
 
MILVUS ELANUS. 65 
 
 a. Tail forked. 
 
 Of this group I have examined F. milvus, F. ater, and F.furcatus. The type of the group 
 is perfectly represented in them all ; they also possess lumbar tracts, although these are narrow. 
 In F. milvus and F. ater the fourth, and in F. furcatus the third, primary is the longest. 
 
 b. Tail truncated. 
 
 To this position I refer F . pondicerianus, which agrees perfectly with F. milvus in the rest of 
 its organization, and differs from it even in its pterylosis only in the absence of the lumbar 
 tracts. F. phimbeus (Ictinia VIEILL. TEMM., PL Col., ISO young), cannot be so decidedly 
 placed here ; yet it differs pterylographically only in having the outer branch of the inferior tract 
 more closely approximated to the main stem. Its wings are exactly as in F. milvus ; the fourth 
 primary is but little longer than the third, which, like the two preceding ones, has a slight emar- 
 gination. In all, there are twenty-three remiges, and the lumbar tract is present. The tooth in 
 the beak, which characterises this species, is also indicated in F. pondicerianus and the True 
 Kites. 
 
 10. ELANUS. 
 
 Judging from an examination of F. melanopterus (TEMM., PL Col., 85 adult, 319 young), 
 the pterylosis fully justifies the separation of this group from the preceding. 
 
 The gular portion of the inferior tract is very narrow, and its inner branch remarkably long. 
 The outer branch of the pectoral stem is connected for three fourths of its length with the main 
 stem, and then separates very perceptibly from it. The dorsal portion of the spinal tract does 
 not reach the fork of the scapular portion, but two rows of single feathers, which run parallel to 
 it, attain the fork. Immediately on the outside of these rows of feathers the two large, elliptical 
 powder-down-tracts, which are pointed behind, commence; these reach to the lumbar tracts, 
 which consist of only one row of small feathers. The wings contain twenty-jive remiges, of 
 which only the first has a true angular emargination, and is a little shorter than the second, which 
 is the longest. The well-known, remarkably soft, silky nature of the plumage conduces not a 
 little to the pterylographic difference between this group and the preceding one. 
 
 11. 
 
 I regard as the representative of a distinct group the remarkable F. lophotcs (TEMM., PL Col., 
 10), referred by Cuvier to the True Falcons, with which it has certainly nothing to do 1 . Pterylo- 
 graphically, it closely approaches the preceding Falcons, especially in the outer branch of the 
 inferior tract being separated only at the extremity, and in the similarly situated distinct powder- 
 down-tracts. But the wings are short, and contain twenty-four remiges, of which the first are 
 
 1 This genus is now usually termed Baza, having been so named by Hodgson in 1836. P. L. S. 
 
 9 
 
66 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 graduated. Their proportions cannot be accurately stated, as they were in moult in the specimen 
 examined, but the third is probably the longest. This and the two preceding have a deeply 
 seated, imperfect emargination. 
 
 12. DIPLODON. 
 
 Under this name I separate as a distinct group two species referred by Cuvier and Tem- 
 minck to the True Falcons ; x they no more belong to the True Falcons than does the preceding. 
 Unfortunately, I have been able to examine carefully only one species, F. bidentatus LATH. 
 (TEMM., PL Col., 38) ; and I refer the second, F. diodon TEMM., PL CoL, 198, to this position 
 solely from its external similarity. Pterylographically, however, F. bidentatus agrees perfectly 
 with F. lop/totes, but the outer branch of the inferior tract is still further united to the stem than in 
 that species. The dorsal portion of the spinal tract remains far from the scapular part, and has no 
 rows of feathers beside it. The powder- down- tracts extend forwards in the shape of narrow bands to 
 the shoulders. Of remiges I counted twenty-three ; the first was as long as the ninth; the second 
 and third were in process of growth ; the fourth considerably longer than the fifth, so that it or 
 the third is the longest. The emargination of the first primary is so slight that it may almost be 
 said not to exist. 
 
 13. CIRCUS. 
 
 The species of this group examined by me, namely, F. pygargus, F. ceruginosus, and F. cine- 
 rarius, agree in all the characters of their pterylosis with Milvus, Pernis, and Astur, especially in 
 the narrow form of the tracts, the condition of the dorsal portion of the spinal tract, the smallness 
 of the lumbar tract, and the shortness of the inner branch of the inferior tract ; and differ from 
 them chiefly in the oblique position of the outer branch of the inferior tract, which does not run 
 parallel to the main stem, and is therefore rather more connected with it anteriorly than in the 
 above-mentioned Falcons. This difference is increased by a distinct oval space in front of the ear 
 and beneath the eye, which I met with at least in F. pygargus ; but the Harriers may be with 
 most certainty distinguished as a form differing at least from all other European Falcons by the 
 powder-down-tracts which ascend on each side of the dorsal portion of the spinal tract as far as 
 the shoulders. In the acute and narrow wings I found twenty-four and twenty-five remiges, of 
 which the first is equal to the sixth or seventh, the second not quite equal to the fifth, and the 
 third is either of the same length as the fourth or does not quite equal it. The four last men- 
 tioned have a very imperfect angular emargination, and a corresponding diminution of the inner 
 vane. 
 
 In conclusion, I may notice the nest-plumage of the Diurnal Rapacious Birds, which I have 
 carefully investigated, especially in Fdlco aruyinosus and F.palumbarius. It consists, as usual 
 (see p. 14), of downy barbs, which are attached to the first perfect barbs of all the contour- 
 feathers, even the remiges and rectrices, and disappear as the bird becomes fledged. More- 
 
 1 The group had been previously named Harpagus by Vigors in 1824. P. L. S. 
 
NOCTURNAL RAPACIOUS BIRDS. 67 
 
 over, the whole body, with the exception of the axillary cavity and the lateral neck-spaces, is 
 covered with true permanent down-feathers, which bear no evanescent tips. In these birds I 
 found no setiform tips on these nest-down-feathers, such as occur elsewhere, for example, in the 
 Cursorial Birds (see below, Chapter VI). 
 
 II. NOCTURNAL RAPACIOUS BIRDS (Accipitrince nocturne). 
 
 There are two points which essentially distinguish this group pterylographically from 
 the preceding, namely, the constant absence of the aftershaft and the want of the circlet 
 of feathers at the apex of the oil-gland. Besides this we may indicate, as a general 
 character of the Owls, the remarkable size of all the contour-feathers, and the consequent narrow- 
 ness of the tracts. In many places, especially on the two gular portions of the inferior tract, 
 these consist only of two rows of feathers, but usually, as on the dorsal part of the spinal tract, of 
 three rows, the feathers of which are placed alternately, so that every two feathers of the outer 
 rows form a quincunx with one of the middle ones. A larger number of rows usually occurs only 
 on the cervical band and the pectoral bands, in which there are generally Jive. Between these 
 feathers of the tracts the down-feathers are probably entirely wanting ; at least I always miss 
 them when I particularly look for them. In their form the tracts agree in general with those 
 of the Falcons, although they present noticeable differences. Among these the chief is that in the 
 Owls the region of the throat between the rami of the lower mandible is never continuously 
 feathered (see Plate II, figs. 8 and 11), but the inferior tract issues from the angle of the 
 gonys, in the form of a narrow band, and divides on the middle of the neck, or close to the 
 front of the furcula, but never emits an inner branch. The truncal stems of the inferior tract, 
 as in Circus, are placed very close to the crest of the sternum, then bent, separating more 
 from each other towards the ventral surface, and only meeting at the anus. The spinal tract also, 
 although arranged in accordance with the principal type of the Falcons, presents this difference 
 the two arms of the dorsal portion which run to the fork of the scapular portion consist, probably 
 always, of two rows of feathers. 
 
 The differences of the species among themselves are shown in the following arrangement : 
 
 I. Owls with the outer branch of the inferior tract free posteriorly. 
 
 This form of the inferior tract, which is shown in Plate II. fig. 8, agrees perfectly with the 
 principal type of the Falcons ; even the hook springing from the extremity of the outer branch, 
 and running to the hypopterum, is usually present. The species belonging to this section are 
 again divisible into two groups, according to the arrangement of the scapular portion of the spinal 
 tract. 
 
 A. With the scapular portion of the spinal tract forming a deeply divided fork. 
 
 In this case the furcation reaches to the end of the neck, the true nape, and is always 
 connected by two slightly divergent, biserial bands of contour-feathers with the dorsal portion, 
 which is simple from the caudal pit. The dorsal portion is not merely continued to the oil-gland, 
 but surrounds this with its feathers. 
 
68 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 a. With ear-tufts. 
 
 1. BUBO, Cuvier. 
 a . Tarsi and toes feathered. 
 
 1 . Strix bubo. The tracts, which are represented in Plate II, figs. 8 and 9, have all the characters 
 of this group completely developed, and may, therefore, very well be regarded as primary representa- 
 tions of the true Owl-structure. A true lumbar tract is wanting ; on the other hand, two rows of 
 stronger contour-feathers are observed, forming a sort of breeches on the upper part of the shank. 
 The wings have twenty-nine remiges, the last two small ; the first three with an angular emargina- 
 tion of the inner vane, the first extending far down, the second only at the apex, with the 
 margin of the outer vane toothed ; the first somewhat shorter than the fifth ; the third the longest, 
 but very little longer than the second and fourth. 
 
 2. Sir. mexicana. Tracts exactly as in Sir. bubo ; twenty-five (?) remiges, the first three 
 with the inner vane emarginate close to the apex ; the first as long as the fifth, or even a little 
 longer ; the second longest ; the third but little, and the fourth considerably shorter. 
 
 3. Str. virginiana, WILS., Amer. Orn., ii, 257, pi. 30, fig. 1. Tracts exactly as in Sir. 
 bubo ; twenty-seven remiges, the first three with the inner vane emarginate near the apex ; the 
 first as long as the fifth ; the third the longest, but little longer than the second and fourth. 
 
 4. Str. lactea, TEMM., PL Col., 4. Exactly as in Str. bubo. 
 
 /3. Tarsi and toes naked, covered with a uniformly warty skin, in which two or three 
 half rings are formed only immediately above the claws. The plumage leaves the 
 heels free behind, but in front runs down upon the tarsi a little way in the form 
 of a pointed band. 
 
 5. Str. ceylanensis LATH. (Sir. ketupa TEMM., PL Col., 74). All as in Str. bubo, only the 
 main stem of the inferior tract was completely rubbed off on the breast, undoubtedly because the 
 skin had belonged to a female which was engaged in incubation, for the contour-feathers of this 
 part are lost during the breeding season, as I have observed in our indigenous species, especially 
 Str. aluco and Str. Jlammea. Twenty-four remiges, the first three with a slight, deeply seated 
 emargination ; the first equal to the ninth ; the fifth the longest, but little longer than the fourth 
 and sixth ; second and third considerably abbreviated. 
 
 6. Str. Icschenaultii TEMM., PL Col., 20. Twenty-four remiges; the first four with a 
 considerable emargination, which is especially noticeable on the first and second ; first a little 
 longer than the eighth ; second equal to the fifth ; third and fourth of equal length, but little 
 longer than their neighbours. 
 
 2. OTUS, Cuvier. 
 
 Pterylosis nearly as in Bubo, but the larger contour-feathers of the shank are placed higher, 
 about the knee, and are continued npon the thigh, where they form a tolerably strong femoral 
 
SCOPS. 69 
 
 tract. Two biserial bands of delicate contour-feathers are also observable at the sides of the 
 dorsal portion of the spinal tract, parallel to but at a considerable distance from it, running down 
 from the scapula to the hip-joint. The fork of the scapular portion of the spinal tract sparser, and 
 the limbs of the dorsal portion shorter than in Bubo ; the simple main stem is consequently 
 longer. 
 
 1. Sir. otus. Twenty-four remiges; the second and third the longest, both with a slightly 
 noticeable emargination of the inner vane near the apex. 
 
 2. Sir. brachyotus. Twenty-four rerniges ; the second the longest ; the first somewhat 
 shorter than the third, with an emarginatiou near the end of the inner vane. 
 
 3. SCOPS, Cuvier. 
 
 In the pterylosis I can find no difference from Bubo, except that the tracts, and especially 
 the dorsal portion of the spinal tract, are softer. 
 
 1. Str. asio TEMM., PI. Col., SO. Twenty-two remiges, the first four with a slight, deeply 
 seated emargination of the inner vane, and graduated ; the fourth the longest ; the third equal to 
 the sixth, the second to the seventh, the first scarcely equal to the ninth. 
 
 2. Str. scops- Twenty-three remiges, the first three with a strong angular emargination of 
 the inner half of the vane near the apex; the first as long as the fifth; the second and third 
 nearly of equal length, but the third the longest. No ear-valve. Toes naked. 
 
 b. Without ear-tufts. 
 
 1. Str. aluco. Pterylosis exactly as in Bubo, except that the dorsal portion of the spinal 
 tract appears at first to be separated from the scapular portion, and the convergent rows of 
 feathers which unite them appear to be wanting. Lumbar tracts present and of considerable 
 size. Twenty-three remiges ; first five with an emargination ; the fourth and fifth the longest. 
 1 have already mentioned that in incubating females the contour feathers of the main stem of 
 the inferior tract are deficient, and thus brood-spots are produced ; the outer branch is not in 
 the least implicated in this. 
 
 2. Str. uralensis TEMM., PL Col., 27. I could neither examine the pterylosis nor exactly 
 determine the number of remiges in the specimens observed ; I shall therefore only mention that 
 the first primary is equal to the tenth, and that the fourth and fifth are the longest. The first 
 three or four have an emargination. 
 
 3. Str. lapponica. Of this species, which is very nearly allied to the two preceding, and has 
 exactly the appearance of a young bird, I have only been able to examine stuffed specimens at 
 Paris and Berlin. The number of remiges was not accurately determinable ; the first was only 
 as long as the tenth; the second was equal to the seventh, the third to the sixth, and the fourth 
 and fifth were the longest ; the first four had a right-angled emargination of the inner vane, 
 situated very near to the apex. 
 
 4. Str. nyctea. Pterylosis exactly as in S. aluco ; the spinal tract interrupted behind the 
 fork, but the interval shorter. Twenty-nine remiges ; the first nearly as long as the fifth, and 
 
 TJNIVERS.; 
 
70 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 the second as the fourth ; the third not much longer, but the longest, The twenty-sixth is placed 
 at the elbow. The pollex has no nail. 
 
 B. With the scapular portion of the spinal tract briefly cleft. 
 
 The division of this part is, indeed, usually perceptible, but is constantly shorter than half 
 the distance of the extremities of the fork from the end of the neck. Frequently there is some 
 trouble in detecting any furcation at all. The dorsal portion is always united with the fork by 
 two convergent rows of single feathers. In the other characters the pterylosis differs in no 
 respect from that described for S. bubo and S. alum ; even the lumbar tract is present. 
 
 a. With a tolerably distinct fork. 
 
 1. Str. nisoria. Twenty -four remiges ; the first as long as the sixth; the second interme- 
 diate between the fourth and fifth ; the third somewhat longer than the fourth ; the first three 
 with an emargination situated near the apex. 
 
 2. Str. cunicularia TEMM., PI. Col., "146. In all respects like the preceding species, 
 except that the first primary is equal to the fifth, and is the only one that has an emargination. 
 
 3. Str. pygmcea BECHST. Exactly like the two preceding species. The remiges, like the 
 whole plumage, were in course of moulting in the specimen examined ; their proportions were 
 consequently not determinable. 
 
 b. With a scarcely perceptible fork. 
 
 4. Str. passerina BECHST. Twenty-four or twenty-Jive remiges ; the first as long as the 
 fifth or sixth ; the third and fourth the longest, especially the latter ; the first four with a distinct 
 emargination, and the second to the fourth with a corresponding diminution of the outer 
 vane. 
 
 5. Str. dasypus BECHST. Pterylosis remarkably delicate ; that is to say, the tracts are very 
 narrow in all parts. Scapular portion almost undivided. Twenty-three remiges ; the first two 
 with a strong eraargination near the apex ; the first equal to the eighth, the second to the fifth, 
 and the third the longest. 
 
 6. Str. pumila TEMM., PI. Col., 39. Tracts exactly as in the preceding species. Twenty- 
 Jive remiges ; the first two with a slight, deeply seated emargination ; the first shortest of all the 
 primaries ; the second equal to the seventh, the third to the fifth, and the fourth very little 
 longer than either of the latter. 
 
 II. Owls in which the outer branch of the inferior tract returns into the stem posteriorly. 
 
 The DISK-OWLS (Str.Jlammea LINN., Str.pcrlata LIGHT., Str.furcata TEMM., and Str.badia 
 TEMM.) belonging to this group are in every respect so peculiarly organized and so different 
 from the other Owls that I must attribute to them the rank of a distinct genus, for which I 
 
HYBRIS. 71 
 
 propose the name of Ili/bris. We shall dwell here, however, solely upon the pterylographic 
 differences. These are chiefly limited to the peculiar form of the outer branch of the inferior 
 tract, described above and clearly shown in Plate II, fig. 11 ; this agrees precisely with that of 
 CatJiartes, only differing in that in Hybris the contour-feathers are more numerous and stand 
 closer together. Here also I have had occasion to remark the formation of brood-spots by the disap- 
 pearance of the contour-feathers on that part of the main stem which lies opposite to the outer 
 branch. In the males which I examined at the same season of the year I did not find the brood- 
 spots. Twenty-four remiges, none of them with an emargination ; the first three nearly of equal 
 length, but the second really the longest. Oil-gland briefly cordate, very broad in front, with a 
 large, deeply penetrating cavity, and two minute feathers at the apex over the orifices, which 
 cannot be accidental, as I found them constantly. 
 
 The facial disk, from which this genus receives its name, and which is most perfect in them, 
 consists in all the Owls of several rows of small, but strong and very much curved contour- 
 feathers, which originate anteriorly above the eyes at the base of the beak, are continued on the 
 sides of the forehead and vertex, descend in a curve behind the orifice of the ear, and continue 
 beneath this and the eye on the margin of the lower jaw until they meet again in a curve on 
 the throat in front, between the rami of the lower jaw. The whole region of the skin in which 
 these feathers stand is elevated in the form of a fold, especially at the spot behind the orifice of 
 the ear, and in this fold are inserted the very stiff tubes of the feathers described. Usually, 
 these small feathers are not seen at all, because the long, sparsely barbed, and partly setiform 
 feathers of the lores, the region of the eyes, and the chaps lie over them, and it is then 
 these that form the true disk, that is to say, the circle of feathers around the eye. In the region 
 between the eye and the ear these feathers are very numerous, and stand upon a second high 
 fold of skin which here rises suddenly from the integuments of the head ; this lies over the great 
 orifice of the ear and closes it (see Plate II, where in fig. 11 the fold is represented turned back). As 
 the disk increases in size, so does this fold, which may be appropriately named the ear-operculum ; it 
 is, therefore, exceptionally large in Str.Jlammea, but also tolerably strong in Sir. otus and brachyotus, 
 and in Str. aluco, uralcnsis, and lappoiiica. I found it to be small, indeed almost wanting, in 
 Str. nyctca, Str. nisoria, and the Little Owls. With this is connected the slight development of the 
 disk. The disk-feathers of Str. otus are particularly remarkable ; they consist of a large tube, 
 perfectly open above, upon which a very small, sparsely barbed shaft is seated. By this structure 
 they furnish a very definite proof in favour of the interpretation of the shaft, as a one-sided pro- 
 longation of the outermost, most divergent point of the upper edge of the tube. In proportion 
 as the disk becomes less perfect the fold of skin upon which the small, strong contour-feathers 
 are seated also becomes weaker, and those parts of the fold which are situated upon the face in 
 front of the eye are then probably always wanting. In such cases two separate small folds of skin 
 occur at the ear an anterior one forming the operculum, and a posterior one which may be 
 compared to the conch of the ear. 
 
72 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 SINGING-BIRDS (Passerinai). 
 
 THE pterylographic variation in this large group, which includes two fifths of all the known 
 birds, is less than in either the preceding or the following groups, so that this portion of their 
 organization confirms the observation deduced by me from all the characters of the Singing-birds, 
 that, when taken in their correct and most natural limits, they form the most constant and uniform 
 group to be found among birds, and that we must, therefore, proceed most cautiously in 
 employing the few differences which they present for the purpose of grouping the species in 
 natural genera, subgenera, and families. 1 The following pterylographic characters are general 
 and deserving of notice. 
 
 The contour-feathers usually have a very weak and downy aftershaft, 2 but they have no 
 down-feathers among them, except in one genus (Cinclus). Down-feathers are also in most cases 
 entirely deficient on the spaces, or they are very much scattered upon them. The number of 
 contour-feathers is very small, although, perhaps, not the least that occurs among birds. They 
 form, without exception, limited narrow tracts, and leave the greater part of the trunk uncovered. 
 The number of these tracts is as usual, but the proportions of the spinal and inferior tracts are 
 alone characteristic. The head is usually clothed with an uninterrupted plumage, in which, 
 however, there is immediately behind the eye a small, naked, roundish spot, concealed by the 
 contour-feathers, to which I give the name of the temporal space (see antca, p. 36, and Plate III). 
 This space is, however, often wanting for example, in Tanagra, Pardalotus, and others. Two 
 main tracts issue from the head one on the nape, as the commencement of the spinal tract ; the 
 other from the densely feathered throat, as the commencement of the inferior tract. The spinal 
 tract always forms a linear or band-like stripe, is never interrupted between the shoulders, and is 
 dilated only upon the back behind the scapulae into a rhomboidal or elliptical saddle, which, in 
 many cases, incloses an oval or fissure-like space, the ephippial space (apfcrium scllce}. Behind the 
 saddle the rump-land commences, frequently, when a space is present, with two convergent single 
 or double rows of contour-feathers (see Plate III, fig. 15), but becoming again a simple, although 
 rather broader stem at the caudal pit and ceasing at the oil-gland. The two rows of feathers 
 behind the saddle appear to be very rarely wanting, as, for example, in Hirundo (Plate III, fig. 14). 
 The inferior tract is divided before the middle of the neck into two symmetrical halves, each of 
 which is continued along the middle of the breast, and terminates in front of the anus. The 
 two halves are widely separated from each other ; they emit no true lateral branch upon the 
 breast, but are much dilated throughout this entire region ; and it is only at the end of this dilated 
 
 1 Upon the general organization of this group see the article " Passerinse," in ' Ersch und 
 Gruber's Encyklopadie,' iii sect., Bd. xiii, p. 139, which was worked up from an Essay by Nitzsch. B. 
 
 2 I have not always been able to detect it, and must therefore suppose that it is sometimes 
 wanting, e. g, in Ocypterm and Eurylaimus. 
 
PASSERINE. 73 
 
 portion that the outer angle is somewhat separated from the main stem. In a few genera, 
 e.g., Menura (Plate III, fig. 11), and Grallina, this separation reaches to the middle of the 
 wider portion, and in these cases we may regard it as a half-free lateral branch ; usually the 
 apex alone is separated (Plate III, fig. 9), but in many cases even this does not occur (Plate III, 
 figs. 7 and 13). Lastly, the ventral portion never reaches the amis, or the caudal tract behind 
 it. These characters of the two tracts occur, besides the Passerines, only in Trogon and Por/onias, 
 in which, however, other peculiarities of the pterylosis make their appearance and justify their 
 separation from the Passerines. The humeral tracts of the Passerines are small, or at least 
 narrow ; they lie far downwards, transversely across the humerus, are separated from the plumage 
 of the wing by a very large upper wing-space, and are almost always immediately, although 
 slightly, connected in front with the gular portion of the inferior tract. The lumbar tracts are 
 also small, and neither unite with the caudal tract, nor reach the knee ; but apparently are never 
 entirely wanting. The hypopterttm (or pectoral arm-winy, as it might be called) is entirely defi- 
 cient, and its region, like the inferior wing-space, is concealed by the feathers which are inserted 
 upon the margin of the great wing-membrane. At the utmost, some semiplumes are found in 
 its place. The parapterum, or the plumage on the hinder margin of the upper arm (upper arm- 
 winy], consists only of a few short feathers (Plate III, figs. 2, 8, 9, and 10). The number of 
 remiges is most commonly eighteen or nineteen among the Passerinse. When the former number 
 is present, there are only nine on the hand ; and the first primary, which is always somewhat 
 reduced in size, is in this case entirely deficient. This arrangement occurs in Procnias, Tanagra, 
 Pardalotus, Euphone, FriitgiUa, Loxia, Emberiza, Anthus, Motacilla, and some other genera. If, 
 on the contrary, there are nineteen or more remiges, ten of them are always inserted on 
 the hand, as in the other genera. Both cases, however, sometimes occur in the same genus, 
 as in Alauda. I have rarely found more than nineteen remiges ; for example, twenty in 
 Coracina and Chasmarhynchus. I have only once met with a still larger number, namely, twenty- 
 three, or even twenty-four, in Ptilorhynchus holosericeus (TEMM., PL Col. 395 and 396). 
 This variation must, however, be regarded as very small in so large a group, especially when 
 we consider how much greater it is in other families, as, for example, the Rapacious Birds. The 
 rectrices are almost invariably twelve ; the male of Menura superba has sixteen ; and Phrenotrix 
 and Edolius sometimes, and perhaps always, have only ten. Finally, the oil-gland is widened, and 
 . furnished with a very short, narrow, distinct, nearly cylindrical tip, which is rounded off at the 
 extremity, and is destitute of the circlet of feathers round the orifices ; indeed, this gland is quite 
 naked throughout the Passerines, except in the genus Cinclus, in which it bears small down- 
 feathers upon its surface. No other birds have this organ of precisely the same structure : in most 
 of them it is furnished with a circlet of feathers at the apex, or, where this is wanting, the tip 
 is gradually united to the body of the gland, so that the latter exhibits a conical form. 
 
 The covering of the feet, which are almost invariably 1 naked from the heel downwards, also 
 presents much that is characteristic, although it by no means furnishes so constant and charac- 
 teristic a peculiarity for this group as has recently been asserted.* On the front of the tarsus 
 and the upper surface of the toes it always consists of horny half-rings. The number of these on 
 the tarsus varies from two to nine, but is more constant on the toes, inasmuch as here a small half- 
 
 1 Only a few of the Swallows have feathered feet. 
 
 2 In Wiegmann's 'Archiv,' 1839, i, p. 332. 
 
 10 
 
74 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 ring is situated upon each joint, and between these one or two larger ones. On the posterior 
 surface a soft warty skin is always observed at the upper part on the heel, and at the lower part 
 near the toes ; but between these two points there are usually scutes. Most commonly there are 
 two long, narrow, linear plates, placed upon the hinder surface of the tarsus in such a manner that 
 they meet at an acute angle, and are covered in front by the margins of the anterior scutes. 
 Superiorly they are in contact with the heel joint ; below they do not quite reach to the hinder 
 toe, and here one or two smaller scutes are frequently superadded to them. This structure may 
 be regarded as that of the true Passerine type, as it occurs in most of the genera, probably always 
 in Corvus, Glaucopis, Paradisea, Epimachus, Sombycilla, Tanayra, EupJtonc, Fringilla, Loxia> 
 Emberiza, Ploceus, Cassicus, Icterus, Sturnus, Pastor, Buphaya, Oriolus, Lanius, Tliamnophilus, 
 Sethylus, CMepyris, Mascicapa, Edolius, Lamprotornis, Turdus, Ixos, Accentor, Malurus, Grallina, 
 Motacitta, Anthus, Saxicola, Sylvia, Ret/ulus, Pans, Troglodytes, Cinchis, Pitta, Myiothcra, 
 Anabates, Sitta, Dendrocolaptes, Certhia, Philedon, Ncctarinia, Ccereba, and Hirundo, Never- 
 theless, a considerable number of genera do not possess this structure. In the first place, when 
 this foot becomes thicker and plumper, as in Promerops Cuv., Gracula (Eulabes Cuv.), and 
 many species of Sturnus and Lanius, the posterior sharp edge in which the two hinder plates 
 usually meet disappears, and there is found in this place a series of exactly the same elliptical 
 scales or warts which occur above and below at the heel and the point of articulation of the toes. 
 Still more remarkable than this is the structure of Alauda, Pteroptochus, and Jfcnura, in which 
 two rows of scutes make their appearance instead of the two long plates. Of these the inner row, 
 especially below, consists of very narrow elliptical scutes. In a third modification this inner 
 row of scutes entirely disappears, and the outer one leaves only a trace of its existence, in the form 
 of six or seven large oval scales, whilst the whole of the remainder of the posterior surface is 
 covered with small, elliptical, umbilicate scales. I find this structure in Psaris (Lan. cayanus, 
 validus), Muscicapa plumbea, animosa, andferox, and some others. A fourth and last modifica- 
 tion is shown in the complete absence of all large scales among the small, elliptical, umbilicate 
 ones which cover the whole hinder part of the tarse. This structure is the predominant type 
 among the Ampelidfe, especially in Coracina, Cephalopterus, Gymnoccphalus, Chasmarhynclius, 
 Ampelis, Eurylaimus, Calyptomene, Rupicola, and PJtibalura. Eurylaimus corydon, however, 
 presents an exception, as this species, on account of its very thick tarsi, possesses a series of 
 parallelogrammatic scutes between the scales, exactly upon the hinder edge, which are wanting 
 in the other species. The genera above mentioned are in general distinguished by thick tarsi, 
 and therefore the posterior scaly clothing is very broad. When the tarsus becomes more slender 
 the scaly covering becomes narrower, and then consists only of two or three rows. I find it in this 
 form in P/tiledon auricularis and Synallaxis setaria. The latter is the only species of its genus 
 that I have been able to examine. 1 
 
 Finally, I have to remark, with regard to the nest-plumage of the Passerinse, that, as is well 
 known, it does not consist of down-feathers, but of long, hair-like structures, which are seated 
 upon the apices of the uppermost barbs of the very young contour-feathers. They appear as a 
 very light, yellowish, hairy or bristly clothing, first of all on the two sides of the head, on the 
 humeral tracts, and on the saddle of the spinal tract, and make their appearance somewhat later 
 
 1 This description of the tarsus of the Passerine birds is founded upon my own investigations 
 on the specimens in the collection of the University of Halle. B. 
 
CORVINE PARADISIC. 75 
 
 on the other parts of the spinal tract, the lumbar tracts, the apices of the arm-remiges, and perhaps 
 also those of the rectrices : I have, however, been unable to find them anywhere on the inferior 
 tract of very young nestlings. 
 
 On examining the pterylographic differences, to the description of which I now pass, it will be 
 soon seen that they cannot here, any more than among the Rapacious Birds, be used in the forma- 
 tion of a natural classification, as the most nearly allied genera vary in the form of the saddle and 
 of the pectoral tract, the only parts of the pterylosis which furnish differential characters, although 
 this is not frequently the case in the species of the same genus. Here, therefore, I follow that 
 arrangement of the genera which I regard as the most natural, and describe under each those 
 peculiarities and variations which appear to me to be deserving of notice. 
 
 ]. CORVINE. 
 
 All the members of this family examined by me have the saddle of the spinal tract broad and 
 laterally acute-angled, enclosing an elongated, fissure-like space. I find nineteen, and in rare 
 instances twenty remiges, of which ten are on the hand ; of these the first three are abbreviated, and 
 the fourth and fifth usually the longest. In Corvus fuliyinosus and C. azureus, however, which possess 
 twenty remiges, the fifth and sixth, and probably also the seventh, are longer than any of the 
 rest, and the first four are graduated. Moreover, the dilatation of the pectoral band is separated 
 from the main stem for a considerable distance at the end, and the space is removed somewhat 
 nearer to the posterior shorter part of the saddle, but enclosed only by the biserial arms of the 
 rump-tract, which is at first four, subsequently five, and at last six feathers in breadth. The 
 rectrices are iisuaiiy of equal length, but are graduated in Corvi pica, vagabundus,fuli(/inosus, and 
 azureKa. 
 
 I find precisely the same structure of the tracts as in Corvus in Glaucopis leucoptera and 
 G. cinerea, which agree most closely in the form of the wings with C. fuliyinosus. 
 
 In Glaucopis varians TEMM. (Phrenotrix temia HORSF.) I have not only found eighteen 
 remiges, of which only nine are on the hand, and the fifth and sixth the longest, but, what is much 
 more remarkable, only ten very much graduated rectrices, of which the two middle ones are 
 dilated at the apex. The most careful examination showed no gaps in the tail. Moreover, the 
 different feathering of the nasal grooves not only indicates that this species should be separated 
 from Glaucopis, but even that it should be united with the following group. 
 
 2. PARADISIC. 
 A. Without an ephippial space. 
 
 \. Paradisca apoda (PI. Ill, fig. 13). Saddle widely rhombic, acute-angled; inferior tract 
 with no separation of the dilated portion, but remarkable in the male from the approximated large 
 shafts of the .ornamental feathers, which are rooted only in this part of the inferior tract, but are 
 surrounded by no softer feathers. Twenty remiges, ten on the hand ; the first five graduated, 
 the sixth the longest. 
 
76 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 2. Epimachus. This genus, which is usually placed in the neighbourhood of Upupa, is 
 undoubtedly a member of the Passerine group, and stands in the same relation to Paradisea as 
 Corvus yraculus to the true Ravens and Crows. The two species examined by me, E. supcrbus 
 and E. regius, differ somewhat in their pterylosis : the former approaches Paradisea more closely in 
 so far that the dilatation of the pectoral tract is not separated at the end ; but the dorsal tract has 
 a very narrow, scarcely perceptible saddle. In E. regius the dilatation of the pectoral tract is very 
 distinctly separated at the end, and the saddle is perfectly cordate and bilobate behind. Between 
 the two lobes, in the emargination, the rump-band originates with two rows of feathers, which 
 separate a little, and increase on the caudal pit to three, and further on to four rows. Both 
 species have twenty remiges, of which ten are on the hand ; the first graduated ; the third to the 
 fifth the longest in E. regius, remarkably broad and emarginate at the apex in the male. 
 
 3. Gracula religiosa (Eulabes Cuv.). Saddle as in Paradisea; dilatation of the pectoral 
 tract separated at the end. Nineteen remiges, the fourth the longest. 
 
 4. Kitta tlialassina (Plate III, fig. 6). Saddle rhombic, obtuse-angled, emitting, by the side 
 of the rump-band, two rows of single contour-feathers. Remiges incomplete in the specimen 
 examined. 
 
 B. With a large ephippial space. 
 
 5. Ptilorhynchus holosericeus TEMM., PL Col., 395. All the tracts narrow; the dilatation 
 of the pectoral tract separated at the end. Saddle rhombic, elongated, with an equally elongated, 
 lanceolate space. Twenty-three, or even twenty-four, remiges ; the fifth and sixth the longest. 
 
 3. 
 
 a. With -a large central space in the saddle of the spinal tract. 
 
 (All the members of this group are destitute of the posterior lamina? of the tarsi, instead of 
 which elliptical warts make their appearance ; these, however, are wanting in most of the large 
 species of Pipra, leaving the tarsi quite nak e d behind. BURM.) 
 
 1. Coracina. Twenty or twenty-one remiges ; the first six graduated. Saddle acute-angled 
 on the sides. C. calva, C. scutata, and C. rubricottis. 
 
 2. Cep/iahpterus. Number of remiges not exactly ascertained ; tracts as shown in the 
 figures (Plate III, figs. 9 and 10). The chief distinction consists in the elongated, laterally obtuse 
 form of the saddle. The separation of the inferior tract of the neck from the pectoral tract 
 behind the gular sac is also remarkable. The male alone has the beautiful gular tuft of feathers ; 
 and the female has a short, erect frontal hood, instead of the larger structure of the other sex. 
 
 3. Chasmarliyncliiis nudicollis. Twenty or twenty-one remiges ; the third and fourth longest. 
 Saddle acute-angled at the sides and broad, as in Coracina. 
 
 4. Eurylaimus. Eighteen or nineteen remiges; the third, or, with the latter number, the fourth, 
 the longest. This occurs only in E. corydon, which also has a more elongated and laterally obtuse 
 saddle. I find a shorter saddle, more acutely angled at the sides, and eighteen remiges, of which 
 
AMPELID^l. 77 
 
 nine are inserted on the hand, and the third is the longest, in E. horsfieldii, nasutus, and 
 cmullatus. The rectrices are graduated in all. 
 
 5. Calyptomene viridis, RAFFLES (Rupicola viridis TEMM.). Pterylosis exactly as in the 
 second group of Eurijlaimus, but with nineteen remiges, of which ten are on the hand, and the 
 third is the longest. 
 
 6. Pipra. Following the example of WAGLER (Isis, 1830, p. 928), I unite under this name 
 the genera Pipra, Rupicola, and Phibalura ; and the more readily, as none of the species 
 examined by me exhibited any differences in the pterylosis. They possess a rhombic saddle, the 
 elongated space of which is enclosed posteriorly only by two converging rows of contour-feathers 
 standing singly or two together, which unite at the caudal pit to form the narrow rump- band. 
 The pectoral band in all is furnished with a branch slightly separated at the end. They have also 
 nineteen or twenty remiges, of which ten are on the hand, and amongst these often some of 
 singularly abnormal structure, with remarkably diminished vanes. 
 
 In P. (Ampclis) carnifex, in which the first three are the longest, the fourth and fifth are thus 
 peculiarly formed ; in P. rupicola the first and the fourth, here the longest. This species has 
 perhaps only eighteen remiges, and nine on the hand. I have examined also P. peruviana, 
 P. flicauda, P. caudata, and P. (PJdbalurd) flavirostris, in which no such remiges occur. 1 The 
 last-mentioned species has a forked tail and acute wings, in which the second primary is the 
 longest ; the two preceding species have graduated tails, and the fifth primary is the longest. 
 Moreover, in Phibalura the outer toes are not united at the base, which renders its generic 
 separation more admissible. 
 
 b. With a simple saddle in the spinal tract. 
 
 (In the covering of the tarsus the members of this section agree exactly with the typical 
 Passerinse ; the posterior laminae, consequently, are not wanting. BDRM.) 
 
 7. Procnias ventralis TEMM., PL Col., 5. The saddle is not rhombic, but parallel- sided, 
 although pointed at both ends, and thus carried over into the anterior and posterior parts of the 
 spinal tract. The outer branch of the pectoral tract is but very slightly free at the end. 
 Eighteen remiges, nine on the hand ; first three equal and longest. 
 
 8. Hypothymis LIGHT. The saddle in H. chrysorrhcea is elongated, rounded on the sides ; 
 in H. C(Bsia shorter and broader, with acute lateral angles. The pectoral branch is slightly separated 
 at the end. There are nineteen remiges, of which ten are on the hand : the first small, the second 
 and third abbreviated, pointed ; the fourth, fifth, and sixth equal, longest, and rounded at the end. 
 The tail is twice as long as in Procnias. 
 
 9. Bombycilla. Pterylosis exactly that of the second species of Hypothymis, that is to say, 
 a rhombic, acute-angled saddle, and a straight pectoral branch, scarcely separated at the end. 
 Nineteen remiges, of which ten are on the hand : the first remarkably small ; the second and third 
 longest. Tail short, but somewhat longer than in Procnias. The horny laminre at the ends of 
 the secondaries and rectrices are singular, but well known. B. yarrula, B. americana. 
 
 1 The Piprine genus Machteropterus also presents a very abnormal structure in the primaries, for 
 a description of which see P. Z. S., 1860, p. 90, and Ibis, 1862, p. 175 P. L. S. 
 
78 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 4. TANAGRHLE. 
 
 All the members of this group that I have been able to examine agree precisely in their 
 pterylosis. They have eighteen remiges, of which nine are on the hand. The saddle is an acute- 
 angled rhombus, and the outer branch of the pectoral tract stands off a little at the end. The 
 temporal space appears to be wanting in them. 
 
 1. Pardalotus punctatus. First three remiges equal and longest. 
 
 2. Euphone rujiventris. First primary somewhat shorter; second, third, and fourth the 
 longest. E. diademata TEMM., PL Col, 243 : first primary much abbreviated ; the second 
 moderate ; the third, fourth, and fifth the longest. 
 
 3. Tanagra. Second, third, and fourth primaries usually the longest ; sometimes the third, 
 fourth, and fifth. I have examined T. missisippensis, T. cyanistcrna LESS., T. vittata, T. cory- 
 phcea, T. leveriana (SetJiylm Cuv.), T. arclticpiscopm, and others. 
 
 5. FRINGILLID^E sen CONIROSTRES, Cuv. 
 
 This group approaches the preceding very closely in its pterylosis, having a simple rhombic 
 saddle, a pectoral branch scarcely separated at its extremity, and eighteen remiges, of which nine 
 are on the hand. Only the Larks (Alaud<e) sometimes possess nineteen or even twenty remiges, 
 and an ephippial space, which, however, is not possessed by A. bifasciata TEMM., PI. CoL, 393, 
 and this bird is otherwise very peculiar in several respects. I find in it a simple elongated 
 saddle, perfectly different from the acute-angled primary type of the other Larks. I have 
 examined the following species of this family : 
 
 1. Alauda arvensis, cristata, arborea, and alpestris, have a large ephippial space, and, except 
 the last, ten primaries ; A. alpestris has only nine. The ephippial space is very small in 
 A. frontalis and A. melanoceplala, each of which distinctly possesses ten primaries. Lastly, 
 A. bifasciata has no ephippial space, but ten primaries. 
 
 2. Emberiza lapponica, nivalis, miliaria, citrineJla, scJtceniclus, hortulana, and da, present 
 nothing remarkable or peculiar. 
 
 3. Frinffil'a. I have examined all the indigenous species, including the Pyrrhula, and found 
 nothing peculiar in them ; I have even distinctly seen the temporal space in several species, as for 
 instance, Pyrrli. enucleator. Among the exotic species F. erythrophthalma (Emberiza WILS., 
 Pipilo VIEILL.) has attracted my notice by its unusually abbreviated first primary; as has also 
 F. malacca (Loxia LATH.), by the presence of nineteen remiges, of which the first is extremely 
 small. In all the second, third, or fourth primary is usually the longest, although but little 
 exceeding the neighbouring ones, and even the first. 
 
 4. PJtyMoma. I have only been able to examine stuffed specimens of this genus, and there- 
 fore do not know its pterylosis. In the wings I found eighteen remiges, of which the first is 
 very perceptibly abbreviated, and about equal to the eighth ; but the second is a little shorter than 
 the third, which is the longest. The tarsi have the usual half-bands in front, but behind they 
 are covered with small scales. 
 
STURNID^E DENTIROSTRES. 79 
 
 5. Loxia. The Crossbills precisely agree in their pterylosis, as also in the structure of the 
 wings, with the true Finches. 
 
 6. Ploceus. The three species of this genus that I have examined, namely, frozia pJtilippina, 
 Ploceus personatus (Textor alecto TEMM., PL Col., 446), and Fringilla ignicolor VIEILL. (Oryx 
 ignicolor LESS.), have in the main the pterylosis of the Finches, and also a very distinct temporal 
 space ; but they have niticlt't'ii remiges, of which ten on the hand, the first exceedingly small, the 
 second somewhat abbreviated, and the third or fourth usually the longest. In P. philippinus 
 the saddle is nearly triangular, that is to say, abruptly truncated behind ; in P. personatus it 
 appears to enclose a small space immediately in front of the commencement of the rump- 
 tract. 
 
 6. STURNID^E. 
 
 To this group I refer the genera Psarocolius WAGL. (Icterus et Cassicits AUCTORUM), Oxy- 
 rhynchus, Sturnus, Pastor, TEMM. (Gracida LICHT.), Buphaga, Oriolus, and Sericulus. Of these 
 Oxyrliynclms and Psarocolius have only eighteen remiges, and nine on the hand, although I have 
 actually found ten in Ps. icterus WAGL., but the first was so small that I doubted whether it was 
 to be reckoned among the remiges. The other genera have nineteen remiges, of which ten are on 
 the hand. In these also the first primary is frequently of remarkably small size, especially in 
 Sturnus militaris (Ayelaius VIEILL.), S. capensis LINN., Pastor tristis WAGL., P. roseus, Buphaga 
 africana, and probably in all the species of Sturnus and Pastor. In Oriolus alone, which has 
 twenty remiges, it is half the size of the second. In other respects the pterylosis displays all the 
 characters of the Finches, namely, a dilatation of the pectoral tract somewhat separated at the 
 end, and a rhombic saddle in the spinal tract. In Bupliaga the latter encloses a very small space 
 in front of the commencement of the rump-band : this was also observed in some species of 
 Sturnus and Pastor; for example, in P. tristis and S. capensis. A very large space, occupying 
 the whole length of the saddle, occurs, however, in OxyrhyncJius cristatus and Sericulus regens. In 
 the true Orioli the space is not present, but at the same time the saddle is much narrower and 
 lanceolate (Plate III, figs. 7 and 8). In 0. gattula, also, I found no divergent portion at the 
 end of the dilatation of the very strong pectoral tract, although it occurs in 0. viridis and 
 0. melanocephalus, especially the latter. 
 
 7. DENTIROSTRES, Cuv. 
 (LaniadtB et Muscicapidce, Auctorum). 
 
 In this group, which contains a great number of species, I have met with the following 
 pterylographic differences. 
 
80 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 A. WitJt twelve rectricc*. 
 ft. Saddle without a xpace. 
 
 1. Barita. Twenty remiges; first four graduated, fourth and fifth the longest. Dilatation 
 of the pectoral tract somewhat separated at the extremity ; saddle short, broadly rhombic, acute- 
 angled. B. strepera, B. destructor, B. varia. 
 
 2. Thamnopldlus seu Vaiiga. I have examined only the large and beautiful typical species, 
 which has been repeatedly described, T. striatus QUOT et GAIMARD (' Voy. de Freycinet,' PL 18 
 and 19 ; T. vic/orsii SUCH, ' Zool. Journ.,' iv, 554 ; Lanius undulatus MIKAN, ' Delect. Flor. et Faun. 
 Brasil. ;' Lanius procerus, Mus. BEROL.) It has twenty remiges, which are all very broad and 
 obtuse, graduated as far as the fifth, which is of the same length as the sixth and seventh. The 
 dilatation of the pectoral band is somewhat separated, and the saddle is heart-shaped reversed, 
 emitting a single row of feathers from its middle as the commencement of the rump-band. 
 
 3. Lanius. Besides the indigenous species, all of which have a broadly rhombic, posteriorly 
 abbreviated saddle, and nineteen remiges, I have examined L. phcenicurus (E. Indies), L. phi- 
 matus SHAW, L. brubu LIGHT., L. ffuianensis LIGHT., L. scapulatus LIGHT., and La Cravatte 
 llanclie LE VAILL., PI. 115. In all, the first primary is very small, and the second also per- 
 ceptibly abbreviated. In the last-mentioned three species, the first three are graduated, and the 
 fourth, fifth, and sixth are the longest ; in the others, on the contrary, the third is the longest, and 
 the two following ones approach it most nearly. Our indigenous species agree with this second 
 condition, but in L. excubitor the first primary is much larger than in the other three species. 
 
 4. Ceblepyris (Graucalus et Campephagd). Dilatation of the pectoral tract somewhat 
 separated at the end ; saddle much elongated, rhombic, narrow ; rump-band remarkably broad : 
 nineteen remiges ; the first very short, the fourth the longest. C. nova-guinea, C. viridis 
 (Graucalus, QUOY et GAIMARD, /S^eco^mz, VIEILL.). C. fimbriata has a somewhat broader 
 saddle. 
 
 5. Ocypterus leucorrhynchits Cuv. Pterylosis of the preceding ; saddle narrow, but widened 
 by the two powder-down tracts situated beside it ; another similar tract is placed near the lumbar 
 band, and at the extremity of the dilatation of the pectoral tract (Plate III, fig. 4). Twenty 
 remiges : the first quite minute ; the second, third, and fourth the longest, and comparatively 
 very long. Contour-feathers without an aftershaft. 
 
 6. Trichophorus barbatus TEMM., PL Col, 88. Pterylosis of the Lanii, especially the broad 
 saddle, obtuse behind, from the middle of which issues a rump-band which is at first very weak. 
 Nineteen remiges : the first rather short ; the following, as far as the fourth, graduated ; and the 
 fourth and fifth the longest. The remarkable, bristle-like feathers of the nape and vertex, which 
 also occur in Edolius crinitus, are very long filoplumes. (See p. 15.) 
 
 7. Muscicapa. Besides the indigenous species M. luctuosa and M. grisola, I have examined 
 M. ruticilla and M. carulea, as also M. maJabarica and M. bambuscc, with long, graduated tails 
 ( Acis LESS.), and some similar species which could not be exactly determined. All have a simple 
 saddle, and this is frequently narrow and lanceolate, as in M. carulea and M. malabarica. It is 
 broad, and obtuse behind, as in the Lanii in M. bambusa and ruticilla ; uniformly rhombic, 
 with acute lateral angles in M. Inctuosa and grisola. In the latter, as also in M. ccerulea, bambusce, 
 
DENTIROSTRES. 81 
 
 malalarica and others, the number of remiges is nineteen, so that the first primary is present, 
 although small, and the second is also abbreviated. According to the length of the other 
 primaries, the species forms two groups. In M. malabarica and a second undetermined species 
 with a very strongly graduated tail the third and fourth are the longest ; in the others sometimes 
 thefourf/i Kad. fifth, as in M. luctuosa, yrisola, and caerulea ; sometimes the ffth and sixth, as in 
 M. bambusae, and another species, which is distinguished by a much longer and broader bill, has 
 no graduated tail-feathers, and rather appears to be a Platyrhynchus. I found only eighteen 
 remiges, of which the third and fourth are the longest, in M. ruticilla and an allied species 
 from Mexico. 
 
 b. With a space in the saddle of the spinal tract. 
 a. The large space occupies the whole saddle. 
 
 (All the members of this section with which I ain acquainted are distinguished, not only by 
 the form of the saddle, but also by the covering of the tarsus, which consists of half-bands only in 
 front, and behind of small elliptical scales, with a row of larger ones along the outer side close to 
 the half-bands. It is remarkable that this tarsal covering occurs in the Ampelidas, which are 
 likewise furnished with a large ephippial space. BURM.). 
 
 1. Psaris TEMM. Saddle and its space of quite enormous size, but rhombic and acute- 
 angled. Temporal space not present. First primary but little shorter than the second ; third 
 longest in P. cayatia and P. leucospilon ,- in P. valida (Le Distingue noir of Azara) the second 
 primary is remarkably small, with' the inner vane diminished and pointed (another structure which 
 reminds us of the Ampelidce BuRM.). 1 
 
 2. Tyrannus Cuv. Saddle more elongated, the space narrower, but still fully as long as 
 the acute-angled saddle. First primary but little shorter than the second, both these and also 
 the following ones remarkably acute in many cases. Margins of the mandibles of the large 
 broad bill covered with fine velvety denticulations, at least in many species, such as Lanius 
 tyrannus, L. pitanyua, and Muse, cayennensis. I have found pointed first primaries in L. tyranmts 
 and L. despotes. I have also examined Muse, audax LATH., and M. legatus LICBT. 
 
 3. Platyrhynchus. I have carefully examined only one species of this group, namely, 
 P. hirundinaceits SPIX (P. rupestris NEU WIED). It has precisely the pterylosis of the pre- 
 ceding genus, but the saddle is weaker, especially at its hinder part, which encloses the space 
 only with two rows of single contour-feathers. 
 
 /3. The space minute, visible only at the end of the saddle in front of the origin of the rump-land. 
 Drymopldla carinata TEMM., PL Col., 418. This beautiful bird is distinguished pterylo- 
 
 1 The small second primary is found in the adult males of all the species of Psaris, or Tityra, 
 as it is more correctly termed. (See remarks in P. Z. S., 1857, p. 67.) There can be no question of 
 the intimate connection between this group and the Cotingidee (Ampelida of Burmeister), and they 
 are placed together by all the best modern authorities, P. L. S. 
 
 11 
 
82 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 graphically by its very narrow main tracts, from which the dilated portion of the pectoral tract is 
 separated at the end for a considerable distance. The saddle is of an elongated rhombic form, 
 rather more obtuse behind, where it encloses the small elliptical space. Nineteen remiges, the 
 first scarcely half as long as the second, which is also notably abbreviated ; the third as long as 
 the fifth, and the fourth a little longer than either of them. The lateral neck-space reaches 
 almost to the head, and is covered with down-feathers. 
 
 B. With ten rectrices. 
 
 Edolius. Pterylosis as in the Lanii ; that is to say, the pectoral band broad, scarcely 
 separated at the end, and the saddle distinctly rhombic, but still somewhat different, inasmuch as 
 this saddle has no space in E. puella (Irene HORSF.), whilst there is a space in E. criniim and 
 bilobus. In the latter it is of very small size, and resembles the structure in Drymophila ; in the 
 former, on the contrary, it occupies the whole length of the saddle. All have nineteen remiges, 
 of which the first is about half as long as the second, which is equal to the eighth, whilst the 
 third is but little [shorter than the fourth, which, either alone (E. puella} or with the fifth 
 (E. bilobus, crinitus, malabaricus), is the longest. I found in all of these the above-mentioned 
 number of rectrices; but this has already been remarked by Lesson ('Manuel d'Ornithol.,' i, 
 p. 148). The peculiar, long, bristle-like frontal feathers, furnished, however, with weak barbs, which 
 occur in E. crinitus TEMM., are particularly remarkable, and appear, as in Trichophorus, to be 
 filoplumes. 
 
 8. SUBULIROSTRES SCU 
 
 This group, probably the most numerous in species of all the sections of Passerinse, exhibits 
 very little difference in the form of its pterylosis, as I have found in nearly all the species examined 
 by me an undivided rhombic saddle and a dilatation of the pectoral tract furnished with an outer 
 branch, which is usually more or less separated at the end, rarely truncated; half free only in 
 Grallina and Menura (Plate III, fig. 11), the only examples of this structure among the Passerinae. 
 Sylvia turdoides exhibits a longitudinal space in the saddle, which, however, is set with two rows 
 of sparse contour- feathers, and probably occurs also in the other Reed Warblers. All of them have 
 twelve rectrices, except the male Menura, which has sixteen. Most of them possess nineteen remiges ; 
 but three groups, viz., Anthus, Motacilla, and HylqpM/tsTKMW.., have constantly only eighteen, the 
 first primary, which is always much abbreviated, being here entirely wanting. On the other hand, 
 Menura possesses twenty-one remiges, the largest number occurring in this group. The most 
 natural grouping of the numerous genera appears to be in accordance with the structure of the 
 wings. Thus I find either 
 
 1 . Long acute wings, of w/tic/i the second, third, fourth, and fifth remiges are the longest ; 
 and then 
 
 a. Nineteen remises, in the genera 
 
CERTHIACEyE. 83 
 
 Lamprornis (usually written incorrectly Lamprotornis), Turdus, Pliyllornis, Accentor, Grallina, 
 Henicitrus, Sylvia, Pants, and Regvliis ; or 
 
 b. Eighteen rcmiyes, the first being deficient, in 
 
 Anthus, Motacilla (Plate III, figs. 1 and 2), and Hylophilus TEMM. (Sylv. pwcilotis TEMM., 
 PI. Col. 173, 2 ; S. amaiirocephala LICHT.), Sylvia chrysoptera, WILS., Turdus aurocapillus, WILS., 
 and others. 
 
 2. Short rounded icings, of which the Jirst four, five, or six remigcs are graduated, and 
 the following primaries are nearly of the same length as the secondaries and 
 tertials. In this case the first primary seems never to be deficient. Here the 
 genera 
 
 Troglodytes, Pterojrfoc/tus, Menura (Platelll, figs. 11 and 12), Pitta, Myophonus, Myiothera, 
 Cinclus (distinguished as remarkably in the structure of the wings by the agreement in length of 
 the second and third remiges with the two following, these four being the longest, as by the dense 
 downy clothing Avhich covers, not only all the spaces, but also the intervals between the con- 
 tour-feathers, and even the oil-gland), Ixus (T. ochrocephlus LATH., T. atricapillits TEMM., 
 T. leucocephalns Mus. FRANK.), Copsyclnts WAGL. (T. macrurus LATH., T. mindanensis), 
 Cindosoma, Timalia, Pomatorhinus, Maliirus (marginalis} Synal/axis (setarid), Opetiorhynchus 
 (turdineus NEU WIED, Turd, scolopaceus LICHT., to which I refer Campylorhynchus scolopacem 
 SPIX, Picolaptes zonatus LESS., and Pic. brimnicapillits GUR., Mag. v, i, 47, and also Opet. 
 rufus Mus. FRANK. \Turdus figulus LICHT.], Op. rupestris KITTL., of which the wings arc rather 
 more acute, and Ochelorliynchus ruficaudus METEN. The first three species, of which I have 
 examined the skins, have the dilatation of the pectoral tract strongly divergent at the extremity, a 
 structure intermediate between the ordinary one and that of Menura and Grallina. Anabates 
 also, in my opinion, is best placed here, and forms the transition to the Certhiaceaa, which the 
 preceding genera likewise approach very closely. 
 
 9. CERTHIACE.E. 
 
 This group, although inferior to the preceding in extent, is, nevertheless, much more variable 
 pterylographically. In respect of the form of the saddle, it presents the two sections already 
 repeatedly mentioned. 
 
 A. With a single saddle in the spinal tract. 
 
 1 . Sitla. Saddle rhombic, elongated, almost lanceolate ; dilatation of the pectoral tract 
 perceptibly separated at the end. Nineteen remiges, ten on the hand, the first very short, the 
 third, fourth, and fifth the longest. Tarsus behind, with simple, undivided lamina?. S. europaa, 
 carolinensis, canadensis. 
 
84 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 2. Dendrocolaptes. Pterylosis exactly as in Sitta ; remiges of the same number, but the 
 first larger; third, fourth, and fifth longest. Tarsus behind, with a series of scutes instead of the 
 simple plates. 
 
 3. Certhia. Dilatation of the pectoral tract distinctly separated for some distance ; saddle 
 broader, more acute-angled, posteriorly more obtuse (Plate III, fig. 3). Nineteen remiges, the 
 first very small, the third to the sixth the longest. 
 
 4. Philedon. Much as the species of this group differ in the form of the bill, they present 
 little variation in the pterylosis, which is exactly as in Sitta. The number of remiges is also the 
 same, but the first is usually half the length of the second, and the fourth alone, or the fourth and 
 fifth, usually exceed all the others in length, although but little. I find the saddle broad and 
 rather acute-angled in P. cuciilliyerm LIGHT, and P. JVbves Hottandiee LATH. ; it is very narrow and 
 lanceolate in P. fl/irygiHs (Merops phryyius LATH.). 
 
 5. Campylops hamalus LIGHT. Pterylosis as in Certhia, but the divergent portion of the 
 pectoral tract is short. Wings imperfect in the specimen examined. 
 
 6. Nectarinia. Pterylosis exactly as in the preceding genus. Nineteen remiges, of which 
 the first is small, and the third, fourth, and fifth are the longest, occur in N. scarlatina, N. 
 aurifrons, and their allies. N.flaveda and its allies, on the contrary, have only eighteen, the first 
 small one being deficient. In the latter the saddle also is narrower and lanceolate. 
 
 B. With a space in the saddle of the spinal tract. 
 
 7. Promerops ca/er Cuv. Saddle very broad and acute-angled, completely occupied by the 
 space, so that the rump-band commences with only two converging rows of single feathers ; pec- 
 toral band somewhat divergent at the apex. Nineteen remiges, the first primaries graduated, 
 with an emargination'of the inner half of the vane, which is remarkably large on the fifth. Tarsus 
 behind with small elliptical scales, the two posterior laminae not being in contact. Tail long, 
 forked. 
 
 8. Arachnotheres chrysogenys TEMM., PI. Col., 388, 1. Pterylosis exactly as above, except 
 that the saddle is more elongated anteriorly, and therefore the space is also larger. Nineteen 
 remiges, of which the first is very small, and the fourth the longest. Margins of the upper 
 mandible finely denticulated at the apex. 
 
 9. Dicteum pectorale. Pterylosis exactly as in the Swallows, namely, the saddle broad and 
 deeply bilobate, and the rump-band completely separated from it (Plate III, fig. 14). Eighteen 
 remiges, of which the first, second, and third are nearly of equal length and the longest. 
 
 10. HIRUNDINE.E. 
 
 The single genus Hirundo, which constitutes this group, differs more than any other in its 
 habitus from the general type of the Singing-birds, and in this respect approaches very closely to 
 some Cuculina>, namely, the Cypseli. For this reason I usually place it at the end of the 
 PasserinaB, in the vicinity of the anomalous cuculine form just mentioned, which stands in the 
 same relation to the true Cuckoos as the Swallows to the ordinary Song-birds. However, pterylo- 
 
PICARLE. 85 
 
 graphically Hirundo does not differ from the rest, but rather harmonises completely with 
 Dictum (see Plate III, fig. 14), in that the rows of single contour-feathers uniting the saddle with 
 the rump-band are either entirely deficient (H. rustica, urbicd], or indicated only by two rows of 
 very sparse contour-feathers (H. rupesfris). The dilatation of the pectoral part of the inferior 
 tract is somewhat divergent at the end. The number of remiges is eighteen, of which nine are 
 on the hand, and of these the first is the longest ; the first six secondaries are remarkable on 
 account of their broad, emarginate extremities. Tail forked, but the outer feathers are remarkably 
 elongated only in //. urbica. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 PICIFORM BIRDS (Picarice). 
 
 THE group of Piciform Birds is the most various of all, both as regards the general structure 
 of the body and the pterylosis, and in regard to the latter I know of no single character which 
 is peculiar to it. It usually agrees with the Passerinse in the want of down-feathers upon most 
 of the spaces and all the tracts ; but in Alcedo both parts are downy, as in Cinclus. The presence 
 of the aftershaft is here not even a character of the subordinate families, but merely a generic 
 character. I have found it in Cypselus, Trocliilus, Caprimulgus, Coracias, Prionites, Leptosomus, 
 Prodotes, Trogon, Micropogon, Pogonias, Jynx, Pirns (in which, however, it is very small), 
 Psittacus (in which it is of considerable size, not exceeded by that of the GaUinaceae), Musophaga, 
 and Colius, whilst it is decidedly wanting in all the other genera of this family examined by me. 
 A similar difference is exhibited in the feathering of the apex of the oil-gland, which is so 
 constantly deficient in the Passerinse. I have found it in most of the genera, although sometimes 
 very imperfect, but I decidedly have not seen it in Caprimvlffits, Coracias, Prionites, Merops, Galbula, 
 any of the CucitlincE, Capita, and Monastes. The total absence of this gland in many Parrots 
 (see p. 39) considerably increases this want of uniformity in the character of the group. 
 
 When primary differences of structure are to be found in such small parts and organs, we 
 shall not be surprised to find still greater variations in the arrangement of the tracts, and to see 
 in them scarcely anything more than generic characters. It is therefore impossible to give a 
 pterylographic description of the families, and I have only been struck by the general sparsely 
 feathered structure of the tracts, which becomes more considerable and strongly marked in 
 proportion as the genera consist of constant inhabitants of the tropical zones. It is also 
 impossible to cite differences of numbers in particular definitely feathered parts as group : pecu- 
 liarities, as these are not less multifarious than the other structures ; nevertheless, I may remark 
 that the Humming-birds possess only sixteen remiges, the smallest number of all, whilst twenty- 
 seven or twenty-eight occur in Buceros, and that this number is exceeded in no genus of Piciform 
 Birds, and, indeed, is rarely attained, from twenty to twenty-three being the usual number. The 
 
86 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 number of rectrices is less variable ; it is certainly more uniformly divided between ten and twelve 
 than in the Passerina?. I find twelve in Coracias, Prionites, Mcrops, GaJbuJa, Todus, Leptosomus, 
 Prodotes, Troy on, Capita, Monasles, Pirns, Yunz, Psittacus, and Akcdo ; and ten in Cypselus, 
 Trochilus, CaprinmJffits, Cuculus, Centropus, PhtsnicopJiancs, Scytltrops, Crolopliaga, Bttcco, Micro- 
 pogon, Pogonias, Eliampliastus, Buceros, Upitpa, Coliits, Musopluif/a , and Opisthocomus. 
 
 1. MACROCIIIRES. 
 
 In this family I place the two genera Cypselus and TrocMl/ts, which, indeed, present but little 
 external similarity, but are very nearly allied in the structure of their wings. The form of the 
 feather-tracts also justifies this union, although there are some pterylographic differences. Both 
 have a distinct, downy aftershaft, which is larger in Cypselus than in TrocMlus. In neither of them 
 are there down-feathers among the contour-feathers ; but Cypselus has distinct dark gray down on 
 the spaces of the trunk, which does not occur in TrocMlus. Moreover, the broad bands of the 
 inferior tract, uniformly narrowed from before backwards without any trace of an outer 
 branch, and commencing as two narrow, widely separated bands even from the chin, furnish a 
 good family character, as does also the large, elongated, elliptical or lanceolate ephippial space, 
 which reaches to the caudal pit (Cypselus), or even to the oil-gland (TrocJnJi's). By both these 
 characters they are definitely distinguished from the Passerinse, whilst they, to a certain extent, 
 approach the Caprimulffida?, especially the genus Nyctornis, in which, however, the inferior tract 
 has an interior gular branch, and the spinal tract is at once weakened and dilated in its posterior 
 part, characters which do not occur in the Macrochires. Both genera of this family have, 
 moreover, ten rectrices, and usually only sixteen remiges, of which ten are seated on the hand. 
 The latter are characterised by their enormous length, their very strong shafts, and their very 
 narrow, but thick outer vane. The first is almost always of equal length with the second, and 
 these are the longest ; very rarely I have found the first shorter than the second. The naked oil- 
 gland has no circlet of feathers at the apex. 
 
 1. Cypselus. The presence of down-feathers on the spaces, the very large aftershaft on 
 the contour-feathers, and the narrow form of the bands of the spinal tract, constitute the characters 
 of this group. 
 
 a. In Hemiprocne NOB., to which Acanthylis or Chcetura may also be referred, I find 
 remarkably long, strong, and densely feathered lumbar tracts, and the spinal tract diminished iu 
 its posterior portion from the shoulder-blades. In H. collaris (TfiMM., PL Col., 195 ; Cypselus 
 torquatm, LIGHT.) the stems of this tract are rather broad, and contain several rows of feathers ; 
 in H. ncuta (Cypseltts acutirs PR. MAX. v. NEU WIED, 'Beitr.' iii, 1, 351) the anterior part 
 consists of two rows of feathers, and is apparently interrupted at the nape, whilst the hinder part 
 is uniserial on each side, and divided as far as the oil-gland. The latter is very small. The stiff 
 tail-feathers in both species terminate in horny, acute points. In the second I found sixteen, 
 remiges. 
 
 b. The true Cypseli, of which I have carefully examined only C. apus (Plate III, figs. 16 and 
 17), have a naked annular spot around both the eye and the orifice of the ear; a uniform, strong 
 spinal tract, three feathers in breadth in each branch near the space, and weaker, although very 
 
CAPRIMULGIN.E. 87 
 
 long, lumbar tracts. The axillary tracts also appeared to me to be somewhat longer than in 
 llemiprocne. This species possesses eighteen remiges. In its contour-feathers I was struck by 
 the circumstance that all the barbs of the main shaft, even to the very lowest, possess a 
 pennaceous structure at the base, and only become downy towards the end. This remains the 
 same up to two thirds of the entire feather, but the downy part gradually increases in 
 length. The oil-gland is here proportionately still smaller than in Trochilus, and is also much 
 narrower and more acute. 
 
 2. Trochilus (Plate III, figs. 18 and 19). The group-character of the Humming Birds, as 
 regards their pterylosis, is therefore the smaller aftershaft on the contour-feathers, which 
 I have recognised distinctly only on the large feathers of the rump, and also the absence of down- 
 feathers on the spaces ; further, the broad rhombic form of the spinal tract, the very long and 
 rather broad spinal space, extending from the scapulae to the oil-gland, and the slight, scarcely 
 perceptible development of the lumbar tracts. Whether the nape-space (see PI. Ill, fig. 19) beneath 
 which the long cornua of the hyoid bone are situated, found by me in T. moscliitus, occurs in all 
 the species, I cannot decide, from a deficiency of investigations. In several specimens preserved in 
 spirits, which I could not determine with precision, it was still larger than in the above-mentioned 
 species. Moreover, the cordate oil-gland, furnished with a short tip, is remarkably broad and 
 large for so small a bird. 
 
 2. CAPRIMULGIN^E. 
 
 (Cuculinae nocturnes NITZSCH.) 
 
 This family very closely approaches Cypsclus pterylographically, but the contour-feathers have 
 a weaker aftershaft, and the wings contain from twenty-one to twenty-two remiges, ten of which 
 are seated on the hand. The oil-gland is remarkably small, probably the smallest in proportion that 
 occurs in the whole class of birds ; it is of an elongated oval form, without a circlet of feathers at the 
 tip. The forms of the tracts, singularly enough, have a remarkable resemblance to the type of several 
 Rapacious Birds, but differs in the various genera. Among these analogies I reckon the forking 
 and interruption of the spinal tract between the shoulder-blades in Caprimulgus, the emission of 
 an interior branch from the end of the gular portion of the -inferior tract in Nyctornis, and the 
 division of the dorsal and rump portions of the spinal tract in the same genus. We may, therefore, 
 regard as the chief peculiarity of the family the densely feathered vertical band, which is readily 
 distinguished from the sparse plumage of the head, and passes behind into the cervical portion of 
 the spinal tract ; this has not occurred to me elsewhere, and it is the more remarkable in this 
 group, as none of its members possess a large and striking feather-crest. 
 
 1. Caprimulyus (Plate IV, figs. 1 and 2). Two rows of sparse contour-feathers run on each 
 side of the densely feathered vertical band (at least in C. europaus). Spinal tract at first broad, 
 forked between the shoulder-blades, each branch united to the broad rump-band by a single row 
 of contour-feathers. Lumbar and humeral tracts very broad. Inferior tract divided from the 
 
 / 
 
 commencement of the throat, without an interior branch at the base of the neck, but with a 
 
88 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 dilatation of equal breadth upon the breast, not separated, but truncated at the end, and connected 
 by a uniserial hook with the hypopterum. The stiff bristles of the gape are true steins, which 
 bear a row of short fine barbs at the base immediately above the quills. Index finger, as well 
 as the pollex, with a claw, which, however, is often extremely minute. Tarsi with scutes in 
 front, warty behind, touching the ground, at least during repose. The genus appears to be 
 plantigrade throughout. Claw of the middle toe denticulated within ; the outer toe only four- 
 jointed. The species examined were C. europceus, C. lonyipennis (remarkable for its peculiarly 
 formed, elongated ninth primary), C. forcipatus, and C.psalurus TEMM., PL Col.., 157, 158, both 
 with furcate tails, but the last clearly and specifically distinguishable from the preceding very 
 similar species by the elongation of the two middle tail-feathers. 
 
 jEgotheles nova hollandite VIGORS ('Linn. Trans.' xv, 1, 179), which I have examined 
 only in a mounted state, and therefore can say nothing about its pterylosis, agrees very closely 
 in the structure of its feet with the Podargi, and has also a five-jointed outer toe, no comb on 
 the claw of the middle toe, and the toes longer than the tarsus. 
 
 Podargus f/if/as. Pterylosis exactly as in Caprimidgus, but with the rump-band shorter, 
 and the two diverging limbs running from it to the scapular portion longer, and composed of 
 two rows of feathers. Twenty-one remiges, the first as long as the eighth, the second as the 
 sixth, and the third, fourth, and fifth the longest. 
 
 Nyctornis eethereus, NEU WIED (Plate IV, figs. 3 and 4). Spinal tract like that of Cypselus, 
 uninterrupted, with a large lanceolate spinal space, but weaker from the ends of the shoulder- 
 blades, and therefore apparently interrupted at this point. The posterior weaker portion, 
 extending from the ends of the shoulder-blades to the oil-gland, is dilated and sparsely feathered 
 from the commencement on the outside, and consists internally of three rows of strong feathers 
 which enclose the long spinal space reaching as far as the oil-gland. Inferior tract divided from 
 the throat, emitting a narrow, curved, inner branch, which extends upon the breast, at the lower 
 extremity of the neck. Behind this branch it is so diminished that it becomes nearly interrupted, 
 as in Gypaetos, to the inferior tract of which it has a great resemblance ; it then suddenly becomes 
 very broad upon the breast, more densely feathered externally, sparsely feathered and gradually 
 dying out internally, but still passing upon the belly as a broad band, which, however, at last 
 becomes narrow, and is composed of only two rows of feathers. In this bird, also, a hook 
 originates from the end of the pectoral band, and runs to the hypopterum. Apparently twenty 
 re'miges, the first shorter than the fifth, the third the longest. Tarsi remarkably short, 
 shorter even than in Caprimulgus ; outer toe with five joints ; middle claw not pectinated, but 
 dilated on the inner margin. 
 
 3. TODID^E. 
 
 (CuculincB calopterce NITSZCH.) 
 
 Contour-feathers with a slight aftershaft, at least in Coracias and Prionites ; twelve rectrices, 
 a naked oil-gland, often conical at the apex, and ten primaries. In other respects, the pterylosis 
 is variable, and often peculiar. 
 
THE TODID^E. 89 
 
 A. Without an inner liranch at the lower extremity of the cervical portion of the inferior tract. 
 
 a. T/ic spinal tract contains a space. 
 
 1. Coracias. The representation of the pterylosis of Coracias yalbula (Plate IV, figs. 
 5 and G) agrees perfectly with that of Coracias bengalemis and Colaris gularis. All have a 
 slightly separated but densely feathered outer branch on the pectoral portion of the inferior 
 tract, from which a hook issues, running to the hypopteruin ; the whole inner part of the infe- 
 rior tract is sparsely feathered, as is also the upper pectoral region externally near the base of the 
 lateral branch. The spinal tract, which is furcate and strong between the shoulders, commences 
 at the rump-band with two long converging limbs which only unite at the caudal pit ; by the side 
 of it there are scattered contour-feathers, as far as the strong biserial lumbar tract. The oil-gland 
 is of an elongated oval form, without a conical tip. In all these species there are twenty-three 
 remiges, of which the first is abbreviated ; and the second, third and fourth are the longest. 
 
 2. Merops. In its pterylosis this genus is intermediate between Coracias and Galbula. With 
 the latter it agrees in the narrow form of the tracts, and with the former in the want of the inner 
 branch at the lower part of the neck. The pectoral band of the inferior tract is somewhat 
 dilated and separated at the end ; in the middle of its outer side there are also some contour- 
 feathers which lead to the hypopteruin. The spinal tract is narrow and nearly interrupted at 
 the nape, but tolerably broad on the rest of the neck ; it is simple between the shoulders, or 
 only divided at the end of the shoulder-blades, and united by two rows of single feathers with 
 the rump-band, which is divided by the spinal space as far as the caudal pit. Twenty -two or 
 twenty-three remiges, of which the first is very short, the second the longest, and the third and 
 fourth very perceptibly abbreviated. Oil-gland with a conical tip. The species examined were 
 M. nubicus, M. philippinm, and M. viridis. 
 
 ft. Spinal tract without a space. 
 
 3. Prionites. The tracts narrow, as in Galbula and Merops ; but the outer branch of the 
 pectoral stem of the inferior tract is completely separated, and united to the hypopteruin not 
 merely by a uniserial hook composed of semiplumes, but by a second row of feathers originating 
 from its base. The inferior tract is also connected with the humeral tract immediately in front 
 of the base of the outer branch. The spinal tract runs from the occiput to the oil-gland in 
 the form of a simple band which becomes a little broader between the shoulders ; the oil-gland 
 is of an elongated oval form. Twenty-one remiges ; first four graduated ; fourth, fifth, and 
 sixth the longest, llectrices graduated ; the two middle ones in P, momota with elliptical apical 
 laminae to the vanes. 
 
 4. Todus. Pterylosis exceedingly peculiar (Plate IV, figs. 9 and 10), especially the inferior 
 tract, which, as in the preceding, is furcate on the throat, and passes on to the breast as a simple 
 band on each side. This, however, then immediately divides into two broad, strongly feathered 
 branches, of which the outer and shorter one runs to the humerus, whilst the inner and broader 
 one descends along the margin of the furcula and crest of the sternum, to divide again a little 
 behind the middle of the breast. The broad outer branch thus produced stands off to a con- 
 
 12 
 
90 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 siderable extent from the narrow main stem, which consists from the first of two rows of smaller 
 feathers, and takes a more outward direction upon the ventral surface, where it runs along the 
 margin and terminates in the vicinity of the anus. The simple spinal tract is less remarkable ; this 
 precisely resembles that of Prionites, but is somewhat dilated behind the scapulae. The humeral 
 and lumbar tracts are distinct, but narrow, especially the latter. Nineteen remiges ; ten on the 
 hand, the first to the fifth graduated, the fifth the longest, but only slightly exceeding the fourth 
 and sixth. Oil-gland with a conical tip. T. viridis. 
 
 B. Wit It an inner branch at the end of the gular portion of the inferior tract. 
 
 5. Gcdbula. Tracts remarkably narrow, not composed of more than two rows of feathers on 
 any part of the body, otherwise very similar to those of Merops, differing, indeed, chiefly in the 
 above-mentioned inner branch (Plate IV, fig. 7). Pectoral band not dilated, but with a short outer 
 branch at the end of the breast, and a row of feathers issuing from the axilla and running to the 
 hypopterum. Spinal tract simple as far as to between the shoulders (PI. IV, fig. 8), then dividing 
 and enclosing a broad, lanceolate space, which reaches to the caudal pit, but showing no differ- 
 ence in the plumage between the scapular and rump portions. Lumbar tracts weak ; humeral 
 tracts more distinct. Twenty (G. grandis} or twenty-two (G. viridis) remiges, of which ten are on 
 the hand ; the first very short ; the second and third graduated ; the fourth to the sixth the 
 longest, but the last primary but one nearly of the same length. Oil-gland with a conical tip. 
 Tail-feathers sometimes graduated (G. grandis). 
 
 4. 
 
 (Cuculinee veree, NITZSCH.) 
 
 This group, to which I refer the genera Cucuhts, Coccygius^ Saurothera, Crotophaga, Scythrops, 
 Phcenicophanes, Leptosomus, Prodotes (Indicator, AUCTT.), and Trogon, has no definite pterylographic 
 character ; the only character that appears to occur in all of them is the nakedness of the tip of 
 the oil-gland, which is not furnished with a circlet of feathers. Perhaps, however, the want of 
 down among the contour-feathers (although all the spaces are clothed with semiplumes), observed 
 in Cuculus canorus, may be a general charcter of the group. Most of them, indeed, are destitute 
 of the accessory plume on the contour- feathers ; but this is present in Prodotes and Trogon. 
 These genera and Leptosomus, again, have twelve rectrices, and the rest only ten. The genera 
 differ still more in the form of the tracts ; and only the chief typical members of the family, such 
 as Coccygius, Saurothera, Centropus, Scytltrops, and Crotophaga, agree so closely in all their tracts, 
 that they might be regarded as forming one pterylographic group. Accordingly the following 
 arrangement may be established : 
 
 1 Thus written by Nitzsch; Vieillot writes the name Coccyzus (Buaiu.). 
 
THE CUCULIN.E. 91 
 
 A. With ten reclrices : contour-feathers always without an after-shaft. 
 
 a. The pectoral portion of the inferior tract is dilated, uniformly sparsely feathered, 
 
 and extended over the whole breast. 
 
 Ct/cul/ts (Plate IV, figs. 11 and 12). This genus is further distinguished by the circum- 
 stance that the inferior tract is divided from the throat itself; that its ventral part is very broad, 
 and far from reaching the anus ; and that the spinal tract, which encloses a large, lanceolate space, 
 extending from the commencement of the shoulder to the caudal pit, is dilated over the whole 
 hinder part of the back, coalesces with the lumbar tracts, and is very sparsely feathered. The 
 very long caudal process, densely clothed with large feathers, is also one of the generic peculiari- 
 ties, as also the extremely weak plumage of the tibial region. The oil-gland is exceedingly 
 slender in both halves, but is completely immersed up to the tip, and, therefore, appears triradiate ; 
 in front of it there stands on each side a single rigid feather. Rectrices very large, with the cavity 
 of the tube extending for a remarkable distance into the shaft. Nineteen remiges ; the first very 
 short ; the second considerably shorter than the third, which with the fourth and fifth are the 
 longest. The species examined were C. canorus, scrratus, nlandarius, htffiibris, HORSF., and 
 oriental-is ; in the latter the portion of the spinal tract between the shoulders is rather stronger, 
 whilst the portion behind this spot is very weak at its commencement. 
 
 b. The pectoral portion of the inferior tract is not quite so broad, but more densely 
 
 feathered, and encloses posteriorly a narrow insular space. 
 
 The genera Bitbutus, Saurothera, Coccygius, Centropus, Scythrop^, and Crotophaga, which 
 belong to this division, are so similar in their pterylosis, that a merely general description may 
 serve for them. In these (see Plate IV, figs. 13 15) the inferior tract divides rather later, 
 nearly in the middle of the neck, into two limbs, and passes upon the breast with a breadth of 
 four rows of feathers. Here it soon increases to six or seven rows, and then runs with its margins 
 nearly parallel as far as the middle of the breast, where each band divides again into two limbs. 
 The inner limb is continued as the main stem nearly parallel to the crest of the sternum, and passes 
 at the same distance upon the belly, over the lateral surface of which it runs nearly to the anus, 
 before which it terminates. The outer limb departs rather more from the main stem, and turns 
 towards the outer margin of the breast, where it emits a hook, which passes into the hypopterum. 
 Immediately afterwards it again turns inwards, and approaches the main stem, which it rejoins in 
 the form of a small band, usually exactly on the margin of the sternum, thus enclosing an insular 
 space. This course is most distinctly seen in Centropus (philippensis, fig. 13, and rufpcnnis], 
 but nearly as well in Crotophaga ani. Saurothera marginata, KATIP (Cue. viaticus LIGHT.) differs 
 in having both the main stem and the branch narrow, the former biserial, the latter triserial ; and 
 the connecting band consists only of a single row of feathers. In Scythrops novce hollandia 
 (fig. 15), on the contrary, in which both parts are equally distant from each other, they are of equal 
 breadth and triserial, but the connecting band consists of only one row of strong feathers, the 
 greater part of the space being covered with small, sparse contour-feathers. Bubutus isidori, LESS. 
 ('Traite,' p. 145) approaches this form, inasmuch as the space is remarkably small, and enclosed 
 
92 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 exteriorly only by a single row of feathers. Coccygius (cajanus, chrysogaslcr, americanus,galeritus, 
 and ffitira), on the contrary, diverges more in having a branch much turned outwards, narrower 
 than the main stem, and which only recurs to it by a single row of feathers. The space thus 
 formed is very small in the first-mentioned three species, but very large and resembling the form 
 in Sauroihera in the other two. In the rest of the pterylosis these six genera do not differ from 
 Cuculus ; but in them the feathers are more closely approximated on all the tracts, and the rump- 
 tract on the tail is weaker ; the scapular part of the spinal tract is also usually more densely 
 feathered, and more clearly distinguished from the limbs of the rump-tract by the sparse plumage 
 of the latter. The number of remiges amounts to nineteen or twenty ; Scytlirops alone has 
 twenty-three. In it and in Coccygius americanus (Cue. americanus, ATJCTT.) the third primary is 
 the longest, in the other genera the fifth, sixth, and seventh, and the preceding ones are always 
 strongly and equally graduated, so that the first is of very small size. The long tail also usually 
 contains graduated feathers. We have also to notice the stiff lashes on the upper eyelids occurring 
 in all these genera except Bubutus, which alone has perfectly naked cheeks and temples. 
 
 c. The dilated pectoral part of the inferior tract is narrow, und of uniform breadth, and 
 encloses no space. 
 
 Phcenicophanes viridirufus, Sides of the head in the region of the eyes naked and warty, 
 the head otherwise uniformly feathered. Spinal tract narrow, simple as far as the shoulders, then 
 divided and continued in the form of two similar, narrow limbs as far as the caudal pit, enclosing 
 a long space. From this point it is simple, but narrow, with sparse feathers beside it, which are 
 well distinguished from the strong, biserial lumbar tracts, although they reach to them. Inferior 
 tract simple to the middle of the neck, then divided into two narrow branches. Each branch 
 twice as broad upon the breast, but densely feathered and parallel-sided, the dilatation truncated 
 and somewhat separated at the end; thence again narrow, and not reaching the anus. Nineteen 
 
 remiges, the first graduated, the fourth to the sixth the longest. 
 
 / 
 
 B. With ticelve rectrices, and an after-shaft on the contour-feathers. 
 
 Leptosomm afer (Cuculus afer AUCTT.), of which I have only been able to examine stuffed 
 specimens, belongs to this group from the number of the tail-feathers. 1 
 
 Prodotes NOB. (Indicator AUCTT.) Pterylosis exceedingly peculiar, there being on the breast 
 a perfectly free outer branch of the inferior tract (PI. IV, fig. 16), which is not divided until low 
 down upon the neck, whilst the dorsal tract, which remains simple as far as the pelvis, exhibits a 
 rhombic saddle (fig. 17) enclosing a lanceolate space. Twenty remiges, of which the first and 
 second are the longest. Oil-gland with a small circlet of feathers at the tip, the quills of which 
 extend the walls of the apex. The species examined were, P. albirostris, TEMM. ; PL Col. 367 ; 
 P. proditor, LICHT ; and a third very small species. 
 
 1 Iu two examples seen by me, the outer toe appeared to contain only four joints, a remarkable 
 peculiarity if it should be confirmed by more accurate investigation. Not less singular is the absence of 
 the nasal septum, the nares being truly pervits. [Nitzsch is in error here. The outer toe of Leptoso- 
 mus has the normal number of phalanges, as I have lately shown. See Appendix, note 2. P.L.S.] 
 
THE PICIN.E. 93 
 
 Troffon. The pterylosis of this genus, of which I have examined four species(r. duvaucelii, ardens, 
 yloeifaM,a& viridis),is exactly that of a Passerine bird, the only difference consisting in the very long 
 after-shafts. The dorsal tract (PI. IV, fig. 19) runs in the form of a narrowband as far as the 
 sacrum, where it becomes dilated into a short, rhombic, acute-angled saddle ; or in T. viridis into an 
 elongated, rhombic one (fig. 20), and then again becoming narrow passes to the oil-gland, which has 
 no circlet of feathers at the tip. The lumbar tracts are distinctly present, but short and small. The 
 inferior tract is as in Prodotes, except that the outer branch does not diverge, but is entirely adjacent 
 to the main stem, forming a densely feathered dilatation of uniform width, obliquely truncated at 
 the extremity. The ventral portion, which commences at this point, is uncommonly wide. In 
 general the plumage is remarkable for the large size of all the contour-feathers, and the entire 
 absence of down. In the wings I found from eighteen to twenty remiges, but always ten on 
 the hand ; the fifth is the longest, and the first very short but broad. The outer tail-feathers 
 are graduated. It is further remarkable that, of the four toes, the first and second are turned 
 backwards, and not, as usual in Scansorial Birds, the first and fourth. 
 
 6. PICIN.E, Nitzschii. 
 
 This group also has no general pterylographic character, at least none belonging to itself 
 alone. For the connection of the humeral tracts with the inferior tract, which occurs in all the 
 Picines, is by no means unfrequent, and occurs in exactly the same manner in Alcedo. Thus not 
 only does the gular portion emit one or two rows of contour-feathers from near its extremity to 
 the humeral tract, but the outer branch also sends forth a second row from its base at the point 
 where it diverges from the main stem of the inferior tract. This outer branch is usually free 
 throughout its course, but in Pogonias sulcirostris we find in its place a mere dilatation. . This 
 genus, with its allies Succo and Micropogon, has its dorsal tract two-limbed on the back ; a 
 similar dorsal tract occurs also in Picus and Jynac, in which, however, it is interrupted before the 
 division, whilst in the former genera the interruption usually occurs behind the arms of the fork. 
 On the other hand Capita, Pteroglossus, and Rhamphastus, have a dorsal tract which is simple as 
 far as the shoulders, but the rump-band is entirely or partially cleft. The number of rectrices 
 varies between twelve and ten, and the feathering of the apex of the oil-gland is no less variable ; 
 whilst all the Picinse appear to possess ten primaries and scansorial feet. The after-shaft 
 occurs in Micropogon, Pogonias, Jynx, and Picus ; it is deficient in all the other genera. But 
 down-feathers are wanting in all, both between the contour-feathers and on the spaces. 
 
 A. BuCCONIDiE. 
 
 a. With ten rectrices, and the apex of the oil-gland feathered. 
 
 The members of this group have likewise a distinct after-shaft on the contour-feathers. 
 
 1. Eucco. Inferior tract simple nearly as far as the end of the neck, then two-limbed, 
 with each limb dilated, and thus united with the humeral tract, so that the above-mentioned two 
 series of feathers are not perceptible. Outer branch free throughout its course, its plumage 
 
<> I PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 rigid, with a hook at the end leading to the hypopterum. Dorsal tract simple to the end of the 
 shoulder-blades, and here divided. Each arm is much dilated in B. armillaris (Plate V, figs. 
 1, 2), but of uniform width in B. cyanops ; in both completely separated from the rump-band. 
 On the other hand, in B. roseicollis (fig. 3), philippincnsis and Jlavifrons, the two narrow limbs 
 are united to the simple rump-band by two still narrower converging double series of feathers. 
 Femoral tracts present, either simple and short, as in B. armillaris and roseicollis, or angular, a 
 branch issuing from the end of the femoral band, and running parallel to the rump-band, as in 
 B. cyanops and philippinensis. In all there are twenty-one remiges, the first very short, the 
 second distinctly shorter than the following three, which are the longest, the longest of all being 
 sometimes the third and sometimes the fourth. 
 
 2. Micropogon. Pterylosis exactly as in Bticco, but all the tracts narrower, and the lines 
 of union with the humeral tract at the extremity of the gular portion of the inferior tract distinct, 
 although only uniserial. The chief difference between the genera lies in the rump-band, which, 
 in Micropoffon, is cleft, either throughout (fig. 4, M. cayennensis, and viridiaurantius}, or only in 
 front (fig. 5, M. erythropygos, LICHT., and margaritaceus TEMM., PL Col., 490). The femoral 
 tract is simple in M. cayennensis and M. erythropygos, or angular, just as in Bucco, in 
 M. viridiaurantius, but with a gap at the apex of the angle. In the last-named species, also, 
 the two rows of the rump-band are at first only uniserial, and are somewhat curved throughout 
 their course. All three species have twenty or twenty-one remiges, of which the first is very 
 short, the second and third are graduated, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth, are the longest. 
 
 In M. erythropygos I found on the heel-joint (PI. V, fig. 5) a peculiar circlet of acute 
 tubercles, such as I have also detected in young Wrynecks. 
 
 3. Poffonias. This genus, in the form of the dorsal tract (Plate V, fig. 7), in most species 
 approaches the second group of the Buccones, and in P. unidentatus alone agrees exactly with 
 Micropogon erythropygos as regards the division and divergence of the rump-band. All the species 
 possess two-limbed, angular femoral tracts, which, however, as in M. viridiaurantius, have a gap 
 at the vertex, so that the two limbs apparently run parallel. Here, also, the pectoral tract very 
 distinctly follows two types for in P. niger, unidentatus, and senegalensis, it is narrow, and the 
 outer branch is separated to the middle from the main stem (Pl.V, fig. 8) ; whilst in P. sulcirostris 
 (fig. 6) this tract is of considerable width, and the strongly feathered outer branch is adjacent 
 throughout its course to the weakly feathered main stem. All the four species agree, however, in 
 having a temporal space close to the naked circle of the eye, which is also perceptible in Bucco 
 armillaris. They also possess twenty to twenty-one remiges, of which, in P. sulcirostris, the 
 third is pretty nearly equal in length with the fourth, fifth, and sixth, whilst in the other three 
 species it is perceptibly shorter. 
 
 b. With twelve rectriccs, the apex of the small acute oil-gland naked, and no after-shaft 
 
 on ilte contour-feathers. 
 
 1 . Capita? Tracts narrow, but the feathers inserted in them on the trunk very large and 
 
 
 
 1 [There is no doubt that the genus here denominated Capita (Bucco of Linnaeus) and its allies 
 form a family very distinct from the preceding group, and most nearly allied to the Galbulidse and 
 
THE RHAMPHASTID.E. 95 
 
 closely placed. Dorsal tract simple to between the shoulders ; then a broad gap, behind which 
 commences the rump-band, which is divided lialf-way (in C. tamatia, Plate V, figs. 9, 10), or nil 
 the way (C. collaris, C. mdanotis} to the oil-gland. In C. tamatia and collaris the rump-band 
 emits from the commencement of the two limbs two lateral series of feathers, which run backwards, 
 but in C. mdanotis it is gradually dilated towards the middle. This species also has the outer 
 branch of the pectoral portion of the inferior tract completely adjacent, whilst in the two other 
 species it diverges for half its length. The strong femoral tract is simple, but in C. collaris it 
 has a row of feathers above it just as in Poyonias sulcirostris. Remiges twenty-one, the first 
 uniformly graduated, the fourth and fifth longest. 
 
 2. Monastes} Pterylosis in all parts exactly as in Capita tamatia, except that the tracts 
 are a little wider. The outer branch of the inferior tract is separated only at the end, but 
 strongly, and the two limbs of the rump-band are pointed in front (Plate V, fig. 11); the 
 two rows of feathers issuing from them are also wanting. I carefully examined only M.fuscus, 
 in which I found twenty remiges, of which the fourth and fifth are the longest, and the first three 
 are very strongly graduated. The oil-gland has a few fine hairs at the apex. 
 
 B. RHAMPHASTIDjE. 
 
 Contour-feathers with no after-shaft ; oil-gland with a circlet of feathers at the apex ; ten 
 tail-feathers. 
 
 The form of the tracts, which may be seen from Plate V, figs. 12 and 13, is perfectly 
 concordant in essential points in all the species of this family examined by me, namely, 
 Ptcroglossus viridis, Rhamphastus erythrorhynchus, R. discolorus WAGL., R. tucai, and a fourth unde- 
 termined species, and approaches most nearly to that of Capita. I found in all an inferior tract, 
 which is simple to the middle of the neck, but is remarkably broad only in R. erythrorhynchus. 
 The two narrow limbs of this, commencing at this point, send a branch to the humeral tract, 
 form a strong and perfectly free outer branch with a very distinct hook at its extremity on the 
 breast, and then run as narrow biserial bands along the trunk to the anus. The dorsal tract is 
 still more singular. Running simply as far as between the shoulders, it has at this point generally 
 a gap, 2 behind Avhich the rump-band commences with two separated limbs, which run thus 
 divided to the tail itself, enclosing the oil-gland between them. The two portions of the 
 rump-band are at first approximated, but soon diverge, become broader externally, and then 
 continue nearly parallel. Beside them, in the region of the sacrum, there is on each side a row 
 of strong contour-feathers, which may be regarded as the inner limb of the angular femoral 
 tract ; the other, or outer limb, runs transversely over the upper part of the tibia and the whole 
 femur, and finally joins the rump-band, at least in R. erythrorhynchus. Another remarkable 
 
 Trogonidae. See Sclater's ' Synopsis of the Fissirostral Family Bucconidse,' 8vo, London, 1854, and 
 Burmeister's ' Syst. Uebersicht d. Th. Brasiliens/ vol. ii. P.L.S.] 
 
 1 As Vieillot's name Monasa is founded upon a false etymology, and must properly be written 
 Monastes, Wagler's alteration of it to Lypornis appears to me to be superfluous. 
 
 2 In the species of which the name is unknown to me this gap was wanting, and the simple part 
 was united to the strongly convergent halves of the rump-band. 
 
96 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 character is the length of the true tail, which bears on its lower surface a peculiar tract, con- 
 sisting of an elliptical ring of feathers, in which the tail-coverts are inserted. This length of the 
 tail explains the peculiarity of the Toucans, so well represented by Gould, namely, the erection 
 of the tail against the back during sleep. In E. tucai, however, the fleshy tail was much 
 shorter than in the other species. All have twenty-two reraiges, of which the first three or four 
 are much graduated, but the following three are the longest : the hypopterum is entirely wanting, 
 and the parapterum can hardly be said to exist. Several recent observers have called attention 
 to the horny plates in which the feathers of the head terminate in some species of Pteroylossus 
 (Froriep's 'Notizen,' 1831, Dec., No. 692; and 1833, No. 816, p. 24). I have seen the 
 Peruvian species described by Poppig, P. lepidocephalus (P. pocppir/ii WAGL., Ms, 1832, 1230), 
 in the museums at Dresden and Vienna. 
 
 C. lCIfLE VEBJE. 
 
 Con tour- feathers with a weak after-shaft like that of the Passerinae ; twelve tail-feathers, but 
 the two outer ones small and bent in between the two preceding ones. Oil-gland with a strongly 
 feathered tip, and very broad and strong throughout. 
 
 1. Picus. The pterylosis of this large genus, of which I have been able to examine only a 
 few species, presents even in these considerable differences. These, however, consist in the form of 
 the dorsal tract, and the whole of the other tracts agree so nearly in structure that this may very 
 well be described in general terms. On the head (Plate V, fig. 15) the vertical space is espe- 
 cially remarkable, a band destitute of contour-feathers extending from the base of the beak, over 
 the forehead to the occiput, which I find in all Woodpeckers ; the temporal space is also present. 
 The rest of the surface of the head is densely feathered. The inferior tract starts from the 
 throat as a narrow band, and very soon divides into two limbs, which afterwards send off 
 branches of union with the humeral tracts, form on the breast a perfectly free outer branch 
 which has a hook at its extremity, and continue in a slight curve to the anus, close to which they 
 terminate. 
 
 A peculiarity of the Woodpeckers, and one which occurs almost universally among them, is 
 the presence of a small, inner humeral tract (PI. V, fig. 15), running along upon the most elevated 
 points of the shoulder parallel to the very broad main tract, which runs lower down transversely 
 over the humerus ; this is apparently a continuation of the feather-band uniting the inferior 
 tract to the shoulder (Plate V, fig. 14). This small humeral tract was wanting only in an umber- 
 brown Sumatran species, to which I shall give the name of P. luridus? as it appears to be still 
 
 1 P. luridus NITZSCH. Somewhat smaller than P. medius, umber-brown, with fine, pale ochreous 
 yellow transverse lines on the back, wings, throat, sides of breast, and belly, these are wanting on the 
 vertex, the nape and the middle of the breast ; on each side of the neck there is an elongated ochreous- 
 yellow stripe, and between these the whole front of the neck is deep blackish-brown. In the male 
 there is also on each side of the throat, besides the close undulated marking, an elongated blood-red 
 spot. The bill is elongate-conical, slightly curved, very acute and almost without angles, only the 
 upper middle one being indicated. The upper mandible is black ; the lower one and the feet yellowish- 
 gray (after death). Nineteen remiges, of which ten primaries, the first three strongly graduated; the 
 
THE WOODPECKERS. 97 
 
 undescribed. The lumbar tract, on the contrary, presents the same characters as in Rhamphastus 
 and consists only of two short limbs, which are, therefore, generally biserial, and touch each 
 other at the apex. The wings bear from nineteen to twenty-one remiges, but always ten on the 
 pinion, of which the first is rather short, the second is likewise shorter than the following ones, 
 but the third is sometimes equal to the fourth and fifth and with them the longest, and sometimes 
 exceeded by the fourth, fifth, and sixth, which are then 'of equal length. The peculiar formation 
 of the tail-feathers proper to all Woodpeckers is too well known to need description, but the 
 character of the outer feathers above mentioned must have escaped the notice of many observers, 
 as several authors (even Wagler in his Systema Avium) sometimes limit the number of rectrices to 
 ten, which is wrong according to my observations. 
 
 The discrepancy of the dorsal tract appears in several points. The tract certainly starts 
 from the nape in all Woodpeckers as a simple narrow band, and continues of the same form as 
 far as the shoulders, but its further course is different. 
 
 1. In P. hiridus, NOB. and P. concretus, TEMM. (PL Col., 50), the dorsal tract divides 
 even between the shoulders into two limbs, which diverge a little, at the same time increasing in 
 breadth, then again become narrower and run parallel to each other to the oil-gland, which they 
 enclose between them, just as in Rhamphastus. In P. concretus both stems are very strong, and 
 therefore the space between them is but narrow ; in P. luridus, on the contrary, the stems are 
 very weakly feathered, and the space is broad, especially in front in the region of the sacrum. 
 
 2. In Picus tridadylus and P. carolinus the dorsal tract continues simple as far as the end of 
 the shoulder-blades, and here divides into two limbs, which widen perceptibly, but terminate in a 
 truncated extremity. From these issue two converging rows of single feathers, which meet on the 
 sacrum, and then form the simple, narrow rump-band, which terminates at the oil-gland, but 
 has a row of contour-feathers close to it on each side which enclose the gland. This form pretty 
 closely approaches that of Pogonias (Plate V, fig. 7) and Eucco (Plate V, fig. 2). Picus martins 
 has the same structure, but the two rows of feathers which unite the arms of the scapular part 
 with the rump-band are wanting in that species, although the entire tract is stronger. 
 
 3. In the other species the dorsal tract is interrupted by a distinct but short gap, at the end 
 of the simple portion which extends low down between the shoulders, and immediately behind 
 the gap there are two triangular divergent spots of feathers which represents the widening limbs 
 of the preceding form. 
 
 a. In P. benyalensis and auratus these spots are united with the simple rump-band by two 
 single converging rows of feathers ; but 
 
 b. In P. macei and the rest of our indigenous species these lines are wanting, and the rump- 
 band is completely separated from the above-mentioned spots. In both cases the rows of feathers 
 beside the rump-band, enclosing the oil-gland, are usually present (Plate V, fig. 15) ; these, how- 
 ever, are sometimes wanting, as in P. medius, or they consist merely of down-feathers. The latter 
 are continued upon the fleshy tail, which is very broad in the Woodpeckers in contrast to the 
 Toucans, and form the upper tail-coverts behind the oil-gland, whilst the lower tail-coverts are 
 
 fourth, fifth, and sixtli equal and longest. Twelve rigid tail-feathers, but the two outermost remark- 
 ably small, and like the next two on each side, much softer than the rest. P. concretus, TEMM., PI. 
 Col., 90, and P. pa-cilolophus, TEMM., PL Col., 197, 1, are somewhat related to this species, but both 
 of them possess a coloured crest, which is wanting in my species. 
 
 13 
 
98 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 inserted in a circlet of feathers which may be observed upon the tail itself behind the anus. 
 An interesting peculiarity of the Woodpeckers, which occurs elsewhere, so far as I know, only in 
 Alcedo, is the absence of a nestling down-plumage in the young, which are perfectly naked 
 until the permanent feathers make their appearance. 
 
 4. Picumnus minutus. Pterylosis exactly as in our indigenous Woodpeckers ; that is to say ) 
 the dorsal tract is twice interrupted, and the simple rump-band is very weak. In this species, 
 also, I found twelve tail-feathers and ten primaries, of which the fourth and iifth are the 
 longest. 
 
 5. Yunx torquitta. Pterylosis, also, as in most of the Woodpeckers, especially the indi- 
 genous species ; but the femoral tract is still more distinct, biserial, and complete even to the apex 
 of the thigh. Twenty-one remiges ; ikejirsf scarcely perceptible, the second and third the longest. 
 Twelve rectrices ; the outermost, as in the Woodpeckers, concealed between the two preceding. 
 In young birds I observed the same circlet of warts on the outside of the heel-joint which I 
 have above described (p. 94) in Micropogon erythropygos. 
 
 1. 
 
 Contour-feathers with a large and distinct after-shaft, very sparsely distributed, probably 
 present in smaller comparative number than in any other Birds ; and hence there are down- 
 feathers not unfrequently between them, especially on the head and neck, and also on the 
 spaces, and sometimes imperfect powder-down tracts on the pelvis. Oil-gland, when present, 
 with a circlet of feathers on the long, thin, cylindrical tip. There are from twenty to twenty-four 
 remiges in the wing, but always four feathers on the thumb and fwelve tail-feathers. The form 
 of the tracts varies ; they are sometimes remarkably broad, sometimes narrow. 
 
 Out of 208 species of this family cited by Wagler in his Monograph, 1 I have been able to 
 examine only about thirty, and I therefore do not venture to speak in general terms of the 
 differences of the pterylosis, which appear, from my observations, to be not inconsiderable. I 
 shall cite those species which I have investigated in Wagler's genera, and describe the position 
 of their feathers in detail so far as it is necessary. 
 
 1. Sittace WAGL. Of the large, long-tailed Macaws (Macrocercus VJEILL.), I have carefully 
 examined Psittacus macao AUCTT. I found the head uniformly but sparsely feathered, with 
 the exception of its perfectly naked spots, and from it two tracts issue. One of these commences 
 at the throat, close behind the margin of the very large lower mandible, immediately behind 
 which, probably in all Parrots, there is a semicircular naked space ; this tract is broader than 
 the second, which starts from the nape, where the plumage of the head itself is narrowed. The 
 first tract, the commencement of the inferior tract, consists of five or six rows of feathers, and 
 remains simple for fully half the length of the neck, but then forks and passes, with very little 
 divergence of the two limbs, each three feathers in width, as far as the furcula, over which it 
 runs and then passes, four feathers in width, upon the surface of the breast. From this point 
 each half becomes visibly broader, extending both towards the arm and towards the crest of the 
 sternum, so much that almost the entire surface of the pectoral muscles is covered by them. 
 Nevertheless, each band, even at its widest part, consists only of six, or at the utmost 
 
 1 ' Monographia Psittacorum/ Monach., 1835, 4to. 
 
THE PSITTACIN.E. 99 
 
 seven rows of feathers, which are as wide apart as in Buceros (Plate VI, figs. 1, 2), 
 except that in the region of the outer branch the two outer longitudinal rows, for a 
 space of four transverse rows, are more closely approximated, and bear stronger feathers. 
 Towards the end of the sternum each band again becomes narrower, being at first four and 
 afterwards only three rows in width, by which means a broader, elliptical inferior space, reaching 
 to the anus, is produced between the two bands on the ventral surface. The inferior tracts also 
 terminate at the anus, after their coalescence with the equally sparse and nearly uniform 
 plumage of the thigh. The dorsal band issuing from the occiput presents very different 
 characters. It is from the first narrow, three feathers broad, and densely feathered. As far as 
 the shoulders it retains its linear form, and divides at this point into two narrow limbs, only two 
 feathers in width, but rather strong, which extend somewhat beyond the middle of the shoulder- 
 blades. Immediately between the extremities of these commences the second or covered portion 
 of the dorsal tract, in the form of two much more sparse, weaker, parallel bands of feathers, 
 containing only a single contour-feather in the first transverse row, two in the second, three in 
 the third, and so forth, until they have become so broad that their outermost very weak and 
 always sparser rows coalesce with the uniformly sparse plumage both of the thighs and crura. 
 In this way the two bands are continued to the caudal pit, after approaching and coming in 
 contact with each other from the middle of the pelvis. From this point a biserial band of 
 stronger and more closely approximated feathers runs through the homogeneous plumage of the 
 rump to terminate at the oil-gland, which is present in all the large Macaws. Besides these 
 tracts we observe only a simple, narrow, biserial humeral tract, which runs pretty exactly behind 
 the axillary cavity, and is connected anteriorly with the inferior tract. Powder-down feathers 
 are entirely deficient. In the wing I found twenty-three remiges, of which the third and 
 fourth are the longest. 
 
 I believe I found precisely the same pterylosis in P. aracanga, ararauna, severus, militaris, 
 macavuanna, and carolinensis, WILS. ; indeed, it seems to occur in all true Macaws. P. caroli- 
 nensis alone differs from the larger South American species in having the cere covered with a 
 dense, satin-like plumage, twenty-one very long acute remiges, of which the second and third are 
 the longest, and in the complete absence of the oil-gland ; but it has exactly the sparse plumage 
 of P. macao ; indeed, the ventral portion of the inferior space was still narrower, and scarcely 
 wider than the naked band on the sharp edge of the crista sterni. 
 
 On the other hand, the small South American Parrots with wedge-shaped tails, which 
 Wagler refers to Sittace, differ in several points from the Macaws. Of these I have most 
 carefully examined P. pertinax, the pterylosis of which is represented in Plate V, figs. 16 18. 
 It will be seen from the figures that the inferior tract divides higher up on the neck, that the 
 two pectoral bands leave a considerable portion of the surface bare as spaces, both in the middle 
 towards the sternal crest and externally on the trunk, and that the central or inferior space is as 
 wide on the breast as on the belly. To these characters may be .added the considerable 
 strengthening of the portion of the inferior tract representing the outer branch, which consists at 
 first of two and subsequently even of three rows of stronger feathers, and is somewhat divergent 
 at the end. The dorsal tract exhibits the following differences : it is separated, at least anteriorly, 
 from the long, biserial femoral tracts, and behind the caudal pit it consists merely of an undilated, 
 more densely feathered band. The most important circumstance, however, is the presence of 
 
100 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 a double humeral tract, such as has already been described in Picus, and which occurs here still 
 more distinctly. Moreover, the large inferior humeral tract is much stronger and broader than 
 in the true Macaws. In P. pertinax I found twenty-one remiges, of which the first was very 
 little shorter than the second and third, and these are of the same length as the fourth, which is 
 distinguished by a remarkable and almost abrupt narrowing and acumiimtion of the extremity of 
 its vane, whilst the fifth is perceptibly shorter even than the first. I found precisely the same 
 structure in P. auricapillus, HAHN (Sittace jendaya WAGL.) and P. solstitialis, two species 
 which closely resemble P. pertinax in their pterylosis, and, like it, are provided with a small, 
 deeply bilobed oil-gland, beset at the tip with six umbellate down-feathers. On the other 
 hand, this is wanting in P. viridissimus, KUHL (P. rufirostris, ILLIG., LIGHT. ; Sitt. tirica, 
 WAGL.), which certainly also belongs to this group, and in which I could not detect the above- 
 mentioned acurnination of the fourth primary. These species are entirely destitute of powder- 
 down feathers. 
 
 Domicella WAGL. 1 The pterylosis of the two species of this genus examined by me, 
 namely, P. domicella AUCTT. (D. atricapilla WAGL.), and P. garrulus, agrees almost exactly with 
 that of P. pertinax ; but the inferior tract was more sparsely feathered, and its branch by no 
 means so distinctly differentiated from the main stem by a stronger formation of the feathers. 
 The inferior space, separating its two halves, terminated at the bottom of the throat, so that the 
 plumage of the lower surface of the neck was uninterrupted. On the other hand, the lumbar 
 tract consisted of three rows of feathers, and coalesced anteriorly with the crural tract (which, as 
 in the Raptorial Birds, formed breeches), and posteriorly with the dorsal tract. Both the humeral 
 tracts were present, but the smaller one only indicated as an angle, the larger one consisting of 
 two rows of feathers. Twenty-one remiges ; the first ones rather acute ; the first as long as the 
 third, the second the longest. Oil-gland present in both, rather broad, its halves thick, closely 
 approximated, the tip cylindrical, rather long. No powder-down feathers. 
 
 3. Triclioylossus WAGL. Of this group I have examined only T. h(ematodes, and have 
 ascertained that it is distinguished by comparatively narrow tracts. The inferior tract has a 
 very distinct outer branch upon the breast, between which and the weaker main tract there are, 
 however, a few contour-feathers. The hinder part of the dorsal tract was very briefly forked, so 
 that the simple stem of the fork is equal in length to the two branches. I found twenty-one 
 remiges and a distinct oil-gland, but no powder-down feathers. 
 
 4. Psittacus WAGL. From my investigation of P. erithacus, dominicensis, ochrocephalus, 
 leucocephalus and dufresnianus, the species of this genus appear to belong to two pterylographic 
 groups, for P. erithacus exhibited no trace of an outer branch on the inferior tract, and presented 
 precisely the same characters as P. domicella and P. pertinax ; whilst in P. dominicensis and the 
 other American species, the biserial strongly and densely feathered outer branch is distinctly 
 separated from the sparsely feathered main tract. The dorsal tract is of the usual formation as 
 far as the fork, but in P. dominicensis the posterior or covered portion forms a general, sparse 
 plumage coalescing with the femoral and crural tracts, in which a furcate division can only be 
 recognised in front, but no densely feathered fork-stem is to be observed posteriorly ; whilst in 
 
 1 Wagler says in the character of this genus, " lingua simplex glabra ;" but I find in both species 
 that the tongue is as strongly spinose as in Trichoglossus hfematodes, with which, therefore, these 
 species should be united. [This fact has been subsequently noted by Dr. Weiuland, ' Journ. f. Oru.,' 
 No. xii, p. Ixix, and Mr. Wallace, 'Ann. N. H.,' 1859, Feb., p. 147. P.L.S.] 
 
THE PSITTACINjE. 101 
 
 P. criihacus such a densely feathered stem is visible at the end of the fork. To this may be 
 added, that P. erithacus alone possesses an oil-gland, while the above-mentioned American 
 species certainly have not this organ, but are furnished with scattered powder-down feathers in 
 the posterior portion of the dorsal tract, these being especially distinct in P. ochrocephalus and 
 dufresniantts. 1 The number of remiges in these is twenty-three, and the second, third, and 
 fourth are the longest ; P. crithacus has twenty-four. The inner small humeral tract is certainly 
 present, at least in the American species, but much smaller than in P.pertinax. 
 
 5. Pionus WAGL. Of P. menstruus and purpureus, the only species of this group that I 
 have examined, I can only mention that the oil-gland was entirely deficient, without any powder- 
 down feathers being present. In the wing I found twenty-two obtuse remiges, of which the 
 third is the longest. Unfortunately I did not at the time notice the forms of the tracts in these 
 birds, which I only once had the opportunity of examining. 
 
 f>. Psittacula WAGL. P. puUarius possesses in its general arrangement precisely the 
 pterylosis of P. pcrtinax, but the tracts are much narrower and almost linear throughout. In 
 the inferior tract the biserial outer branch was certainly not divergent from the narrow main stem, 
 but indicated by stronger and closer feathers. The posterior portion of the dorsal tract forms a 
 weakly feathered fork, which, however, is not dilated externally, and its stem reaches from the 
 caudal pit to the distinctly existent oil-gland. There are no powder-down feathers. The wing 
 bears twenty remiges, of which the second is the longest. 
 
 7. Platijcercus. Besides P. erythropterus, which I carefully examined, I have seen of this 
 genus P. novae seelandiae, P. pennantii, and some other species not accurately determined. The 
 first-named species exhibits a very remarkable narrowness of all the tracts, which were only two 
 feathers broad, but in other respects presents the forms proper to the Parrots, namely, the 
 double humeral tract, the furcate form of the hinder part of the dorsal tract, which is cleft as 
 far as the caudal pit, and the arms of which pass in between the stronger limbs of the anterior 
 part, the long lumbar tract, and the inferior tract divided before the middle of the neck. The 
 chief peculiarity of the Platycerci is also presented by this tract, namely, a complete and 
 perfectly (indeed, widely] divergent and ratlier stronger outer branch. The long, acute wings 
 consist of twenty-two remiges, of which the second is the longest; the oil-gland is present, 
 but there are no powder-down feathers. P. novae seelandice presents the same characters ; but the 
 more obliquely placed outer branch forms a hook at the end, and the fork of the posterior part of 
 the dorsal tract is somewhat dilated. Moreover, I only counted twenty remiges in the wings. 2 
 
 8. Palceornis, WAGL. In this group also I overlooked the form of the tracts, and only 
 noticed that the two species investigated (P. alexandri and torquatus, BRISS.) possessed an oil- 
 gland, but no powder-down feathers. The number of remiges was from twenty-one to twenty- 
 three, and the second was the longest ; this, as also the first and third, has the inner half of the 
 vane narrowed towards the apex, and furnished with a slight angular emargination. 
 
 1 It is remarkable that powder-down feathers occur only in those Parrots which are destitute of 
 the oil-gland, but not in all of these. 
 
 The almost total absence of a furcula, which has already been referred to as a peculiarity of 
 many Parrots (P. mitratus, eximius, and galgulus) in Taylor's ' Phil. Mag./ 1831, No. 51, p. 232, occurs 
 as a general character of the Platycerci examined by me, and also in P. pullarius. This bone is 
 weak in all the Parrots. 
 
102 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 9. CalyptorltyncJtus VIG., WAGL. According to my examination of P. leacldi and funereus 
 the pterylosis has exactly the form of that of the Platycerci, and consists of narrow tracts two 
 feathers in width, with a distinctly separated narrow outer branch on the inferior tract, a 
 remarkably broad inferior space, and, what is most singular, a narrow, simple humeral tract. By 
 the side of the furcate rump-tract there are powder-down feathers, although the oil-gland is 
 distinctly present. Like the following group, this has also a large circular vertical space com- 
 mencing immediately behind the feathers of the crest, which stand in two transverse rows on the 
 forehead, and extending to the occiput. In the wings I found twenty-two remiges, of which the 
 first are very acute and have the inner web narrowed for more than half its length ; the third is 
 the longest. 
 
 10. PlyctolopJius VIG. (Cacatua WAGL.) The true Cockatoos, of which I have examined 
 P. cristatus, sulphureus, and galeritus, possess the vertical space described in the preceding 
 genus, but have not exactly the same pterylosis in other respects. I certainly noticed a divergent 
 branch on the inferior tract of P. galeritus ; but the tracts themselves were broader and more 
 sparsely feathered, although all of them contained only two rows of feathers, with the exception of 
 the nape-portion of the dorsal tract and the outer branches of the inferior tract, which consisted 
 of three rows. This species possessed powder-down feathers on the region of the pelvis and a 
 very distinct oil-gland; the latter I also detected in P. sulphurem, but in P. cristatus it is 
 reduced to a small membranous mamilla beset with feathers. In this last-mentioned species 
 the inferior space passed over the whole lower surface of the neck to the throat and the naked 
 space behind the lower mandible, so as completely to divide the inferior space into two halves. 
 At the same time, the outer branch did not appear to me to be distinctly separated from the main 
 stem, and each half of the inferior tract seemed to form a simple, very sparsely feathered quadri- 
 serial band. The wings also presented very peculiar characters, the remiges, twenty-two or 
 twenty-three in number, being obtusely rounded at the end, the third equal in length to the 
 fourth, fifth, and sixth : the hindmost secondaries were but little shorter than these four longest 
 primaries. Moreover, the first four or five presented a distinct emargination of the inner \veb, 
 which reached far down upon them. This, at least, is the form of the wing in P. cristatus. 
 
 8. LIPOGLOSSJE. 
 
 The three genera which I refer to this family, namely, Buceros, Upupa, and Alcedo, with the 
 subordinate divisions of recent writers, agree pterylographically in the absence of an after- 
 shaft on the contour-feathers and in the feathered tip of the oil-gland, but differ greatly in other 
 respects both in the form of the tracts and in the general character of the plumage. For, whilst 
 in Buceros the feathers are very sparsely distributed and form an almost uninterrupted plumage, 
 Upupa has narrow, linear tracts ; and although these also occur in Alcedo, this genus is remarkably 
 distinguished by a dense, general downy covering, which is wanting both in Upupa and Buceros. 
 The latter two genera have ten rectrices, whilst Alcedo possesses twelve. 
 
 1. Buceros. According to my examination of B. abyssinicus, biarcuatus, plicatus, coronatus, 
 and nasutus, the larger species tend towards a nearly uninterrupted plumage, whilst in the smaller 
 ones the spaces are broader and appear more distinctly. All of them have the feathers very 
 sparsely inserted, and no down-feathers on the trunk : there are only a few on the inferior wing- 
 
THE LIPOGLOSSJi. 103 
 
 space, which is also the largest of all the spaces. (Plate VI, fig. 1.) I likewise observed a narrow 
 central inferior space, starting only from the lower extremity of the neck ; a short lateral space on 
 the trunk ; an indistinct, narrow superior wing-space beside the humeral tract (fig. 2) ; and a 
 narrow lanceolate spinal space between the shoulder-blades. This latter appeared to be wanting 
 in B. biarcuatus and coronatus, but was distinctly visible in B. nasutus. This species also had a 
 somewhat longer and broader inferior space, and a very distinct broad lateral space, which was 
 observable both superiorly near the dorsal tract, and inferiorly beside the bands of the inferior 
 tract. In the posterior part of this, on the thigh, two rows of feathers appear distinctly as a 
 lumbar tract. The pterylosis of this species is, however, just as sparse and weak, as in the species 
 figured and the rest of the group ; the axillary tracts alone, which are three or four rows in breadth, 
 are distinguished, especially towards their posterior extremity, by stronger and more closely 
 approximated feathers. On the rest of the body, with the exception of the neck, the contour- 
 feathers are very lax, for the most part with downy barbs, and with their barbules not well linked 
 together. In B. abyssinicus I counted twenty-seven remiges, in B. plicatus twenty-six, in B. 
 biarcuatus twenty-four, and in B. coronatus and B. nasutus only twenty-one ; of these the first three 
 are very strongly graduated, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth are the longest and of exactly equal 
 length ; B. biarcuatus alone is distinguished by having the seventh the longest and all the pre- 
 ceding ones graduated. None of the remiges present any degradation or diminution of the inner 
 web, but they are on the whole narrow and pointed. The thumb always bears four feathers. 
 
 The oil-gland, which I have carefully examined only in B. abyssinicus, appears as a large, 
 rounded bulb, covered all over with woolly feathers ; I could not detect on it any mamilla or 
 orifice, but the shafts of the above-mentioned feathers penetrated the bulb throughout to the 
 base. In B. biarcuatus and B. plicatus, the external aspect of this organ was exactly the same ; 
 but in B. nasutus the gland has a very elongated cylindrical appearance ; it lay precisely upon the 
 middle feathers of the tail, and bore at its obtuse extremity a circlet of very short oil-feathers. 
 
 I have yet to notice that the margins of the eyelids, especially the upper ones, are furnished 
 with very strong lashes, and that these are larger in proportion as the naked space surrounding 
 the eye is extended. In most cases, also, there is a naked space under the throat, as in the 
 Parrots. 
 
 2. Upupa (Plate VI, figs. 3 and 4). The tracts of this genus are remarkably narrow, 
 and in this respect, as also in their form, resemble those of the analogous genus Galbula. The 
 head is sparsely feathered, with a narrow longitudinal space in the middle of the crest, and a 
 large temporal space behind each eye. The neck is for the most part naked, as down-feathers 
 are almost entirely wanting here not only on the tracts, but also on the spaces. I have detected a 
 few, partly rather strong down-feathers, only at the inner margin of the inferior space, at the 
 outer margin of the truncal portion of the dorsal tract, on the lower wing space, on the femoral 
 tracts, where they pass imperceptibly into the contour-feathers, and in the vicinity of the axilla 
 between it and the branch of the inferior tract. The dorsal tract is uninterrupted ; commences 
 as a narrow, but still quadriserial band at the nape ; continues of the same structure to the 
 shoulders, and divides here into two limbs, which are each four feathers broad, run along at the 
 inner margin of the shoulder-blades, and, enclosing the entire spinal column between them, meet 
 again at the caudal pit, from which they run as a simple stem, retaining the same breadth, to 
 the oil-gland, immediately in front of which they terminate. The inferior tract is still narrower 
 and weaker ; it commences as a simple band at the throat, but divides immediately into two 
 
104 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 biserial limbs, which, at the bottom of the neck, give off a row of feathers to the axillary tract, and 
 pass upon the pectoral muscles under considerable divergence. Here each stem gives off a triserial 
 outer branch, which runs parallel to the main stem, and terminates in an obtuse extremity. The main- 
 stem itself, two feathers in width, at first somewhat approaches the crest of the sternum, then passes 
 more outwards, describes a moderate curve upon the belly, and terminates near the anus. The 
 weak axillary tract is simple and three feathers broad ; the long lumbar tract consists of two rows 
 of weak feathers, but the tibia is clothed with a homogeneous sparse plumage. In the wings I 
 found twenty remiges, of which the first is very small, whilst the second is equal to the seventh, 
 and the third, fourth, and fifth are the longest. The upper accessory wings (parapterum superius) 
 consist of seven feathers the lower accessory wings (parapierum inferius) are merely formed of 
 semiplumes, which are continued on the breast as far as the outer branch of the inferior tract, 
 forming a hook with it. The whole of the great wing-membrane beneath is a large space, which 
 is covered by the feathers of its anterior margin ; above it is half covered with feathers, and 
 the rest, as far as the axillary tract, is a space. The singular structure of the oil-gland in this 
 bird lias already been mentioned (p. 41); I will now describe it in more detail. It consists of 
 two almost completely separated, widely distant halves, the posterior ends of which are apparently 
 united only by cellular tissue ; these are seated upon a large pyriform membranous cavity, the acute 
 hinder end of which is stretched and held open by the tubes of the circlet of feathers which are 
 inserted in it. The vanes of these feathers are bent outwards posteriorly, and form the wide, 
 trumpet-like entrance to the cavity, in the base of which, opposite to the orifice, two small pits 
 may be observed, in which the numerous secretory tubes of each half of the gland open. The 
 gland exhibits no other cavity, but presents a radiating texture in its interior, from the course 
 taken by the canals of the gland. In the latter I found at all times a yellowish, inodorous oil; 
 but the cavity behind the gland contained, not in the males, but in the females at the breeding 
 season, and in the young nestlings, a thicker blackish fluid which diffused the most insupportable 
 odour, and is the cause of the ill name of the Hoopoe in this respect. This is merited, however, 
 only at the breeding season, and even then not by the male, but only by the female and young. 
 The latter, which I have repeatedly seen, possess a lax nest-clothing, the downy barbules of which 
 are seated upon the first barbs of the future contour-feathers, as I have ascertained most decidedly 
 by a very careful examination. These barbules, however, are wanting in all parts of the inferior 
 tract and on the wings, but they occur on all other parts which bear contour-feathers, issuing 
 from the apices of the latter. I was also struck by the very remarkably broad and snow-white 
 skin of the angle of the mouth in these young birds. 1 
 
 Upupa africana and U. erythrorltyncha, which I likewise examined, agree exactly in all 
 their pterylographic characters with the European species, as does the second also in the form of 
 the oil-gland and the shape of the wings ; nevertheless, U. erytJirorhyncJiu has only nineteen 
 remiges, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth are the longest. There can consequently be no doubt 
 that this species, which is referred by Temvninck to Epimachus, and by Lichtenstein to Nectarinia, 
 belongs to the present genus. 2 The skeleton also, which I examined in the Museum at Frankfort, 
 shows it to be a Vpupa. 
 
 In this respect the Hoopoe much more resembles the Passerinae than the other Picariae, the 
 young of which, especially those of Alcedo and Picas, usually possess a very slight dilatation of the 
 skin of the rictus. 
 
 8 [Confer also Strickland's remarks ' Aun. Nat. Hist.' xii, p. 238 (1843), upon the affinities of 
 Ujn/pa and Irrisor. P.L.S.] 
 
THE KINGFISHERS. 105 
 
 3. Alcedo (Plate VI, figs. 5 7). In the form of the tracts this group agrees pretty closely 
 with Upupa ; but the main bands are broader, especially those of the ventral surface of the trunk ; 
 and the spinal space is wanting, although nearly at the same spot the dorsal tract is dilated into 
 an elongated lanceolate saddle. But the Kingfishers are chiefly distinguished from Upupa and 
 the other Picarise by the presence of a tolerably distinct downy coat on the spaces, which is also 
 continued between the contour- feathers of the tracts, and is deficient, or at all events very 
 weak, only on the dorsal tract. On the lateral neck-spaces the down-feathers are very small, but 
 rather large on the lateral spaces of the trunk ; they everywhere present a simple main shaft, but 
 no after-shaft. The feathers of the rather large, cordate, feathered oil-gland presented no 
 umbellate form, but rather a short, flat shaft, furcate at the end, having five or six barbs on each 
 side, and emitting three or four barbs from each end of the fork. It struck me as particularly 
 remarkable that the young birds have no nestling-down, but are at first perfectly naked, and 
 soon afterwards, when the contour-feathers sprout forth and still remain in the closed follicles, 
 present somewhat the aspect of a young Hedgehog. How does this agree with the dense downy 
 covering of the old birds ? The presence of the latter is evidently to be accounted for by the 
 residence of the Kingfishers on the shores and banks of inland waters, and appears, as in the 
 case of Cindus, to indicate a certain faculty of diving. At the breeding season this downy coat 
 is interrupted, presenting five large brood-spots, namely, one on each side between the outer 
 branch and the main stem of the inferior tract, a third in the inferior space exactly upon the 
 crest of the sternum, and two others on the belly close to the inner margin of the main stems of 
 the inferior tract. On all these spots the down-feathers are deficient, and the skin presents a 
 great turgescence of the subjacent blood-vessels ; a trace of weakening may even be observed 
 on the neighbouring bands of contour-feathers. The specimen that I examined was a male, 
 which had been taken on the nest sitting on four eggs ; among the Kingfishers, therefore, both 
 sexes incubate. 
 
 The characters of the tracts presented but slight differences in the species examined. In all 
 of them the inferior tract, which is very narrow at its commencement at the angle of the chin, was 
 simple as far as the lower extremity of the neck, and became divided only immediately in front 
 of the furcula ; at the same spot as in Cuculus, Picas, Rhamphastus, and others, it gave off a 
 row of feathers to the axillary tract, and then passing on the breast, formed an outer branch 
 stronger than the main stem, but parallel to it and of the same width. From its outer surface 
 originates a somewhat sparse plumage running to the hypopterum. The main stem is continued 
 nearly parallel to the crest of the sternum, curves somewhat outwardly on the belly, and then 
 passes on in a strong curve to the anus, near which it terminates. Tho dorsal tract appears to be 
 less uniform. In A. ispida, and the very similar A. bengalensis, a more densely feathered vertical 
 tract could be distinguished among the uniformly sparse plumage of the head, originating at the 
 bill and embracing its base ; but this ceased at the nape, where the dorsal tract commenced at 
 first very weakly (PI. VI, fig. 6), continuing of the same width of four feathers as far as behind 
 the shoulder-blades, but with its feathers very strong from the middle of the neck. From imme- 
 diately behind the shoulders to the caudal pit it widened into a lanceolate saddle, which gradually 
 passed into the narrow triserial rump-band, terminating at the oil-gland. In all the other species 
 examined by me, namely, A. omnicolor TEMM. (PL Col., 135), A. coromanda (Dacelo LESS.), 
 A. sencgalensis (PL EnL, 594), A. maxima, A. smyrnensis, A. capensis, A. rudis, and A. collaris, 
 the dorsal tract was of .uniform strength as far as the commencement of the shoulder-blades, but 
 
 14 
 
106 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 was here interrupted by a true or (in Dacelo gigantea, PI. VI, fig. 7) false gap, behind which it again 
 commenced as a sparsely feathered hinder part enlarged in all directions, and continued in the 
 same form to the caudal pit, at which it was contracted into a stronger rump-band two or three 
 feathers in width. By the side of this in A. coromanda, smyrnensis, capensis, and omnicolor, I 
 find scattered contour-feathers which extend to the lumbar tract and render this indistinct. In 
 A. cottaris the very long rump-band which reaches to the commencement of the pelvis is accom- 
 panied by two rows of contour-feathers at a moderate distance apart ; and the lumbar tract is 
 very distinct, and indeed strong : in A. rudis, maxima, and senegdensis, on the contrary, the 
 rump-band is somewhat broader, stronger, and definitely limited. All these species, like 
 D. gigantea (PI. VI, fig. 7), have a rather strong and broad lumbar tract. In the smaller Kingfishers 
 the number of remiges is twenty-two, in the larger ones twenty-four or twenty-five, of which 
 the third is always the longest, whilst the first and second remain perceptibly shorter, the former 
 being not longer than the tenth. In A. cottaris alone (which is further strikingly distinguished 
 by having the outer branch of the inferior tract very near the main stem), the first primary is as 
 long as the second, third, fourth, and fifth, which exceed all the rest in length. The number of 
 rectrices was twelve in all the species. 
 
 9. AMPHIBOLY. 
 
 The presence of an after-shaft on the contour-feathers is a pterylographic character 
 common to all the members of this family ; as also the occurrence of a circlet of feathers on 
 the tip of the oil-gland, and the number of rectrices, which is always ten. With these characters* 
 however, we seem to have exhausted the points of agreement of the genera belonging to the 
 group, and their essential differences necessitate the following arrangement : 
 
 A. fPith the bands of the inferior tract narrow, and the outer branch distinct and freely 
 
 divergent. 
 
 This group includes the genera Corythaix and Musopliaga, of which the latter is pterylo- 
 graphically represented on Plate VI, figs. 8 and 9. Besides the species figured (M. paulina), I 
 have examined M. violacea and M. variegata (Phasianus africanus LATH.), as also the well-known 
 Corythaix persa. All agree perfectly with the figure here given, possessing a general covering 
 of feathers on the head (except when naked rings are present round the eyes), from which two 
 main tracts originate, one on the nape, the other on the throat. The former, the commencement 
 of the dorsal tract, passes as a simple narrow band to the anterior end of the trunk, where it 
 becomes a little dilated and then breaks off. Beyond a large gap situated between the shoulder- 
 blades, which, however, is less distinct in Corythaix persa and which undoubtedly constitutes 
 the chief pterylographic character of the Musophagidse, commences, at the extremity of the inter- 
 scapulium, the gradually widening hinder part of the dorsal tract, which gradually extends into 
 a sparsely feathered saddle, consisting, however, of rows of feathers running obliquely from before 
 backwards, in which the true main stem is still indicated by two closer central rows. It is only 
 in M. paulina that the femoral tracts remain distinctly separated from this large saddle, and the 
 portion situated on the tail is here only distinguishable as a narrow triserial band ; in all the 
 
THE AMPHIBOLY. 107 
 
 other species the sparse plumage completely covers the whole hinder part of the back, passing 
 not only over the thighs, but even upon the tibiae. I found no such differences in the inferior 
 tract. Simple as far as the middle of the neck, and separated from the dorsal tract by a broad 
 lateral neck-space which reaches to the head, it divides at the middle of the neck into two limbs, 
 which pass on the breast in a converging direction, and here, after sending off a single row of 
 feathers to the axillary tract, form a parallel-sided, strong, and perfectly free outer branch, from 
 the extremity of which a hook is emitted only in M. varieffata, and even this is not continued 
 upon the arm, the hypopterum consisting only of semiplumes. The main stem, which is at first 
 narrowed, runs onward close beside the sternal keel, passes slightly divergently upon the belly, 
 and terminates somewhat laterally near to and in front of the anus. Besides these the axillary 
 tracts alone are noticeable as strong feather-bands. The wings are covered above by a dense 
 plumage, which reaches pretty nearly to the axillary tract, but is almost wanting beneath as far 
 as the rows of feathers on the anterior margin of the wing-membrane and those of the fore-arm. 
 On this inferior wing-space, as also at the upper end of the central inferior space, I found down- 
 feathers ; but these were wanting on all the other spaces, as well as between the contour-feathers. 
 The number of remiges is twenty-two or twenty-three, of which ten are inserted on the pinion. 
 The first three are graduated, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth are the longest. The long tail 
 always consists of ten feathers. 
 
 B. With the stems of the inferior tract dilated, and no divergent outer branch, 
 a. Dorsal tract dilated on all sides, and sparsely feathered. 
 
 The genus Colius, which was first declared to be allied to Corythaix by Burchell (' Travels in 
 Southern Africa,' vol. i, p. 214 [1822]) an opinion long since entertained by me, and recently 
 strengthened by anatomical investigation has a very remarkable arrangement of the feathers, and 
 can only be compared in this respect with Buceros. This relation may be recognised from the 
 representation of the pterylosis of Colius capensis given on PlateVI, figs. 10 and 11. In this species 
 and in C. striatus I found a general sparse plumage, the contour-feathers of which are distinguished 
 by their remarkably soft and thin tubes, and therefore do not everywhere project equally distinctly 
 through the skin. It is only in the region of the outer branch of the inferior tract, the occipital 
 portion of the dorsal tract, and the hinder part of the latter, that we find stronger feathers; and 
 those on the last-mentioned part form anteriorly two recognisable limbs, between which the 
 weaker plumage; of the interscapuliurn penetrates. Hence there remain on the body only the 
 following small downless spaces : 1, aright and left lateral neck-space reaching to the shoulder; 
 2, a likewise double but very narrow rump-space ; 3, a tolerably large, double axillary space ; 
 and, 4, a simple inferior space, in which the anal opening is situated, and which is entirely 
 confined to the hindmost portion of the ventral surface. To these may be added 5, a scarcely 
 perceptible, simple occipital space at the extremity of the occiput, resembling that of Trochilus 
 but much smaller. The species examined had nineteen remiges, of which ten were inserted on 
 the pinion. The first four are graduated, and the fifth is the longest. The number of rectrices, 
 which are strong and stiff, is ten ; but the two outermost are so small, and stand so far above, 
 almost over the two following, that they may easily be overlooked. 
 
108 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 b. Dorsal tract much contracted, especially its Under part, wJiich forms a very narrow, biserial 
 
 band. 
 
 Here I place the genus Opistliocomus, which is anomalous in many respects. The 
 figure of its pterylosis (Plate VI, figs. 12 and 13) shows that the continuous plumage of the 
 head, which is very sparse, but denser on the vertex, is continued upon the neck, and does not 
 allow the formation of lateral neck-spaces. From the lower extremity of this neck-plumage the 
 inferior tract commences as two broad bands, which run down close to the keel of the sternum, 
 and become somewhat stronger at the outer margin where the branch would be situated. At 
 the end of the sternum these are narrowed, and pass on, gradually becoming weaker, to the 
 anus, at which they terminate with a breadth of only two feathers. Both on the tract itself and 
 on the spaces between its bands, true down-feathers are placed, although not very closely. The same 
 sparse condition is exhibited also by the lumbar tracts and the plumage of the crura and wings ; 
 but the narrow axillary tracts and the dorsal tract contain more closely approximated, although 
 smaller feathers. The latter starts as a strong, triserial band from the midst of the plumage of 
 the lower part of the neck, and divides between the shoulders into two limbs, with which the 
 originally divergent feather-rows of the biserial hinder part are united at the endj from the 
 caudal pit onwards it becomes somewhat broader, and encloses the oil-gland, which is larger, and 
 has a circlet of feathers at the tip, stronger than in the preceding genera. In the wings there 
 are nineteen remiges, of which ten are on the pinion ; the first four are graduated, and the fifth 
 and sixth the longest. The tail has ten large rectrices. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 PIGEONS Columbina. 
 
 BUT few, and these not very important, peculiarities can be indicated as the pterylo- 
 graphic characters of the Pigeons, with which I unite the Sand-grouse (Pterocles and Syrrhaptes) -. 
 indeed, it appears to me that except the very broad form of the tracts which closely cover more 
 than half the surface of the body, the small, non-mamelliferous and perfectly naked oil-gland 
 alone furnishes a good group-character. Both the Pigeons and Sand-grouse, indeed, are entirely 
 destitute of down ; but the after-shaft, which occurs in the latter, is wanting in the former. 
 On the other hand, the two forms agree in the furcate form of the anterior part of the spinal 
 tract, and the remarkable weakening of its hinder part, which commences between the branches 
 of the fork; but a very similar structure is possessed by certain Gallinaceas, such as Numida and 
 Penelope. The number of remiges varies from twenty-one to twenty-eight, and that of the 
 rectrices from twelve to sixteen. 
 
THE COLUMBINE. 109 
 
 1. COLUMBA. 
 
 For the sake of more easy comprehension, I retain this great genus in its old extent, although 
 I fully believe that it may be broken up into several genera with the same justice as Psittacus, 
 Falco, and others of similar extent, for this opinion is supported by the great differences in the 
 pterylosis even of the few species that I have examined. The general characters were only as follows : 
 
 The contour-feathers throughout have no after-shaft, and they stand close together, forming 
 strong tracts. No down-feathers are observed amongst them, and these are also wanting 
 on most of the spaces ; I have detected a few only on the inferior wing-space, and the lateral 
 spaces of the trunk. Even the young birds while still in the nest have no down-feathers, but 
 simple yellow tufts of bristles appended to the tips of the contour-feathers. In this respect they 
 precisely agree with the Passerinse (see p. 74). The form of the tracts on the dorsal surface is 
 the same in all the species, always presenting a strong, furcate anterior part of the spinal tract, 
 and a posterior part, weakened at its commencement and margins, and divided by a narrow 
 longitudinal space, from which, however, the broad femoral tracts are pretty distinctly separated. 
 The anterior part is very clearly separated from the inferior tract by the lateral neck-spaces, 
 which ascend nearly to the head. The inferior tract is broad at its commencement on the throat, 
 and divides at the lower part of the neck ; its pectoral tract is usually widened throughout, 
 seldom narrow, and furnished with a distinct outer branch. The oil-gland, when it occurs, is 
 obtusely cordate and perfectly naked. Its two halves have very thin walls, and possess a very 
 wide cavity, extending through the whole gland. The remiges, which are usually long and 
 pointed, amount at the utmost to twenty-five, of which the second is the longest. 
 
 In accordance with the number of rectrices, we may establish the following two groups : 
 
 I. PIGEONS WITH TWELVE RECTRICES. 
 
 The species belonging to this group, which includes the whole of our indigenous Pigeons, 
 exhibit in their pterylosis the form already described, and figured (Plate VII, figs. 1 and 2) as that 
 of Columba livid ; they all have a very broad and strong inferior tract, occupying the whole lower 
 surface of the neck, dividing only immediately in front of the furcula, then becoming broader on 
 the breast, where, however, it forms no outer branch, but is continued, widened throughout, as 
 far as the hinder margin of the mmculus pectoralis major, and becomes narrowed into the ventral 
 portion as it runs along upon this margin. The ventral portion is short, half the width of the 
 pectoral portion, and terminates at the anus. The region of the outer branch in the pectoral 
 portion is very strong, and emits a few rows of feathers in front, running to the hypopterum. 
 Above we find beside the dorsal tract a strong broad scapular tract, which is pointed behind. 
 
 In C. livia the division of the hinder part of the dorsal tract, which reaches to the caudal 
 pit, is remarkably narrow, and the broad femoral tracts are connected by a few feathers with 
 this hinder portion ; in C. tigrina I found a much broader spinal space, and the lumbar tract 
 was free all round. The other species of this section, such as C. cenas, palumbus, turtur, and 
 risoria, agree more especially with the domestic Pigeon. C, talpacoti presents a remarkable 
 peculiarity in its short, obtuse wings, the third, fourth, and fifth feathers of which are furnished 
 with an angular emargination, gradually becoming weaker, towards the apex of the outer half of 
 the vane, whilst the fourth alone possesses a very acute projecting angle at the base of the inner 
 vane. The second primary is the longest, but the first and third are but little shorter. 
 
110 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 II. PIGEONS WITH SIXTEEN RECTRICES. 
 
 The two species of this group known to me, namely, C. militaris and C. coronata, are 
 further very remarkably distinguished from the other Pigeons by the complete absence of the 
 oil-gland. The former, however, agrees perfectly in its pterylosis with C. livia, but nevertheless 
 differs from it in the form of the first three remiges, which are remarkably pointed, and of which 
 the third 'possesses a very singular emargination at the base of the inner vane. C. coronata 
 differs very materially even in the structure of the tracts from all other Pigeons known to me, in 
 this respect rather approaching the Gallinaceous Birds. Thus it has on the neck an almost 
 uninterrupted plumage, the lateral neck-spaces being remarkably short, and the division of the 
 inferior tract only commencing immediately in front of the furcula. Each limb passes on the 
 breast in a very broad form, and sparsely feathered, and for some distance increases in width. 
 Then it divides into three branches, the innermost of which, nearly approaching the crest of 
 the sternum, is the true main stem, and consists of the greatest number (three to four) of rows of 
 feathers ; it is continued uninterruptedly on to the belly, when it turns a little outwards, and 
 then returns in a curve to the anus. The second or middle branch is more sparsely feathered, 
 but narrower ; it runs parallel to the main stem, and terminates at the margin of the musculus 
 pectoral-is major. This is the true outer branch of the inferior tract. The third branch, the 
 outermost in its position, originates nearly in the region of the axillary joint, and is strongly but 
 very sparsely feathered ; it turns more towards the inside of the upper arm, and runs down upon 
 this as the hypopterum. The rest of the pterylosis has nothing peculiar. The dorsal tract is strong 
 in the anterior, furcate portion ; in the posterior portion, cleft longitudinally, sparsely feathered, 
 and dilated externally, but not connected with the rather strong lumbar tracts. A weak plumage 
 is presented by the tibiae. The wings bear twenty-five remiges, the shafts of which are quadran- 
 gular, and have tJiree furrows on the flat lower surface, one in the middle and one on each side ; 
 their form is not so narrow and acute as in other Pigeons, and the whole wing is more rounded. 1 
 
 2. PTEROCLES. 
 
 In this genus, of which I have examined three species, namely, P. coronatus, exustus, and 
 setarius, the pterylosis on the ventral surface (Plate VII, fig. 3) agrees pretty closely with that of 
 Columba livia ; but the uniform breadth and parallel-sided form of the bands of the inferior tract, 
 which has not the least indication of an outer branch on the breast, may furnish a good distinctive, 
 character. Above, at the shoulder-joint, it has beside it a few weaker feathers, which unite it 
 with the axillary tract ; the hypopterum, however, is not connected with it, but runs down beside 
 it on the margin of the musculus pectoralis major. The dorsal surface (Plate VII, fig. 4) presents 
 several distinctions, especially 1, the shortness of the lateral neck-space, which reaches only to the 
 
 In its internal structure Columba coronata less strikingly resembles the Gallinaceae, especially in 
 having no traces of c<eca, rudiments of which are always present in the other Pigeons. The gall- 
 bladder is also entirely deficient. 
 
THE GALL1NACE.E. Ill 
 
 i 
 
 beginning of the neck ; 2, the absence of the superior wing-space ; 3, the coalescence of the 
 lumbar tracts with the hinder part of the dorsal tract ; and, 4, the union of the latter tract with 
 the plumage of the tibia. On the other hand, the form and structure of the anterior part of the 
 dorsal tract is exactly as in the Pigeons, whilst the hinder part certainly has the same general 
 constitution, but is much more dilated, and extends far more deeply between the arms of the 
 scapular fork. To this may be added, that in P. coronatus and P. exustus the narrow spinal space is 
 entirely wanting, but is distinctly present in P. setarius. In all these I found from twenty- 
 seven to twenty-eight remiges, of which the ten belonging to the pinion are all strikingly 
 graduated, so that the first is the longest ; the secondaries again increase somewhat in length, 
 but the longest of them is still scarcely half so long as the first primary. The tail always 
 contains sixteen rectrices. Lastly, the Sand Grouse are distinguished from the Pigeons by the 
 presence on the contour-feathers of an after-shaft (which, however, is but small) ; from the 
 Gallinaceous Birds by the oil-gland being perfectly naked, even at the tip ; and from both these 
 groups by the perceptible, although weak, downy coating of the spaces. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS Gallinaceae. 
 
 FEW families of equal extent have so concordant a pterylosis as that to the consideration of 
 which we now turn, and, with the exception of the still more uniform Passerinse, scarcely any 
 group of birds of this rank can vie with it in the definiteness of its general type. Hence a 
 general and accurate representation of it may be given with peculiar facility and completeness. 
 
 The contour-feathers have a considerable but only downy after-shaft, which is attached to the 
 end of the very short and delicate quill, and is but weak in comparison to the very strong stem of 
 the main shaft. The latter also bears far more downy than pennaceous barbs, and is characterised 
 in the dorsal feathers of many genera (for example, Polyplectron, Argus, Cryptonyx, Penelope, 
 Crax, Crypturus) by the enormous width of that portion of its extent on which the downy 
 barbs are seated (see Plate I, fig. 1). True down-feathers are rare, and are entirely wanting 
 among the contour-feathers ; they stand singly here and there upon the spaces, most abundantly 
 on the lateral spaces of the trunk, and become converted into semiplumes in proportion as they 
 approach the contour-feather tracts. I have also observed down-feathers in the space between 
 the outer branch and the main band of the inferior tract, as also on the inferior space in the 
 jugular region immediately over the furcula; on the contrary, the lateral neck-space, which 
 extends nearly to the head, is always naked. I have found powder-down feathers only in one 
 genus, namely Crypturus. Here they form the border of the greatly elongated saddle of 
 the dorsal tract, and partially penetrate between its outermost contour-feathers. 
 
 The tracts themselves are always very definitely bounded, but by no means very broad, 
 
112 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 although pretty strong and densely feathered ; they are never so close, however, even in the 
 outer branch of the inferior tract, as in the Passerinse. The dorsal tract always starts simply 
 from the nape, and either remains simple to the oil-gland, or divides in the scapular region into 
 two limbs, which afterwards coalesce again and circumscribe a lanceolate spinal space. The 
 dorsal tract is also cither of uniform strength in all parts, which is the most usual case, or it has a 
 gap between the shoulder-blades, situated at the commencement of the furcation, and is further 
 remarkable from the fact that the feathers of the anterior part are stronger than those of the 
 hinder part. I have met with this condition only in Numida ; a similar one as regards the 
 feather-structure, although without a true gap, occurs in Penelope. Both forms, but especially 
 the former, strikingly approach the type of the Pigeons. The axillary tracts are always broad 
 but short ; the lumbar tracts are uncommonly large and strong, but generally quite free, separated 
 from the rump-portion of the dorsal tract, and composed of long, strong, but chiefly downy 
 feathers, the length of which appears very remarkable when the legs are drawn backwards. 
 The inferior tract is sometimes simple (Gallus, Pavo), sometimes divided at its commencement 
 on the throat (Crypturus) , but in the former case always divides, before reaching the middle 
 of the neck, into two limbs, which gradually diverge and at the same time become broader. 
 From the very commencement of the pectoral surface, therefore, they cover the latter completely, 
 with the exception of a narrow space close to the crest of the sternum, and are also united 
 externally with the axillary tracts. After a short course this breadth ceases, and we may at 
 once distinguish a strong and always wedge-shaped outer branch, the strongly feathered outer 
 margin of which runs parallel to the inner margin of the pectoral band, whilst the inner margin 
 forms an acute angle with the main stem. The branch usually terminates at the hinder margin 
 of the musculus pectoralis major ; it rarely passes beyond this (as in Crypturus, Plate VII, fig. 11), 
 and becomes united posteriorly to the lumbar tract. The characters of the main stem are 
 exactly the reverse of those of the branch it is therefore very narrow and weakened, and runs 
 down close to the crest of the sternum. On reaching the ventral surface, the two bands do not 
 separate from each other, but frequently coalesce to form a single stem, which is directed straight 
 to the anus, and terminates there. This very peculiar form of the inferior tract is the true and 
 genuine Gallinaceous type, which becomes indistinct in proportion as the general characteristic 
 Gallinaceous structure is effaced hence it is deficient in Crypturus (Plate VII, fig. 11), and gives 
 place to a Columbine structure. 
 
 In striking harmony with this form of the inferior tract is the short, rounded form of the 
 wings, which is an equally genuine Gallinaceous structure. When carefully examined, the wings 
 of the Gallinacese present from twenty-two to twenty-nine rerniges, of which ten or eleven are 
 inserted upon the pinion, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth are usually the longest ; whilst the pre- 
 ceding and following feathers are uniformly shortened and graduated, and the eleventh is the 
 smallest of all. This very small feather is sometimes the last on the pinion (P/iasianus), some- 
 times the first on the ulna (Tctrao), and appears to be frequently deficient (for example, in 
 Nunnda, Polyplectron, Lophophorus, Crax, Penelope, and Crypturus}. The next is again as long 
 as the tenth ; thence onwards to the elbow-feather (the eighteenth, nineteenth, or twentieth) 
 each feather increases a little in length, the remainder (from the elbow) being rapidly 
 diminished graduatedly. By this means the extended wing acquires its peculiar bilobed appear- 
 ance. On the thumb, also, I have always found four feathers, but in the tail all the numbers that 
 occur in the whole class, namely, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, and twenty are met with. 
 
THE TETRAONID.E. 113 
 
 With regard to the oil-gland, I have still to state that it has usually a flat, cordate form, but 
 is perfectly elliptical in Crypturus and entirely wanting in Argus. In the first case it possesses 
 a very distinct mamilla, the extremity of which is surrounded by a circlet of six or seven large 
 umbellate plumes ; in the second case the mamilla is wanting, and the scarcely perceptible orifices 
 are situated on the upper surface of the gland, surrounded by four umbellate plumes. The two 
 halves are always distinctly separated, although placed close together, and each of them contains 
 a very wide cavity, extending deeply into the interior. 
 
 This great and almost complete agreement renders it impossible to group the genera of 
 Gallinaceas pterylographically. I prefer, therefore, employing the groups that I have established 
 upon other generally anatomical characters, describing the species observed in each group, and in- 
 dicating such deviations as I have been able to detect. In the first place, as has already been 
 remarked under the Pigeons, I separate the SAND-GROTJSE (Syrrhaplidce) from the Gallinacese. 
 I then divide the latter into two main groups, one of which includes only the genera Hemipodius, 
 Crypturus, and Megapodius ; the other all the rest of the Gallinaceae. The latter, again, may be 
 divided into Tetraonida, Phasianida, and Penelopidce} 
 
 1. TETRAONID/E. 
 
 1. Tetrao. Judging from the examination of T. layopus, cupido, umbellus, hybridus, tetrix and 
 uroffallm, the characters of the pterylosis are nearly as in Meleayris (Plate VII, figs. 9 and 10), 
 but it appears to me that a rather strong formation of the fork of the scapular portion of the 
 dorsal tract is characteristic of the Tetraones ; the lanceolate spinal space also may be a little 
 longer. The main stems of the inferior tract are united from the extremity of the sternum 
 onwards, and this common part is here rather long. In the wings of T. umbellus I counted twenty- 
 five, in T. cupido twenty-eight, in T. hybridus twenty-six, in T. tetrix twenty-five, and in T. urogallus 
 twenty-nine remiges, of which the third or fourth is the longest, and the eleventh strikingly 
 abbreviated. The tail in all these species contains eighteen feathers. 
 
 2. Perdix. Of this genus I have examined P. cinerea, petrosa, saxatilis, javanica, dentata, 
 TEMM. (ffuianensis LATH., LICHT.), marylandica, and coturnix. In two, namely P. petrosa 
 and javanica, I found a narrow spinal space in the same position as in Tetrao and Meleagris, and 
 also exactly the same form of dorsal tract ; in the others I did not observe this space, although 
 the dorsal tract has precisely the same form. In all of them, the pectoral band is remarkably weak 
 and almost gap-like anteriorly close to the outer branch, and the ventral portion of the two 
 bands is united into one. The lumbar tracts are free. P. coturnix, dentata, marylandica 
 and javanica have twelve tail-feathers and from twenty-two to twenty-three remiges ; in P. petrosa 
 and saxatilis I found fourteen rectrices and twenty -four remiges ; P. cinerea has eighteen feathers 
 in the tail and twenty-three in the wing. In the Quails, as is well known, the first primary is 
 the longest; in the true Partridges, on the contrary, the third, fourth, or fifth; the first three 
 
 1 On the anatomical peculiarities of these groups consult my observations in Naumann's 
 ' Naturgeschichte der Vogel Deutschlands,' vol. vi, pp. 270 and 429. 
 
 15 
 
114 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 are sometimes (as in P. dentata and marylandica) curved inwards in the form of a sickle, some- 
 times (as in P. cinerea and petrosa) notched and narrowed on the inner vane. 
 
 2. PHASIANID^;. 
 a. TJie main stems of the inferior tract remain completely separated to the anus. 
 
 1. Meleagris. Besides the above-noted variation of the inferior tract, which is probably 
 caused by the shortness of the sternum and the corresponding greater extension of the ventral 
 surface, the pterylosis of the Turkey (M. gallnpavo, Plate VII, figs. 9 and 10) presents no peculi- 
 arities except in the greater breadth of the two main stems of the inferior tract. The dorsal 
 tract is rather sparsely feathered in the middle, and encloses a lanceolate space between the 
 shoulder-blades, which also extends into the widened portion. The lumbar tracts are entirely 
 free, and the axillary tracts on the whole not so strong as usual. The naked carunctilated 
 portions of the head and anterior part of the neck cause the two bands of the inferior tract to 
 commence only on the middle of the latter, where they are separated from each other ; but the 
 dorsal tract reaches nearly to the occiput. In the wings I counted twenty-eight remiges, of 
 which the eleventh is very small ; the tail contains eighteen rectrices. The after-shaft of the 
 contour-feathers is minute, but is of considerable size on the down-feathers which form the 
 borders of the tracts. The commencement of each band of the inferior tract near the branch also 
 consists only of such down-feathers. The oil-gland has seven large umbellate plumes on its 
 mamilla. On the jugular portion of the inferior space in the male, immediately in front of the 
 furcula, there is, as is well known, a long beard-like tuft, which consists of several stiff bristles, 
 perfectly destitute of barbs, but hollow. 
 
 2. Numida. This genus approaches very closely to the preceding in its pterylosis, but is 
 distinguished by the following points, as appears from an examination of N. meleagris and N. 
 mitrata LATH. The dorsal tract is interrupted at the extremity of the strong scapular fork, and 
 the rather narrow posterior portion, which, however, as in Mdcayris, is broader in front, has no 
 longitudinal space. The axillary tracts are much narrower, but the lumbar tracts are so broad, 
 at least anteriorly, that they come in contact with the dorsal tract. The main stem of the inferior 
 tract commences in front near the branch with only one row of feathers, and appears to be 
 separated from its neighbour posteriorly as far as the anus. The contour-feathers have a still 
 smaller after-shaft. On the wings there are twenty-four remiges, but the eleventh is not so 
 remarkably reduced in size ; the tail consists of sixteen feathers. 
 
 b. The main stems of the inferior tract coalesce into a single band from the extremity of the 
 
 sternum. 
 
 1. Cn/ptonyx. The species investigated by me, C. coronata, has the dorsal tract of Melca- 
 gris, and the broad lumbar tracts, coalescent with the dorsal, of Numida ; but is distinguished 
 from both by the remarkably narrow, acute, outer branch of the inferior tract and its very narrow 
 
THE PHASIANID.E. 115 
 
 main bands, with regard to which I could not ascertain with certainty whether they coalesce 
 behind, although they seem to do so. The wings bear twenty-two remiges, of which the 
 eleventh is very small ; in the tail I counted fourteen rectrices. The contour-feathers have a 
 rather large after-shaft, and, singularly enough, a fine longitudinal furrow on the upper surface 
 of the lower and thicker part of the shaft. The long feathers of the nape are entirely destitute 
 of barbules on the distant barbs of the part exposed to the light ; lower down they become 
 downy, and bear a very small after-shaft. 
 
 2. Polyplectron chinquis, TEMM., PL Col., 539. Pterylosis as in Cryptonyx, but the broad, 
 hinder part of the spinal tract is somewhat narrower in front, the longitudinal space in it is per- 
 fectly cuneate, and the union of the lumbar tracts with the dorsal tract is not so broad. Inferior 
 tract narrow, but the branch rather broader. Contour-feathers with a large after-shaft, and 
 the lower part of the shaft very broad, on which even the inner side has no longitudinal furrow. 
 Remiges probably twenty-three ; the first three strongly graduated and falciform. The small 
 eleventh feather was not observed ; in the tail twenty feathers, and above these about ten tail- 
 coverts of half their length. 
 
 3. Lophophorus rcfulyens, TEMM., PI. Col., 507 <? and 513 ? . The tracts throughout 
 exhibit no difference from the forms observed in Polyplectron and Cryptonyx, except that the 
 dilated portion of the dorsal tract, the longitudinal space in it, and the outer branch of the inferior 
 tract are broader ; the lumbar tracts also appear to be completely separated from the rump part 
 of the dorsal tract. The wings bear twenty-six remiges, and the eleventh is not diminutive ; the 
 first three are falciform, but not so short as in Polyplectron. The tail contains eighteen 
 feathers. 
 
 4. Gallus. The figures of the tracts in the Common Fowl, given in Plate VII, figs. 5 and 6, 
 show, as its chief peculiarity, the want of the insular space in the less dilated dorsal part of the 
 dorsal tract ; in all other respects it agrees with the preceding genera, although the lumbar tracts 
 are imperfectly separated from the dorsal tract. A second species examined by me, Gallus fur- 
 catus, TEMM., PI. Col., 483, had a very distinct insular space in the dorsal tract, which was also 
 broader on the anterior part of the back, but otherwise presented no differences. Both had 
 fourteen rectrices ; but G. lankiva possesses twenty-four and G. furcatus only twenty-two 
 remiges, of which the eleventh is the smallest in both. 
 
 5. Phasianus. Judging from an examination of P. pictus, nyctlicmerus, sieboldi, diardi, vene- 
 ratus and colchicus, this genus is distinguished from Gallus banlciva by nothing except the 
 number of the tail-feathers, which is eighteen. The number of remiges is twenty-six, and the 
 eleventh is of very inconsiderable size. Two small, conical fleshy lobes, placed superiorly at the 
 extremity of the naked cheeks near the occiput, support the feathers which many Pheasants, e.g. 
 P. colchicus, are able to erect like ear-tufts they are evidently analogous structures to the horns 
 of Tragopan satyrus. 
 
 6. Argus. This genus also does not differ at all in the type of its tracts from the common 
 Fowl and the Pheasants, but is strikingly distinguished from all other Gallinaceai by the total 
 absence of the oil-gland in both sexes. I counted twenty-six remiges, of which the eleventh 
 was very remarkably small; but only twelve rectrices. The enormous length of the secondaries, 
 which occurs in both sexes, but in the female in a less degree, is an important generic character ; 
 of the primaries the first five are graduated, and the other five all of equal length. 
 
 7. Pavo. Whilst the rest of the tracts (Plate VII, figs. 7 and 8) are of exactly the same form 
 
116 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 as in Gallus, Phasianus, and Argus, the dorsal tract of the Peacock differs very essentially from the 
 Gallinaceous type. It is linear and of equal breadth to behind the shoulder-blades (Plate VII, fig. 8), 
 but begins to widen in the pelvic region. Anteriorly, immediately behind the shoulder-blades, 
 there are beside it a few scattered contour-feathers. Consisting of three rows of feathers up to 
 this point, it receives the addition of a fourth row at the extremity of the shoulders, and then 
 increases by one feather in each transverse row upon the pelvis, thus forming a great saddle, 
 which covers the whole region of the rump to the tail. This saddle consists of from fifteen to 
 twenty transverse rows, of which the last seven are each sixteen feathers broad, the four preceding 
 ones twelve, and the six preceding these ten ; these are followed by some rows with nine, eight, 
 seven, six, and five feathers, which quite gradually effect the transition of the narrow spinal tract 
 into its wide hinder portion. It is only in the latter that the beautiful feathers of the male are 
 seated, and therefore this part in the female is much smaller, shorter, and weaker, although 
 similar in its arrangement. In the wing I counted from twenty-eight to thirty remiges ; the ten 
 primaries are graduated on both sides, so that the sixth is the longest ; the eleventh is very 
 small. In the male the tail contained twenty, or exceptionally nineteen feathers ; in the female 
 regularly only eighteen. The oil-gland is present, but concealed in the flesh up to the mamilla. 
 The contour-feathers exhibit no remarkable and sudden thickening at the lower extremity of the 
 shaft, and have a very small after-shaft ; in both these respects they resemble those of the Turkey. 
 
 3. PENELOPID^:. 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 1. Crax. This genus has most resemblance to the Peacock in its pterylosis, and is distinguished 
 from it only by the circumstance that the dorsal tract is dilated even at the commencement of the 
 shoulder-blades, and then gradually becomes so broad that it is completely coalescent with the 
 lumbar tracts. The whole of this dilated portion is, however, sparsely feathered. In the inferior 
 tract the two main bands are separated as far as the anus, and the outer branch is narrower and 
 weaker. The contour-feathers are moderately thickened at the lower extremity of the shaft, and 
 have a very small after-shaft. The wings consist of twenty-four remiges, of which the 
 seventh is the longest, and the eleventh is not diminished. In the tail I counted twelve graduated 
 rectrices ; the oil-gland bears only a few small feathers on the mamilla. I examined Crax alector 
 and C. MumenbacJdi, which agreed in all respects. 
 
 2. Penelope. I have only been able to examine two species, namely, P. jacutinga and 
 P. superciliaris. The latter agrees exactly with Crax ; in the former, however, there is a narrow 
 space in front, between the shoulder-blades, in the generally diffused dorsal tract, which covers 
 the whole of the back ; this is enclosed by the tolerably strong limbs of the scapular fork, and 
 reaches but a short distance into the hinder part. In the inferior tract I could find no difference 
 from Crax in either species, and hence it would appear that the complete separation of the two 
 main stems as far as the anus is common to all the Penelopidte. Nevertheless, in P. jacutinga 
 they were united to each other by a transverse band immediately in front of the anus. In this 
 species a few very widely scattered contour-feathers stand near the main bands on the outside ; 
 and I was particularly struck by the enormous thickening of the lower part of the main stem of 
 its contour-feathers, which occupies two thirds of the whole length of the shaft. This part is 
 
THE CRYPTURID^]. 117 
 
 obtusely triangular, slightly convex anteriorly, posteriorly with a rounded edge, and without a 
 median furrow. The after-shaft is at the same time remarkably small. In the wing I 
 counted twenty-six remiges in P. jacutinga, and twenty-three in P. superciliaris ; in the former 
 the seventh, in the latter the sixth, was the longest, and the preceding ones were distinguished by 
 a narrow, strongly curved, nearly falciform form. The tail in both species consisted of twelve 
 feathers. The oil-gland as in Crax. 
 
 4. CRYPTURID.E. 
 
 Although this group decidedly differs in many of its characters from the rest of the 
 Gallinacese, it is nevertheless destitute of any exclusive pterylographic character ; on the contrary, 
 the type of its plumage is quite analogous to that of the other Gallinacea3. I have, however, never 
 observed any great thickening of the lower half of the shaft of its contour-feathers, and have always 
 found the bands of the inferior tract completely separate down to the anus. 
 
 1 . Crypturus. This genus has two remarkable peculiarities. One of these occurs in the 
 dorsal tract, and consists in the presence of powder-down-feathers, which enclose the dilatation of 
 the hinder part, and separate it both from the spaces and from the lumbar tracts (PI. VII, fig. 12). 
 These powder-down-feathers therefore form no true tracts, but are intruded into the gaps of the 
 contour-feathers, so that in Crypturus we find true down in these places among the contour-feathers, 
 a peculiarity which occurs in no other Gallinaceous bird. However, the dilated portion of the 
 tract starts thus suddenly from the narrow rump-band only in C. tataupa and C. variegatus ; 
 in C. tao it narrows gradually, and thus approaches more to the form of Phasianus, Arc/us, &c. 
 The second peculiarity consists in the structure of the inferior tract, which is divided very high up, 
 almost at the throat, and has a very remarkable form after it passes on to the breast. At this 
 point, indeed, we soon recognise the difference between the strong outer branch and the weak 
 main stem ; but the former, in complete opposition to the true Gallinacean type, is narrower than 
 the latter. To this must be added, that the outer branch does not terminate as usual on the 
 breast, but is continued beyond the pectoral boundary, passes through the lateral space of the 
 trunk, and unites with the anterior extremity of the lumbar tract of the same side. Nowhere 
 else have I observed a similar union of the two tracts. The lumbar tract itself is large, as in all 
 the Gallinacese, and separate from the dorsal tract (Plate VII, fig. 12). I have already mentioned 
 that the Crypturi possess a very small elliptical oil-gland, the orifices of which are situated upon its 
 upper surface. Below this I found in C. tao ten rather large rectrices, but in C. tataupa and 
 C. rufescens they are certainly wanting. The first-mentioned species also differs in the absence of 
 the after-shaft upon the contour-feathers, which is very distinctly possessed by the other two 
 species. In the wings of all four species I found from twenty-three to twenty-six remiges, 
 among which there was no diminutive eleventh ; the third (C. n/fescens) or the fifth (C. variegatus 
 and C. tao) was the longest, and the preceding ones are narrower, and falciform, at least in C. tao. 
 
 2. Hemipodius, s. Ortygis. This genus also has many remarkable peculiarities. The most 
 important is evidently in the dorsal tract, which widens from the end of the shoulder-blades, and 
 only contracts again at the caudal pit, forming a lanceolate elliptical saddle, which is occupied 
 throughout its whole length by a spinal space, also of lanceolate form. The contour-feathers at the 
 margin of the space are strong, but they become weaker as they are situated more exteriorly 
 
118 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 In the other tracts I have noticed only their narrow form, especially that of the outer branch of 
 the inferior tract, which is obtuse at the end, and sends a hook to the hypopteran). The main 
 bands remain separate as far as the anus. The lumbar tract is as long as in the true Gallinacese, 
 but not so strong. In the wing I counted twenty-Jive remarkably short remiges ; the first is the 
 longest, but is nearly equalled by the second, third and fourth ; the following rapidly become 
 shorter, but the eleventh is not smaller than the others ; the hinder secondaries, again, are rather 
 long. I could not precisely ascertain the number of tail-feathers according to Temminck 
 (' Hist. Nat. des Gallinaces,' iii, 609) the genus has ten in 11. pugnax I found only six, but 
 some were wanting. I have likewise examined //. tachydromus. The oil-gland is present, and 
 circlet of feathers on its mamilla. 
 
 3. Megapodius. Of this rare and aberrant form I have only been able to examine a stuffed 
 specimen of M. rubripes in Temininck's collection, and by this means ascertained that it 
 possesses the general characters of the Gallinacese. The remiges were short and curved on to the 
 body, but unfortunately they were being moulted ; the first, however, were decidedly graduated. 
 In the tail I found only eight feathers, probably for the same reason. The contour-feathers had a 
 distinct after-shaft, and the oil-gland bore a circlet of feathers at the apex. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CURSORIAL BIRDS (Currentes Aucrr.). 
 Platysterna NrrzscH. 1 
 
 THE four known members of this remarkable and abnormal family are distinguished 
 pterylographically from all other birds especially by the circumstance that certain conditions 
 of plumage occur in them as a general rule, which are met with elsewhere only as occasional 
 exceptions. The first and most important is undoubtedly the complete absence of interruptions 
 in the plumage, inasmuch as the whole body, Avith ths exception of the constantly naked parts of 
 the head and neck, the naked band on the breast along the crest of the sternum, the tarsi, and in 
 the African Ostrich the legs and the sides of the trunk, is covered, after the fashion of Mam- 
 mals, with a homogeneous feathery coat, which consists entirely of contour-feathers. In the 
 true Cassowaries these contour-feathers have an after-shaft equal to the main shaft; in the 
 Ostriches the alter-shaft is entirely wanting ; but in all the peculiar hooked structures on 
 the barbules are absent, and the contour-feathers consequently never present coherent surfaces, 
 but merely regularly branched tufts. Hence the feathers of the Cursorial Birds truly occupy a 
 middle place between down- and contour-feathers, being strongly and powerfully formed like the 
 latter, but, like the former, not united into continuous surfaces. The second marked character is 
 
 1 Although, in his ' Memoir on the Carotid Artery of Birds,' Jfitzscli placed this group at the end 
 of his system, lie afterwards became convinced that it must be intercalated here, between the 
 Gallinaceous and Wading Birds. (BURM.) 
 
THE CURSORIAL BIRDS. 119 
 
 unquestionably the total absence of the oil-gland. Along with the power of flight both remiges 
 and rectrices are wanting ; in the Indian Cassowary alone the rigid shafts of the former are 
 still indicated in the form of thick, long, powerful spines. 
 
 This is all that I have to say upon the pterylosis of the Cursorial Birds, all the species of which 
 I have repeatedly examined, even in a fresh state. But the first coat of the young birds presents 
 material for some further remarks. This consists, as in all cases, of truly downy barbs, which 
 are seated upon the apices of the future contour-feathers. I have ascertained the mode in which 
 this union is effected in Dromeeus nova hollandiee, of which, as also of Rhea americana, I have 
 been able to examine very young examples, only two or three weeks old. I found that the down 
 is at first a true perfect feather, which is inserted into the same follicle from which the contour- 
 feather subsequently grows. Each oi these down-feathers in Dromceus has two shafts of the same 
 structure, and analogous in their ramification to those of the future contour-feathers, but the 
 number of barbs is much less, at the utmost six or eight. The two uppermost barbs, in which, 
 as in a sort of fork, both the main and after-shafts terminate, are for the most part not at all 
 feather-like, but are simple linear lanceolate bristles, finer towards the end, round, flat 
 beneath, and so long as not iinfrcquently to exceed the whole down-feather in length. The next 
 two or three barbs also bear similar but much smaller bristles. Hence arises the apparent hairy 
 covering possessed by the young Cassowary, which is usually well expressed in representations of 
 it. At the base each down-feather has a small tube, with the inferior open and cleft extremity 
 of which the extreme tips of the following contour-feathers (both shafts and barbs) are amal- 
 gamated, so that, as soon as the contour-feathers sprout forth, the down-feathers are suspended 
 upon them, and are cast off, or fall of themselves, only at a later period. The structure in Ehea 
 is exactly the same ; but as this genus has only a single shaft in each feather, the down is also only 
 provided with one shaft. 1 
 
 1 I have had the opportunity of examining the downy covering of an African Ostrich at the utmost 
 a few weeks old. It presented precisely the above-described structure of feathers ; and although, on 
 account of the youth of the specimen, no trace of the future contour-feathers could be detected, and 
 therefore the down-feathers themselves were still inserted in the skin, I have no doubt that in this 
 genus also they are elevated and thrown off by the contour-feathers. The uppermost four or six 
 barbs of these down-feathers ran out into long, linear-lanceolate, horny, perfectly naked processes, 
 destitute of barbules, which were bent down on the body, and lightly covered the true downy coat, at least 
 upon the trunk. Both the down-feathers and these appendages of theirs were partly yellowish-gray 
 and partly black ; that is to say, some of the feathers were entirely of one colour, others of the other, 
 and they stood intermixed with each other. Even on the head and neck this young Ostrich had 
 a general setiform covering, which presented a very definite coloration and pattern. The vertex and 
 forehead were yellowish-brown, the throat and fore part of the neck reddish- white, the hinder part of the 
 neck more grayish, and rows of elongate black spots ran down the sides of the neck. On the body 
 black and white feathers stood intermixed, but the former predominated above and the latter on the 
 sides. The sides of the trunk in the vicinity of the thighs were naked, but both the thigh and the tibia 
 were covered by the fine setigerous downy coat. BURMEISTER. 
 
120 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 WADING BIRDS (Grallce). 
 
 IN this group of birds, which includes many species, there prevails a considerable difference 
 of pterylosis, as, indeed, would appear probable from the differences in the external forms of its 
 members. Hence we can hardly indicate any exclusive pterylographic characters. With the 
 following equivalent group, that of the Swimming Birds, it agrees in the presence of down- 
 feathers not only on the spaces, but also among the contour-feathers. This general law for all 
 aquatic birds appears to be subject only to a single exception (in Otis), although many differences 
 are met with as regards the size and closeness of the down-feathers, especially on the spaces. I 
 found the down most scanty on the spaces of Dicholophus, and densest in Fulica. With this the 
 constant presence of the after-shaft on the contour-feathers appears to be in harmony, and 
 its universal occurrence (except in Palamedea cornuta and Podoa) seems especially to furnish a 
 pretty certain distinction of the Wading Birds from the Natatores, in which it is wanting in whole 
 families (e.g. the Unguirostres) . Although in some members of the present family it may be 
 sometimes very small and delicate, as, for example, in Palamedea, Grus, and Fulica, it is pro- 
 bably deficient only in the two birds above mentioned, in which I could not detect it at all ; in 
 many cases, as in Otis, it is very large, and but little inferior to that of the Gallinacese. I always 
 find it to be largest on the feathers of the inferior tract, especially in the region of the breast ; it 
 is smaller on the feathers of the anterior part of the dorsal tract, and smallest on the hinder part of 
 the latter. Moreover, the down-feathers also possess an after-shaft, when there is an after-shaft on 
 the contour-feathers. With regard to the form of the tracts, no general statement can well be 
 made; I remark only that the lumbar tract is never deficient, and that the dorsal always encloses a 
 space, at least on certain parts of its extent, but is not always interrupted or furnished with a gap- 
 The inferior tract is very variable. Usually its bands are narrow, and in one genus (Ardea) pro- 
 bably the narrowest in the class of Birds ; nevertheless, a great breadth, especially of the pectoral 
 portion, also occurs, and in one instance (in Palamedea) even an almost uninterrupted plumage. 
 The oil-gland is in general large, with a short mamilla, and furnished with a circlet of feathers. 
 This is wanting only in the genus Dicholophus ; but the entire gland is regularly missing in Otis. 
 Sometimes several orifices are visible in each -half of the mamilla, for example, in Grus, Ciconia, 
 and Anastomus. The number of remiges varies between twenty and thirty-six ; on the pinion 
 there are usually ten, sometimes (as in the Storks and Flamingoes) eleven. The tail contains very 
 various numbers of rectrices ; at least ten (in Parra, Cancroma, and some of the Bitterns, but in 
 the latter also eleven or twelve), usually twelve, rarely fourteen (Phcsnicopterus, Fulica), or eighteen 
 (Podoa), in Otis always twenty, and in a species of Snipe (Scolopax stenoptera) as many as 
 twenty-six the greatest number that occurs in any bird. 
 
THE ALECTORIDES. 121 
 
 1. ALECTORIDES. 
 
 To this group I refer the genera Palamedea, Otis, Dicholophus, Psophia and Grus, but I 
 cannot give any special pterylographic character for them, although several of them present 
 very definite and, indeed, quite peculiar conditions. 
 
 A. With broad tract-bands or writh uninterrupted plumage. 
 
 1. Palamedea. This genus constitutes a very good pterylographic transition from the Cur- 
 sorial to the Wading Birds, inasmuch as in certain characters its pterylosis approximates to each of 
 these groups. It presents the following characters : In P. chavaria the contour-feathers have a 
 very weak, scarcely perceptible, after-shaft, which is rather more distinct only on the feathers of 
 the nape, and is entirely wanting in P. cornuta. The latter species also wants the ordinary 
 longitudinal furrow on the lower surface of the shaft, which is flat on both sides ; this furrow 
 occurs in P. chavaria. The plumage is, moreover, nearly uninterrupted and pretty uniformly 
 sparse, and consists of down- and contour-feathers intermixed. In the region of the axillary tracts 
 I remarked a closer approximation and stronger structure of the contour-feathers, and a similar 
 character occurs at the margin of the breast, where we should expect to find the outer branch of 
 the inferior tract. Between the two more densely feathered spots, and therefore exactly in the 
 axillary cavity, there is also the only merely downy space that I could discover. It is, however, 
 produced somewhat downwards on the sides of the trunk, and terminates in the femoral region. 
 Besides this space there is also in P. chavaria the perfectly naked and featherless neck-ring ; 
 but this is wanting in P. cornuta. I found twenty-seven remiges, of which the first is equal to 
 the ninth, and the second to the sixth, and the three between the latter gradually become some- 
 what longer, so that the fifth is certainly the longest, but only exceeds the fourth by a little. The 
 tail contains twelve feathers, and the feathered oil-gland has a circlet of feathers on the mamilla. 1 
 In the skin itself I was struck by its emphysematic nature in several places, for example, on the 
 ventral surface. 
 
 2. Otis (Plate VIII, figs. 1 and 2). No down-feathers among the contour- feathers, but. 
 somewhat scattered ones on the spaces, most distinctly on the lateral space of the trunk and the 
 
 1 Of this extremely peculiar genus of Birds I have been able to examine only the bones of the 
 limbs which I found in the Museum at Munich (there were no anatomical preparations of Palamedea 
 in the Museums of Berlin, Leyden, Paris, and Vienna, at the time of my visits to those places). By 
 this examination I ascertained at least that these bones are pneumatic to their very extremities, a pecu- 
 liarity which, as far as I know, occurs elsewhere only in Buceros (see Naumann's ' Naturgesch. der Vogel 
 Deutschl.,' Bd. ix, p. 225). The two wing-spurs cover two conical tubercles, of which the larger 
 originates at the base and the smaller at the apex of the os metacarpi digiti medii seu maximi. At the 
 apex of the second joint of the same finger there is also the trace of a similar tubercle. As to the true 
 affinities of this genus of Birds, I am, however, still in doubt, and place, it here only provisionally ; it 
 appears to belong to the Fulicarice. 
 
 16 
 
122 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 inferior wing-space, but also pretty clearly on the cervical portion of the dorsal space. These 
 down-feathers, as also the lowest downy barbs of the contour-feathers, are remarkable for their very 
 intense rosy red colour, in which they differ greatly from the grey or white down of all other 
 birds. When exposed to the light they lose their colour, and are therefore paler in proportion 
 as they are high up on the feather. The tracts are remarkable in many respects. The dorsal 
 tract is divided high up on the back of the neck, and continues, uniformly becoming stronger, as 
 far as the extremity of the shoulder-blades. Here, immediately on the inner margin of each 
 limb, commences the much weaker hinder part, which then encloses a much narrower space and 
 widens exteriorly. Hence the strong lumbar tracts, which extend to the knee, nearly come in 
 contact with the dorsal tract. From the caudal pit onwards the dorsal tract is simple, and, 
 combining with the lumbar tracts, clothes the hinder pelvic region and the tail in the form of an 
 uninterrupted plumage, in which the oil-gland would be situated if it were present ; it is, however* 
 entirely wanting. The inferior tract is undivided, at least to the middle of the neck (in 0. tetrax), 
 or even to its extremity (in 0. tarda), and is connected laterally with the dorsal tract, so that the 
 lateral neck-space is absent with the exception of a small rudiment at the base, immediately in 
 front of the shoulder. In 0. tetrax each limb becomes somewhat broader as it passes on the 
 breast, and emits at this point a branch equal to the main stem and parallel and closely approxi- 
 mating to it, which terminates before reaching the end of the musculus pectoralis major, whilst the 
 main stem of the tract passes on to the belly, where it is greatly bent outwards, and runs on to 
 the anus, towards which it turns in a curve. The remarkably broad inferior space formed by 
 this course of the inferior tract is neither naked nor clothed only with down, but bears six rows 
 of contour-feathers distributed at equal distances upon the surface of the space ; these, however, 
 are shorter than the tract-bands, and terminate at the middle of the belly, but reach anteriorly to 
 the end of the division of the two bands. The inferior tract in 0. tarda is differently formed 
 (Plate VIII, fig. 1). In this species it only divides behind the furcula, and emits no outer branch, 
 but is strongly dilated on the fore part of the breast, although the outer branch is indicated by a 
 sudden narrowing at the end of the pectoralis major, and by the greater strength of the feathers at 
 this part. Instead of the six rows of contour-feathers there are, in the still broader inferior space, 
 two inner tract-bands, which are at first four, soon afterwards three, and from the end of the 
 sternum only two feathers in width, continuing thus in a straight line to the anus, where they 
 coalesce with the outer main bands. The axillary tracts are broad and strong, scarcely separated 
 by a narrow space from the homogeneous plumage of the wings ; beneath there is, instead of 
 them, a general space on the wing, in which, on the humerus, the feathers of the hypopterum 
 proceeding from the breast are situated. The number of remiges is thirty-two in 0. tarda, 
 thirty in 0. telrax, of which ten are seated on the pinion ; the first of these is remarkably and 
 the second slightly abbreviated; the third and fourth are the longest. In the tail I counted 
 twenty feathers in both species. With the exception of 0. tarda and 0. tetrax, I have not been 
 able to examine any species pterylographically. 1 
 
 The exact determination of the natural affinities, and consequently of the systematic position, of 
 the Bustards, is a very difficult task. In the structure of the skeleton, especially in the form of the 
 sternum and furcula, Otis agrees perfectly with the Snipes, especially with Numenius ; in the structure 
 of the skull it most closely approaches (Edicnemus, but diverges very distinctly from the type of the 
 Limicola in some respects, for example, in the position of the small nasal glands in the orbit. 
 
THE ALECTORIDES. 123 
 
 B. With narrow, much contracted tract-bands. 
 
 2. Dicholopkiu. The pterylosis of this remarkable bird has much that is peculiar about it, 
 but it most closely approaches that of Psophia and Grus. The head and the greater part of the 
 neck are clothed by an uninterrupted plumage ; but in the former the region of the eye is 
 naked, and behind the orifice of the ear there is a rather large circular space. On the naked 
 spot above the upper eyelids I counted about twenty very large cilia. Among the contour- 
 feathers there are some sparse down-feathers, which also occur on the spaces, but are here almost 
 still more scattered. On the neck the lateral space is entirely wanting. The inferior space, on 
 the contrary, commences about the middle of the neck ; it does not, however, widen posteriorly, 
 but even becomes somewhat narrower, whilst, exactly as in Gypaetos (Plate II, fig. 1), a strong 
 inner branch issues from the lower extremity of the neck-plumage, and runs down on the edge 
 of the furcula nearly to its lowest part. With this inner branch the pectoral band is connected 
 only by a few feathers, another peculiarity which reminds us of the structure in the Hawks. The 
 pectoral band itself consists, remarkably enough, at first merely of a moderately broad, rather 
 densely feathered outer branch, curved into the form of an S ; but the main band is completely 
 separated from this, and only commences upon the upper part of the breast, close to the crest of 
 the furcula ; on reaching the belly it turns somewhat more outwards, and terminates close to the 
 hindmost part of the pelvis, at some distance from the anus. Coexistent with these great pecu- 
 liarities in the pterylosis there is a dorsal tract formed exactly as in Psophia and Grus. This 
 originates as a tolerably strong fork directly from the extremity of the neck-plumage, and ter- 
 minates before the end of the shoulder-blades. The hinder part soon afterwards commences with 
 two rows of feathers, which gradually widen externally, and approach each other until they coalesce 
 at the middle of the pelvis to form a somewhat sparsely feathered rump-band. At some distance 
 from this are observed the narrow but strong lumbar tracts. The axillary tracts have nothing 
 characteristic about them ; they are separated by a narrow space from the upper plumage of the 
 wing. Beneath, the entire wing, with the exception of the feathers standing on the anterior 
 margin of the great wing-membrane, is a uniform space ; even the hypopterum is entirely wanting. 
 Of remiges I found about twenty-Jive ; the first are graduated, especially the four outermost, for 
 the seventh is the longest ; five feathers are inserted on the thumb, and I counted twelve rectrices 
 in the tail. The distinctly visible oil-gland is of a conical pyriform shape, and entirely naked, 
 even on the mamilla. 
 
 3. Psophia (Plate VIII, figs. 3 and 4). The pterylosis of Psophia differs from that of 
 Dicholophus in the following points. The homogeneous plumage of the head, in which I do not 
 
 Hence, after more mature examination, I would not extend my formerly expressed opinion (in Naumaan's 
 ' Naturgesch. der Vo'gel Deutschl./ Bd. vii, p. 7) that Otis is very nearly allied to the latter family, ao 
 far as to unite it therewith ; but I now prefer to combine it with Dicholophus, Psophia, and Grus, as all 
 these genera agree in many points, although they also differ from each other. Grus and Psophia 
 approach the Fulicarice just as much as Otis does the Limicol<K, and Dicholophus occupies a middle 
 place between them. 
 
124 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 notice any space behind the ear, extends only to the beginning of the neck, and at this point 
 emits two tract-bands. The superior, or cervical band, becomes stronger as it descends, and 
 divides between the shoulder-blades into two very strong arms, seven or eight feathers in breadth, 
 which become gradually narrower, and terminate in a single feather. From these the hinder part 
 of the dorsal tract originates with two convergent rows of single contour-feathers, which lose 
 themselves at the commencement of the pelvis in a weak but broad and sparsely feathered rump- 
 band. The latter terminates at the tail in front of the naked oil-gland, which is furnished with a 
 circlet of feathers at the tip. The inferior tract divides before the middle of the neck, and 
 consists of two narrow weak bands, which become tolerably strong when passing on the breast, 
 and here form a strong, incurved, outer branch of four or five feathers broad, with which the 
 very weak main band running down close to the crest of the sternum is at first united only by a 
 single row of feathers. Towards the middle of the breast, at the point where in Dicholophus the 
 main stem first commences, this, in Psophia, becomes biserial, and continues so as far as the 
 anus, in front of which it terminates, curving outwards in an arched form upon the belly. The 
 other tracts are not peculiar ; the lumbar tract is present, but narrow, and completely separated 
 from the rump-band. The wing has on its upper surface a homogeneous plumage, which 
 advances pretty close upon the axillary tract ; beneath, it is occupied by the great wing-space, in 
 which the hypopterum is not deficient (Plate VIII, fig. 3). Of remiges I counted twenty-four, of which 
 ten on the hand, the third or fourth being the longest ; on the thumb there are four feathers, and 
 the tail contains twelve. I have yet to remark that the peculiar texture of the neck-plumage is 
 caused by an upward curvature of the shaft, with which is combined a very soft and almost 
 downy structure of the barbs and barbules. True down-feathers are very sparingly distributed 
 over the spaces, but are also present, at least among the contour-feathers of the outer branch. 
 
 4. Grus. According to my examination of G. cinerea, the pterylosis agrees perfectly in its 
 general arrangement with that of Psophia, differing only in the following characters. The con- 
 tour-feathers have a weaker after-shaft, most nearly resembling that in Palamedea chavaria ; 
 in the down-feathers, on the contrary, both shafts are of equal size. The homogeneous head- 
 plumage, which, however, is interrupted on the occiput by the well-known nearly naked spot, 
 extends as far as the middle of the long neck. On the above-mentioned occipital spot there are 
 setiform feathers, on the capillary shaft of which I can, however, detect a few barbs, and even a 
 small downy accessory plume. The anterior part of the dorsal tract is cleft further, and the 
 space occurring between the branches of the fork reach up the point where the ptilosis con- 
 tinua of the neck ceases. The hinder part of the dorsal tract, which is formed exactly as in 
 Psophia, is connected by its dilatation with the extremities of the strong lumbar tracts. The 
 inferior tract is rather broad anteriorly, at the point where it passes on to the breast, and its 
 main stem continues longer united with the outer branch. The main stem itself is of equal 
 breadth and strength from beginning to end ; but the outer branch is connected at its extremity 
 with the hypopterum, which, therefore, is not deficient. The oil-gland has not only a circlet 
 consisting of about twenty umbellate plumes on the mamilla, but also some large down-feathers 
 on its surface ; each half encloses three cavities, and has the same number of orifices. In the wing 
 I counted thirty-three remiges, of which the first is equal to the fourth, and the second and third 
 are the longest ; they are all broader at the base, and emarginated, especially on the inner vane, 
 for the apical two thirds of their length. The tail contains twelve feathers. 
 
THE FULICARI/E. 125 
 
 2. FULICARLE. 
 
 This family cannot be separated pterylographically from the preceding unless I were to unite 
 with it the last two genera of the latter. Nevertheless it presents in itself rather remarkable 
 differences, which I prefer putting forward tabularly. 
 
 I. With narrow tract-bands and a distinctly divergent outer branch on the inferior tract. 
 
 A. The dorsal tract has a true gap at the end of the shoulder-blades. 
 
 The genus Aramus, VIEILL. (Notherodius, TEMM.), which belongs here, differs in no respect 
 from the type described for PsopMa and Grus, and might properly be placed with them in the 
 family of the Alectorides if in the form of its bill and its long toes it did not so distinctly resemble 
 Rallus. From this last-mentioned accordance it would appear to be pretty certain that 
 Lichtenstein's notion, according to which this bird is a Rallus (he calls it Rallus gigas) comes 
 nearest to the truth, and that this genus can be referred neither to the Erodii nor to the Storks, 
 although, as Temrninck thinks, it is certainly nearly allied to Grus, at least in its pterylosis. For 
 its more definite characterisation, I may observe that the ptilosis continua extends beyond the 
 middle of the neck, and that the space causing the bifurcation of the anterior part of the dorsal 
 tract reaches up to it. The posterior part of this tract is very weak, divided as far as the caudal 
 pit, dilated behind, and coalescent with the femoral tracts. The inferior tract is not so broad on 
 the anterior part of the breast as in Grus, and its main stem here, as in Psophia, appears to be 
 weakened, but becomes stronger and broader at the end of the breast. The two stems meet 
 before reaching the anus. The form of the wings and the texture of the plumage are, however, 
 exactly as in Rallus ; in the wing I counted twenty-six remiges, of which the first is equal to the 
 tenth, the second to the seventh, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are the longest. They all 
 terminate in an obtusely rounded and rather broad extremity, not acute, as in Grus ; and 
 the first has an emargination both at the base of the inner and at the apex of the outer vane, 
 from which it acquires a very remarkable and peculiar form. In the tail there are twelve 
 feathers. 
 
 B. The dorsal tract is neither interrupted nor strikingly weakened at the end of the shoulder- 
 blades. 
 
 This form of the dorsal tract, which is shown in Fig. 6 of Plate VIII, constitutes the true 
 Fulicarian type, and occurs in all these birds which at the same time possess weakened and soft 
 tail-feathers. The outer branch, moreover, in this second group, differs essentially from the type 
 of the Alectorides in its remarkably broad and posteriorly pointed form and its strong structure. 
 Here also there is no ptilosis continua, except upon the head, for the lateral neck-space almost 
 
126 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 touches the point of the lower jaw (Plate VIII, fig. 7), and the inferior space reaches considerably 
 beyond the middle of the neck. But the spinal space is shorter, and only occupies the lower end 
 of the neck. The main stem of the inferior tract reminds one rather of the structure in Psophia, 
 Aramus, and Dicholophus, as it issues at first from the branch as a single weak row of feathers, 
 and only becomes broader towards the middle or extremity of the breast (fig. 5). The dorsal 
 tract is certainly not strong, but consists of rather small feathers, and is never more than three 
 rows broad. From the end of the neck to the caudal pit it forms an elongated ellipse, which 
 completely encloses a similar, or more properly a lanceolate, space. The very short and simple rump- 
 band terminates in front of the oil-gland, which is small, but yet bears a circlet of feathers. Near 
 the rump-band run the lumbar tracts, which are remarkably long, and dilated externally in the 
 middle ; these even pass somewhat beyond the knee, and appear to extend as far as the inguinal 
 region. Such large and strong lumbar tracts probably occur nowhere else ; nevertheless they 
 are, in general, not united either to the dorsal or crural tracts. The rest of the pterylosis presents 
 nothing peculiar. The axillary tracts are short and not very broad, but strong ; the homogeneous 
 sparse plumage of the wings almost coalesces with them. Beneath the greater part of the wing 
 is a space, down which, on the upper arm, the hypopterum runs. The remiges are short, but 
 broad, and the form of the wing is rather rounded, although the second or third feather is the 
 longest. The rectrices are, however, still more peculiar from their small size and remarkable soft- 
 ness ; they exceed the dorsal feathers but little, if at all, in stiffness. Such peculiar lax rectrices 
 I have seen only in the true Fulicaria. 
 
 To the present group belong the genera Eallus, Crex, Porp/iyrio, and Parra. The first three 
 have twelve tail-feathers and exactly the same pterylosis as that figured (Plate VIII) as occurring 
 in R. aquations. In Parra, of which I have examined all the four principal species (P. sinensis, 
 africana, &nea, and jassand), I found orily ten tail-feathers, and a remarkable narrowing of the 
 bands of the dorsal tract close behind the shoulder-blades ; whilst, on the other hand, the hind- 
 most, or pelvic portion of it, was dilated. This genus also has weaker lumbar tracts, and these are 
 united with the uropygial portion of the dorsal tract by sparse contour-feathers. Of the three other 
 genera, I have examined the following species: 1, PorpJiyrio hyacinthinus ; 2, Creces-pratensis, 
 porzana, pusilla,phoenicurus, and later alis ; 3, Hullus aquaticus. In all these the number of remiges 
 varied, according to the size of the bird, between twenty-one and twenty-four, of which ten were 
 always seated on the pinion. The first is rather abbreviated, as is also the second in the species 
 of Crex, but not in Jtallus nor Porphyrio. The Crakes also have the broadest and most rounded 
 remiges, for in Porphyrio these are much more pointed. 
 
 II. With broad tract-bands, and no separated branch on the inferior tract. 
 
 To this group belong the genera Gallinula, Fulica, and Podoa. With the same form of 
 inferior tract, distinguished by a general dilatation on the breast, in which the outer branch is 
 indicated by the sudden narrowing of the tract at the margin of the m. pectoralis major, the 
 dorsal tract presents differences corresponding to those with which we have become acquainted 
 in the preceding group. 
 
 A. The type of Itallus, Crex, Porphyrio, and Parra, makes its appearance here in the genera 
 
THE ERODII. 127 
 
 Gallinula and Fulica, and, indeed, exactly as represented in Eallus, therefore in its most perfect form. 
 At the same time the former genus, of which, however, I have examined only a single species 
 (G. chlorojms), approaches the type of the Rallince still more closely in the possession of a faint 
 short notch at the end of the dilated portion of the inferior tract, by which this is still more 
 distinctly indicated as a branch, and, indeed, is somewhat separated. All the rest is as in Fulica, 
 in which the above-mentioned notch is entirely wanting. The lateral space, like the inferior space, 
 does not extend to the middle of the neck in Gallinula, and the lanceolate spinal space does not 
 touch the neck at all ; in Fulica the two first-mentioned spaces reach higher up on the neck, and a 
 portion of the spinal space is visible upon it. The lumbar tracts are very long, and have sparse 
 contour-feathers beside them on the dorsal side, at least in Gallinula. The tail bears the same 
 small soft rectrices as in the Rallinee ; their number in Gallinula appears to vary between ten 
 and twelve, but is certainly fourteen in Fulica. I found twenty-three rerniges in Gallinula, 
 and twenty-five in Fulica; in the latter the second, in the former the third, was the longest. 
 
 B. In Podoa (PI. VIII, fig. 9) the type oiAramus, Grus, Psopfda, and DicholopJius is reproduced, 
 the dorsal tract being discontinuous at the end of the shoulder-blades, and having its anterior forked 
 portion much stronger than the hinder part, which is divided as far as the oil-gland. The hinder 
 portion commences with single rows of feathers from the extremities of the fork, becomes gradually 
 broader, and attains its greatest extension only immediately in front of the caudal pit, where it 
 again becomes simple. The scapular and lumbar tracts are also remarkably weak, only biserial, 
 and the latter especially are much shorter than in the other FulicaricK. It also surprised me to 
 find aptilosis continua reaching almost to the end of the neck, and therefore even exceeding that 
 of Aramus ; for both the lateral neck-spaces and the inferior space scarcely pass above the level 
 of the shoulders, whilst the spinal space does not even reach that level. The wing differs greatly 
 from that of the species of Fulica in its elongated pointed form, although the relative propor- 
 tions of the remiges are the same ; the number of remiges is probably twenty-one, that of the 
 rectrices certainly eighteen. The latter are of a firmer texture than those of Fulica, Gallinula, 
 and the Rallince. I have already mentioned the total absence of the after-shaft on the contour- 
 feathers (p. 120). 
 
 3. ERODII. 
 
 The peculiar powder-down-tracts which occur only in members of this family among the 
 Wading Birds certainly form their best pterylographic character, for there are important and ex- 
 tremely remarkable differences in the form of the other tracts in the genera belonging to it. In 
 general, the exceedingly narrow, often only biserial, structure of the tracts may be cited as a 
 character of the group, although in one genus (Eurypygd) an uninterrupted plumage is to be 
 found on the whole of the neck down to the trunk. The absence of lateral neck-spaces thus 
 caused is, however, a family character, inasmuch as in Ardea and Cancroma a tract occurs 'exactly 
 where this space ought to run. With this all the general characters of the Erodii are exhausted, 
 for the down-feathers on the spaces and the after-shaft on both down- and contour- feathers are 
 characters which occur in almost all the Waders. This applies also to the circlet of feathers on 
 the short mamilla of the oil-gland, which in other respects presents no peculiarity of formation. 
 
 The above-mentioned powder-down-tracts, however, present many peculiarities in this 
 
128 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 family, and differ both in number and position. When only two are present, as in Eurypyga, 
 they are situated on the back near the hinder part of the dorsal tract, and reach from the rump 
 nearly to the shoulder-blades, each resembling half an ellipse (Plate VIII, fig. 15). But if there 
 are four tracts, as in the Bitterns (figs. 10 and 11), one pair is situated in the same place, but is 
 much smaller, and limited only to the posterior pelvic region. Each tract is elliptical, and so 
 broad that the entire hinder part of the thigh is covered by it. The other pair occurs on the 
 ventral surface, and consists of two elongated elliptical bands, which exactly follow the course of 
 the furcula, and separate the cervical from the pectoral portion of the inferior tract. Lastly, when 
 six powder-down-tracts occur, as in all other Erodii, there are, besides the two pairs just de- 
 scribed, a third pair, consisting of two small and very narrow bands, which are placed on the 
 ventral surface in the inguinal region, near the outer margin of the stem of the inferior tract. 1 
 
 1. Ardea (Plate VIII, figs. 10 12). The pterylosis of the head is uninterrupted, but in the 
 circumference of the ear there is a circular space, which is very distinct in the Bittern. Imme- 
 diately at the occiput commences a broad space, which runs down on the back of the whole of 
 the neck, and accompanies the spinal column to the oil-gland. On the lower surface the head- 
 plumage extends a little beyond the angle of the jaw, and then divides into two narrow limbs, 
 which turn outwards, and run down exactly on the sides of the neck. I therefore call them 
 lateral neck-tracts. Having a breadth of three or four rows of feathers as far as the point just 
 mentioned, they there suddenly become narrow, and extend as uni-or biserial bands more towards 
 the dorsal surface of the neck, pass in the same condition on to the fore part of the trunk, and 
 then, gradually becoming broader and stronger, run on between the shoulder-blades, but terminate 
 before attaining the extremities of the latter. 
 
 These two tract-bands may be regarded as the scapular part of the dorsal tract, and we may 
 suppose that the spinal space, which usually reaches only to the shoulder-blades, or at the utmost 
 passes on to the commencement of the neck, has here, been prolonged up to the head. This 
 circumstance would then be the most remarkable peculiarity in the pterylosis of the Herons. 
 From the extremity of the tract just described commences the hinder part of the dorsal tract, 
 which is deeply cleft as far as the oil-gland : it is usually separated by a small gap from the anterior 
 part, and at first consists only of one or two rows of feathers. Immediately in front of the oil- 
 gland it becomes simpler and very broad, nay, even dilated, so as to cover the whole basal portion 
 of the tail. The above-described lateral neck-tracts are, however, equally the commencement of 
 the inferior tract, and result essentially from the union of the limbs both of the dorsal and 
 inferior tracts, which are divided up to the head. Hence the truncal portion of the inferior tract 
 also issues from the extremity of the lateral neck-tracts, runs on to the breast as a narrow band 
 of three or four feathers in width, is even more or less diminished at the end of the musculus 
 pectoralis major (A. nycticorax), and becomes both weaker and narrower on the belly. In the 
 Bittern the pectoral portion is anteriorly united only with the axillary tract, and through this 
 with the anterior part of the divided dorsal tract before the latter passes into the lateral neck-tract, 
 which is distinctly set off from it, so that, when seen from below (Plate VIII, fig. 10), it appears 
 as if the inferior tract were entirely separated from the lateral neck -tract, which, however, is not 
 the case. The lateral neck-tract rather forms at its extremity a short inner branch turning 
 
 1 For some additional remarks on the powder-down-tracts in this group and its allies see 
 Appendix I, note 2. P.L.S. 
 
THE ERODII. 129 
 
 towards the furcula, which, in the true Herons, especially A. russata WAGL., is much longer, and in 
 Cancroma (Plate VIII, fig. 13) even meets in the middle with its fellow of the opposite side. These 
 are the most important and peculiar characters of the pterylosis in Ardea ; I therefore merely men- 
 tion that all the Herons possess short but strong femoral tracts, which come in contact posteriorly 
 with the powder-down-tracts, and that the upper surface of their wings presents a continuous 
 plumage separated by a narrow space from the axillary tract which contains very strong feathers. 
 Beneath the greater part of the wing is a space in which, on the humerus, stand the strong 
 feathers of the hypopterum. These pass on to the breast and meet the inferior tract (Plate VIII, 
 figs. 10 and 12). The parapterum (fig. 11) is not less strong. On the margin of the wing I 
 counted from twenty-five to twenty-nine remiges according to the size of the species; of these ten 
 stand on the pinion. The third is usually the longest, although but little longer than the preceding 
 and following ones ; the others from the fifth onwards become more rapidly abbreviated ; the first 
 two or three usually possess an angular emargination at the apex of the inner half of the vane. 
 The tail generally contains twelve feathers, but in several species (e.g., A. stellaris, in which, however, 
 eleven or twelve are sometimes present, scapularis and tigrina) only ten, or even nine (A. sibilatrix). 
 According to the number of powder-down-tracts, the position of which has already been 
 described, two groups of Herons may be distinguished, and these also present other differences : 
 
 A. Four such tracts, or two pairs, occur in A. minuta and stellaris. 
 
 B. Six powder-down-tracts are possessed by A. scapularis, ralloides, tigrina, virescens, 
 nycticorax, sibilatrix, russata, WAGL., leuce, egretta, speciosa, WAGL. (malaccensis, ALIOR.), 
 cinerea, and purpurea. 
 
 2. Cancroma (Plate. VIII, figs. 13 and 14). The pterylosis agrees in its general arrangement 
 with the type of the true Herons, and only differs in the circumstance that the lateral neck-tracts 
 are somewhat broader, and the inner branch issuing from its lower extremity runs down the 
 furcula until it meets the opposite one at an acute angle. Another distinction is to be found in the 
 form of the pectoral part of the inferior tract, which possesses a very distinct free outer branch, four 
 feathers in breadth, with which a slightly everted tip of the hypopterum is united. The main stem 
 itself is biserial, and much weaker than the branch ; it passes along nearer to the crest of the sternum 
 than in the true Herons, and turns more inwards upon the belly, so as to leave more room for 
 the somewhat larger inguinal powder-down-tracts. The dorsal tract is as in the Herons, but the 
 hinder part has its simple uropygial band somewhat longer. By these means also more room is 
 left for the powder-down-tracts situated beside it, and this they entirely fill. The lumbar tracts 
 are proportionately shorter and weaker. In the wing I counted twenty-two remiges, and ten on 
 the pinion ; the first are somewhat falciform, and attenuated at the end of the inner vane ; the 
 third, fourth, and fifth are the longest. In the tail I found only ten feathers ; and I also missed 
 the down-feathers among the contour-feathers. 
 
 3. Eurypyga (Plate VIII, fig. 15). The uninterrupted plumage not only of the head, but 
 also of the entire neck, is indisputably the chief distinction of this genus from Ardea. From the 
 extremity of this ptilosis continua the dorsal tract starts in the form of two parallel biserial 
 bands, which extend as far as in Ardea. From each band there springs a row of weak feathers, 
 which very soon unite to form the weak, biserial, uropygial band. This commences as far up as 
 the middle of the back, and only terminates at the oil-gland, near which the remarkably long 
 but narrow lumbar tracts unite with it. Exactly in the space thus formed by each lumbar tract 
 and the uropygial band there is a powder-down-tract, which fills it completely, at least behind. 
 
 17 
 
130 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 The inferior tract, which springs from the neck-plumage in two diverging limbs a little in front of 
 the furcula, has exactly the same formation as in Cancroma, so that any further description of it is 
 superfluous. But the powder-down-tracts in its vicinity are wanting in Ewypygu. Unfor- 
 tunately, I was unable to ascertain exactly the number of remiges, the specimen examined by me 
 being engaged in moulting : on the pinion, however, there are certainly ten, of which the third is 
 the longest. In the tail I counted only nine feathers ; but between the middle ones there were 
 distinct gaps, so that the true number would probably be twelve. 
 
 4. PELARGI. 
 
 The family of the Storks, to which I refer the genera Scopus, Ciconia, Anaslomus, and Tantalus, 
 stands, in many respects, in remarkable contrast to the Erodii, and as regards its pterylosis has 
 only the most general characters of the Waders in common with them. The most important 
 character of the group is to be found in the remarkable enlargement of the two bands of the 
 inferior tract upon the breast, as these cover the whole surface of the musculus pectoral-is major, 
 and are obliquely truncated posteriorly at its margin, thus passing into the ventral portion, which 
 is scarcely half so wide, runs on to the anus, and terminates close to this. Of an outer branch, 
 such as is possessed by some of the Herons, there is consequently no trace ; nay, there is not even 
 a stronger plumage in its place, but each stem of the inferior tract rather diminishes in strength 
 quite gradually from without inwards, and disappears only close to the crest of the sternum. 
 This form of the inferior tract is, however, the only common pterylographic character of the four 
 genera, although the slight development of the lumbar tracts which are abbreviated anteriorly, 
 and the remarkably large, pluriserial inferior and superior paraptera, both of which run down 
 the long humerus of the Storks, may also be regarded as a peculiarity of the group of 
 Pelargi. 
 
 1. Scopus (Plate IX, figs. 3 5). This genus has a very singular neck-plumage, which, 
 however, only differs from the form of the tracts described in the Herons, in that a lateral neck- 
 space is present. In this way there are produced upon the neck four tracts and four spaces. 
 The two upper tracts (fig. 4), which contain the broad upper neck-space between them, are the 
 halves of the anterior part of the dorsal tract, divided up to the head ; they are at first only two 
 feathers in breadth, but increase to three feathers from the end of the neck, and terminate pretty 
 strongly before the extremities of the shoulder-blades. The two inferior tracts (fig. 3) represent 
 the divided cervical portion of the inferior tract ; they are somewhat broader than the upper 
 ones, and terminate in an obtusely rounded extremity near the shoulder. Separated from them, 
 but united with the neighbouring axillary tract (fig. 3), the broad pectoral band commences at 
 the level of the shoulder, and in its further course perfectly agrees with the type of the family. 
 The hinder part of the dorsal tract, however, presents peculiar characters (fig. 4), forming a 
 single, triserial, and rather weak band, which commences quite separate from the anterior 
 portion behind the arms of the latter, and terminates at the oil-gland. In the wing I counted 
 twenty-six remiges, of which ten are on the pinion ; the first were graduated, and the first equal 
 to the seventh. The tail bears twelve rectrices. 
 
 2. Ciconia. The Storks with feathered necks, of which I have examined C, alba (Plate IX, 
 figs. 1 and 2), niyra, and leucocephala (umbellata, WAGL.), have a continuous plumage as far as 
 
THE PELARGI. 131 
 
 the middle of the neck. From this point the plumage is divided above by the spinal space, and 
 beneath by the inferior space ; the lateral neck-space is only visible at the base in front of the 
 shoulder, in the form of a short lobe. The dorsal tract passes between the shoulder-blades in two 
 narrow parallel stems, and terminates a little before them with tolerably strong plumage. The 
 hinder part does not reach the extremities of the anterior portion ; it is very weak throughout, 
 especially externally, and has a longitudinal space reaching to the caudal pit. The inferior tract 
 is united with the axillary tracts in front on the shoulder, but otherwise presents no peculiarities. 
 The other tracts also present nothing remarkable. On the other hand, it struck me as singular 
 that in C. leucocephala I could find no after-shaft on the contour-feathers ; this is not 
 deficient in the indigenous species, although it is small and weak. An organ of remarkable 
 peculiarity in the Storks is, however, the thick short oil-gland, furnished with a strong circlet of 
 feathers, inasmuch as it appears to possess a very variable number of orifices and internal cavities. 
 In C. alba there are two on each side; in C. nigra, five. All the three species above mentioned 
 have eleven primaries, of which those from the first to the fourth or fifth are graduated ; in 
 C. leucocephala I found in all thirty remiges, in C. nigra thirty-two, and in C. alia thirty-four. 
 The number of rectrices is twelve. In C. leucocephala these form a strongly forked tail, beyond 
 which the long lower tail-coverts project far in the middle. By this means the tail acquires a very 
 remarkable three-lobed form. 1 
 
 The Storks with naked necks, such as C. mycteria and C. argala, do not differ much from 
 the preceding in the arrangement of the tracts. The plumage usually commences close to 
 the base of the neck, and is then completely interrupted beneath by the inferior space, and above 
 by the spinal space. The lateral neck-space is wanting. In the dorsal tract the hinder part is 
 remarkable equally for its sparse plumage and for the want of the spinal space. I only saw a 
 trace of this space in the middle in C. argala. The commencement of the hinder part in both 
 species also extends far in between the limbs of the anterior part. The inferior tract presents 
 no peculiarity, but its plumage is more sparse. The lumbar tract consists only of a single row 
 of tolerably strong feathers, and reaches to the knee. The number of remiges is thirty-six, of 
 which eleven are placed on the hand in C. mycteria, and ten in C. argala; in the former 
 the third, in the latter the second, is the longest. Both species have twelve rectrices ; but the 
 former species has six and the latter only five feathers on the thumb. The same number occurs 
 in C. alba and C. nigra, but C. leucocephala only possesses four. These are probably the greatest 
 numbers of feathers which occur on the thumb-joint of any Birds. In the oil-gland of C. argala 
 I found six separate orifices and cavities in each half ; these were so environed by short oil- 
 feathers, that each half has a distinct circlet. In C. argala I did not examine the gland so 
 particularly ; on the other hand, I found no after-shaft on the contour-feathers in this species. The 
 last point worthy of notice is the enormous size and thickness of the quills of the remiges in these 
 Storks ; as far as I know, they are the thickest that occur in any Birds. 
 
 3. Anastomus. The pterylosis of A. coromandelicus agrees precisely with that of Ciconia 
 alba, and I therefore need not describe it further. In the wing I counted twenty-eight remiges, 
 of which eleven were inserted on the pinion ; the third was the longest. The hypopterum was as 
 large as in the Common Stork. In the oil-gland at least three orifices are visible in each half, 
 but I could not detect more in the dry specimen. The tail contains twelve feathers. 
 
 1 This structure of the tail likewise occurs in the South American Ciconia maguari. P. L. S. 
 
132 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 4. Tantalus. From an examination of T. ibis, leucocepJialus, and lacteus (TEMM., PI. Col., 
 352), this genus appears to reproduce the two forms of the naked-necked and feathered-necked 
 Storks, although there is always a dense feathery coat on the neck from the end of the naked 
 face, and this is interrupted by the spinal and inferior spaces only behind the middle. Thus in 
 T. ibis\ found precisely the same arrangement of the feathers as in the Common Stork, especially 
 the long space in the hinder part of the dorsal tract, and the short femoral tracts, confined to the 
 posterior extremity of the thigh. On the contrary, the other two species presented a spinal tract 
 of which the anterior part had quite remarkably widely separated limbs, between which the 
 sparsely feathered, continuous hinder part projected a little. The lateral neck-space was. wanting 
 in all three species, as in the Storks and all the Pelargi. The number of remiges was from 
 thirty-one to thirty-three, and of these in T. lacteus eleven are distinctly inserted on the pinion ; 
 the third is the longest, and, like the first, second, and fourth, has the inner vane remarkably 
 emarginated a little way from its base, and then tapered to a point. The hypopterum in T. leuco- 
 cepJialus is very large, and appears to consist of several rows of feathers. The length of the 
 humerus, a character common to all the Erodii and Pelnrgi, is particularly favorable to its 
 development. With this, also, the remarkable size of the hinder secondaries, which is fonnd 
 both in the Herons and the Storks, may likewise be connected. On the oil-gland, which is un- 
 commonly thick, with a broad and truncated extremity, I detected several orifices in each half, and 
 these in T. ibis were arranged in a circle ; but the exact number of these apertures escaped me. 
 In the tail I always found twelve rectrices. A peculiarity which I have detected in many Water- 
 Birds, and mention here in the first place of T. leucocepJialus and lacteus, is the pneumatic texture 
 of their skin. Air gets under the skin through the axillary cavity from the anterior lateral cells 
 of the trunk, and not only diffuses itself here to a great or less extent, but actually penetrates 
 into small sacs of the skin itself, which occur between the quills of each four contour-feathers, and 
 are filled from the main reservoir of air by an orifice, which is generally rather narrow. In these 
 Tantali I found such sacs in the two strong-plumaged limbs of the anterior part of the dorsal 
 tract, but nowhere else. They are largest in Dysporus and Pelecanus, in speaking of which I 
 shall refer to them in more detail. 
 
 5. ODONTOGLOSS.E. 
 
 Under this name I place the peculiar genus Phanicoptcrus, the European species of which 
 (P. antiquorum) I have carefully examined, as forming a distinct and abundantly well-characterised 
 family. Its pterylosis (Plate IX, figs. 6 and 7) is perfectly Stork-like, and occupies, as it were, a 
 middle place between the two groups distinguished under Ciconia and Tantalus. The neck is 
 clothed with a continuous and very dense plumage, in which the lateral neck-spaces are entirely 
 deficient ; the inferior space first makes its appearance below, whilst the spinal space extends 
 but little beyond the anterior limit of the trunk. The two limbs of the inferior tract are therefore 
 united as far as the shoulder with those of the dorsal tract ; here they separate, and the former 
 (the inferior tract-bands) soon afterwards receive the broad, remarkably densely feathered, and 
 posteriorly rounded axillary tracts. From this point the inferior tract is perfectly Stork-like, but 
 more densely feathered, and especially stronger on the outside, particularly in the region of the 
 outer branch. The two limbs of the anterior part of the dorsal tract are but narrow, and are 
 
THE HEMIGLOTTIDES. 133 
 
 also weaker, more approximated to each other, and shorter than in the Storks, for they only just 
 reach the middle of the shoulder-blades. Immediately behind them commences the hinder part, 
 which is at first very weakly feathered, and afterwards becomes somewhat stronger, and so 
 gradually increases until, at the caudal pit, it does not yield in strength to the bands of the 
 inferior tract. The spinal space is entirely deficient, exactly as in the naked-necked Storks, 
 although in the Flamingo the neck is densely feathered. The lumbar tracts, which consist of a 
 single series of strong feathers, are also very remarkable ; they commence rather far forward upon 
 the knee, and run alongside of the plumage of the rump nearly to the tail. The feathering of the 
 anal region, behind the two ventral bands of the inferior tract which unite in an arch in front of 
 the anus, is also a peculiarity of the Flamingo. In the long wings, the length of which is 
 especially caused by that of the humerus, I find on the upper surface a rather large wing- 
 space, whilst the lower surface is almost entirely a space, down which runs the strong hypopterum 
 consisting of eighteen flat feathers. The number of remiges is thirty-four, of which eleven are 
 seated on the pinion ; the first three, which are nearly equal, are the longest, and have a sharp 
 emargination near the apex of the inner vane. On the thumb I found only three feathers, and 
 in the tail fourteen remarkably small and weak rectrices. The large and broad oil-gland has a 
 dense circlet of feathers on its truncated apical surface, and perhaps more than two orifices. 
 
 6. HEMIGLOTTIDES. 
 
 Two genera of Waders, Platdea and Ibis, one of which has been generally united with the 
 Storks, whilst the other has been sometimes placed with the Storks and sometimes with the 
 Snipes, I propose to unite in a distinct family under the above name, which refers to the sur- 
 prising smallness of their tongues. I regard it as forming a transition group between the 
 Pelargi and Limicolce, to both of which, but more particularly the latter, it is very nearly 
 allied. Leaving out of consideration the other characters of the family, which, however, are not 
 unimportant, we need only occupy ourselves here with the pterylosis. The characters of this, 
 even to the smallest details, are exactly as in the indigenous Storks, and therefore require neither 
 a pictorial representation nor a detailed description. 
 
 1 . Platalea leucorodia has a continuous plumage down to the lower extremity of the neck ; 
 there is no lateral neck-space, and the inferior space only commences immediately in front of the 
 furcula, as does the spinal space near the level of the shoulders. Everything else is as in 
 Ciconia alba. In the wing I counted thirty remiges, of which ten are placed on the pinion ; of 
 these the second is the longest. The tail bears twelve feathers. Down-feathers were not wanting 
 among the contour-feathers. On the short, but broad and thick oil-gland, I found three orifices 
 in each half ; these lay together in a bowl-like depression. 
 
 2. Ibis. Judging from an examination of I.falcineHiis, rubra, leucon and sacra, this genus has 
 exactly the pterylosis of the Storks, especially on the ventral surface, and also presents the same dif- 
 ference in the plumage of the neck, which we detected in Ardea. The only deviation in the inferior 
 tract consists in a somewhat stronger formation of the two or three outer rows of feathers of the 
 pectoral bands in the region of the outer branch, by which the latter is rendered rather more 
 distinct, especially when, as in /. sacra, the feathers close to it are very weak. However, there 
 
134 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 is never a freely separated outer branch, such as occurs in all the Scolopacinee. The dorsal tract 
 is also quite Stork-like as far as the pelvis, but the two limbs of the posterior part unite earlier, 
 even at the commencement of the pelvis, and consequently form a long uropygial band, which is 
 distinguished only by the closer arrangement of its feathers from the general sparse plumage of 
 the entire pelvic region, with which the lumbar tracts are also connected. In other respects I find 
 everything as in the Common Stork. In the wing, the humeral portion of which has a very long 
 Stork-like form, I found various numbers of remiges, namely, twenty- seven in I. f akin ettus, 
 twenty-five or twenty-six in /. rubra, and thirty in /. hucon and /. sacra : there were, however, 
 always ten on the pinion, and the second and third were the longest, although certainly often 
 scarcely longer than the first, fourth and fifth. The tail always contains twelve feathers. The 
 oil-gland had the same form as in the Storks, but I could only discover one orifice in each half. 
 
 7. LlMICOL^ *. ScOLOPACINjE. 
 
 Next to the Passerine and Gallinacea, this group appears to present the smallest pterylo- 
 graphic differences. This is very remarkable when we consider that it is composed of so many 
 members often differing so widely from each other in external characters. In its general 
 conditions it has all the characters of a Wading Bird, but a proportionally larger after-shaft, 
 and more scanty down-feathers, these being entirely wanting on several spaces, e.g.. the inferior 
 space in the region between the outer branch and the main stem, during the breeding season. 
 In the form of the tracts it most closely approaches the Rallina, or still more exactly some 
 Alectorides (Psophia, Grus), from which the Scolopacinte only differ in the comparatively greater 
 width of the tract-bands. Among these agreements may be mentioned particularly the complete 
 division of the dorsal tract into two halves ; an anterior stronger one, which is forked between 
 the shoulder-blades ; and a much weaker hinder one, which contains the rather narrow longi- 
 tudinal space. The inferior tract presents a still greater similarity, inasmuch as it forms a broad 
 but perfectly free outer branch, which lies about in the middle of. each half of the breast, whilst 
 the narrower inner main stem is placed quite close to the sternal crest, and only turns more 
 outwards in a bow on the belly. Here, also, it is usually dilated and more sparsely feathered 
 exteriorly, whicli is an approximation to the type of many Natatores (see the next Chapter), and 
 in many cases is more distinct than is shown in the figure of Charadrius pluvialis (Plate IX, fig. 8). 
 The lumbar tract is weaker than in the Eallinoi ; but it is also long, and usually composed of two 
 rows of feathers. In the true Snipes alone (Plate IX, fig. 10) I have seen it united to the hinder 
 part of the dorsal tract ; this is due to its remarkably oblique position. One species of this genus 
 (8. rusticula) presents a difference in that the hinder part of the dorsal tract is completely 
 coalescent with the anterior part, which is distinguished as a separate portion only by its rather 
 strong plumage ; the other species of Scolopax, on the contrary, follow the ordinary type, 
 although the division of the hinder part is somewhat longer than in Charadrius. Sometimes as, 
 for example, in Rhynchcea capcnxis there is no true division of the hinder part of the dorsal tract, 
 this being scarcely indicated by the very sparse position of the feathers in the middle of the 
 tract. The commencement of the hinder part also extends between the limbs of the anterior 
 part ; a character which also occurs in those genera in whicli the longitudinal space is only narrow 
 
THE SCOLOPACINyE. 135 
 
 in the hinder part (Hypsibates, Recurvirostra, Ilcematopus, Thinocorus). Such deviations from the 
 type of the family are, however, rare, and I have not met with them except in the genera just 
 mentioned. On the other hand, there is a perceptible and constant difference in the plumage of 
 the neck. In this respect, also, the genus Rlii/nclicea constitutes an exception, as it possesses a 
 ptilosis continua on the whole of the neck, has no lateral neck-space, and the inferior space only 
 just passes beyond the level of the furcula. In all the other genera there is a lateral neck-space ; 
 and this, indeed, is very distinct, as it bears few or no down-feathers. In Charadrius, Scolopax, 
 Numenius, Totanus, Limosa, Tringa, Phdaropus, and the majority of the genera, this space runs 
 almost or quite up to the head, and thus pretty completely separates the dorsal tract from the inferior 
 tract (Plate IX, figs. 9 and 10). In other genera, such as Hypsibates and Recurvirostra, it appears 
 not to extend beyond the middle of the neck, thus leaving the upper extremity continuous. With 
 this the division of the inferior tract-bands agrees to a certain extent. In no single genus does this 
 extend further up the neck than the lateral neck-space, but in many cases it is shorter. Examples 
 of this are furnished by the genera Scolopax, Tringa, Phdaropus, and Tachydromus, in which the 
 bands of the inferior tract only separate immediately in front of the furcula, whilst the lateral 
 neck-spaces reach to the head. On the other hand, however, there are examples of an equal 
 extension of these spaces, which sometimes, as in Charadrius and Numenius, reach the head, 
 sometimes only passes a little beyond the middle of the neck, as in Hypsibates, Recurvirostra* 
 Hcematopus, Chionis, Thinocorus, and Glareola. These distinctions are the only ones that struck 
 me in the numerous species of all the genera examined ; in all other respects the closest agreement 
 prevails. In the structure of the wings, moreover, although not perhaps in their form, one and 
 the same fundamental type is presented. This consists in the posterior secondaries being pretty 
 nearly of the same length as the anterior primaries, so as to give the wing a bilobed appearance. 
 The total number of remiges varies from twenty-three to thirty, but there are always ten on the 
 pinion, of which the first is the longest with but few exceptions (e.g. Scolopax). The humerus, 
 although not very long, bears rather strong paraptera, of which the upper is more acute than the 
 lower one, but consists of fewer feathers ; the latter passes on to the breast, and is connected with 
 the point of the outer branch of the inferior tract. The hindmost feathers of the generally strong 
 axillary tract exceed the paraptera in length, and in the extended state of the wing, as indeed 
 always, lie immediately within them, between them and the trunk. On the wing itself the upper 
 space is not very broad ; but the lower one is continued over the greater part of the humerus, 
 the wing-membrane, and the forearm. In the tail I usually found twelve feathers, but in 
 Rhyncheea only ten, and in some species of Scolopax more than twelve, even as many as twenty- 
 six. The moderately large oil-gland has a strong circlet of feathers on the mamilla, but never 
 more than two orifices, one in each half : the latter, however, are generally very wide. 
 
 Considering these multifarious accordances, any special description of the genera and species 
 seems to be superfluous ; I shall therefore confine myself to mentioning those examined, and 
 referring under each to any peculiarity that may occur in it. 
 
 1. Numenius. Very remarkable for the profound division (reminding us of the Stork-type) 
 of the anterior part of the dorsal tract : this extends far beyond the middle of the neck, but is 
 inferior in length to the lateral neck-space and inferior space, which reach to the head. I found 
 this condition in N. arquatus and tenuirostris, both of which possess thirty remiges. 
 
 2. Rhynchcea capensis. The peculiarity of the ptilosis continua of the neck, and the absence 
 of a space in the posterior part of the dorsal tract, have already been mentioned : of the latter, 
 
136 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 however, I found a faint indication above the lumbar vertebrae. The remarkably short wings 
 contain about twenty obtuse remiges, of which the second is the longest. In the tail I found 
 only ten, feathers. 
 
 3. Scolopax. The coalescence of the lumbar tracts with the posterior part of the dorsal 
 tract, and the remarkably large space which this tract encloses, are the most important pterylo- 
 graphic characters of this genus (Plate IX, fig. 10). The lateral neck-space extends to the head; 
 the inferior space, only to the lower extremity of the neck ; the spinal space, as usual, scarcely to 
 the level of the shoulders. In the species examined I found the following numbers of feathers : 
 8. rusticula, twenty-six remiges, sometimes only nine on the pinion, and twelve rectrices. S. major, 
 twenty-five remiges, sixteen rectrices. S. gallinula, twenty-four remiges, twelve rectrices. S. 
 stenoptera, twenty -five (?) remiges, of which ten are certainly on the pinion, but twenty-six rectrices, 
 of which the eight outer ones on each side are of a remarkably narrow, linear form, and terminate 
 in rounded ends. S. minor, twenty-six remiges, the first three singularly narrowed and curved 
 into a sabre-like form, the fourth and fifth the longest ; fourteen rectrices. S. yrisea, twenty (?) 
 remiges and twelve rectrices. The oil-gland in this genus is also very remarkable for its broad 
 cordate form and long cylindrical mamilla, which is held extended by the tubes of the feathers 
 of the circlet, as in the Hoopoe ; but the cavities of the two halves are separated, each reaching 
 far into the substance of the gland, and becoming pointed behind. 
 
 4. Tringa. The pterylosis has nothing remarkable about it ; all the species possess twelve 
 rectrices, and the smaller ones from twenty-three to twenty-four, the larger ones from twenty-five 
 to twenty-six remiges, of which the first is the longest. The spinal space reaches to the caudal 
 pit, and the inferior space appears not to pass far beyond the base of the neck. The species 
 examined were T. subarquata, minuta, temmincJcii, platyrhyncha, islandica, alpina, andpttynaa:. 
 
 5. Limosa. The inferior space is continued as far as the middle of the neck, otherwise 
 everything as in Tringa ; the number of rectrices is also the same, but the remiges amount to 
 twenty-eight. L. nifa and L. melanura were examined. 
 
 6. Totanus. The pterylosis agrees exactly with that of Limosa, even to having, as in 
 Tringa, the undivided uropygial band very broad and sparsely feathered, but not connected with 
 the long, narrow lumbar tracts. Of rectrices I always find twelve ; but the remiges are sometimes 
 twenty-four (T. hypoleucus], sometimes twenty-five (T. oc/tropits), twenty-six (T. glareola and 
 bartramius), or twenty-seven (T. glottis and maculatus), of which the first appears to be always 
 the longest. 
 
 7. Phalaropus. The dorsal tract is narrow and weak; but the main bands of the inferior 
 tract are broad, and only separate close in front of the furcula. The lateral neck-space reaches a 
 little beyond the middle of the neck. I always found twelve tail-feathers, and twenty-five long, 
 pointed remiges, of which those ", on the pinion are much longer than those on the ulna; the 
 first is the longest of all. The hypopterum unites, not with the tip, but with the middle of the 
 outer branch. P. fimbriatus, platyrhynchus, and hyperboreus were examined. The brood-spots 
 which I have observed in this bird have been already mentioned. 1 They are situated between 
 the main stem and the outer branch of the inferior tract, and are produced by the want of the 
 down-feathers, which fall out spontaneously. Brood-spots formed in precisely the same manner 
 have been met with by me in several other species of this family. 
 
 1 Footnote, ante, p. 33. 
 
THE 800LOPACINJE. 137 
 
 8. Hypsibates himantopw (Himantopw rnfipes, ALIOR.). On the head, and as far as the 
 middle of the neck, the plumage is uninterrupted ; at this point the broad lateral neck-space 
 commences, and soon afterwards also the inferior space. The rest of the pterylosis is not pecu- 
 liar, but the tracts are narrow. The posterior part of the dorsal tract is divided almost as far as 
 the caudal pit, and the following simple uropygial band is not dilated, although the limbs in front 
 of it are widened. The long lumbar tract is pretty strong. In the wing I counted twenty-nine 
 remiges, of which the first is the longest ; the tail contains twelve rectrices. 
 
 9. Recurvirostra avocetta. The lateral neck-space and inferior space reach only to the 
 middle of the neck. In the inferior tract I was struck by the much greater distance of the two 
 main stems from the crest of the sternum. The posterior half of the dorsal tract is at first 
 parsely feathered, perhaps without any longitudinal space, and extends far within the branches 
 of the fork of the anterior part. The simple uropygial band is more densely feathered, and 
 commences as far forward as the middle of the pelvis ; it has scattered contour-feathers beside it, 
 especially in front, but remains quite separate from the lumbar tracts. The contour-feathers 
 which stand between the branches of the fork of the anterior part of the dorsal tract are as long 
 as the large feathers of the axillary tract, which is very remarkable. In the wing I counted thirty 
 remiges, and the first, as usual, was the longest ; in the tail there are twelve feathers. 
 
 10. Dramas ardeola. The pterylosis exactly as in the Avocet, even to the dorsal tract, remiges, 
 and rectrices. The oil-gland remarkably thick and large, like that of the Stork, but with only two 
 wide orifices. It is, however, provided with equally wide apertures also in Recurvirostra, Hypsi- 
 bates, Limosa, Scolopax, and Numeniits. 
 
 [11. Chionis alba. This singular bird, which I have recently examined carefully as to its 
 pterylography, belongs to the Scolopacinee in every particular, as was first stated by Blainville 
 (' Ann. Sci. Nat.,' nouv. ser., torn, vi, p. 99), and, in my opinion, stands in the same relation to 
 Hcematopus as Dramas to Recurvirostra. It has exactly the pterylosis of Recurvirostra, although 
 both the lateral neck-space and the inferior space extend higher up on the neck, 1 and in the 
 dense continuous plumage of the head there is a naked spot, covered with warts, extending 
 beneath the eye from the angle of the mouth nearly to the ear. The tract-bands are remarkably 
 broad and strong, especially the main stem of the inferior tract, which is placed closer than usual 
 to the outer branch, exactly as in Recurvirostra. The dorsal tract I could not accurately dis- 
 tinguish, the skin having been divided down the middle of its upper surface. I noticed only the 
 strong limbs of the anterior part, and that the posterior part was of weak formation, especially in 
 front. The lumbar tracts, which are very strong, are not in contact with the posterior part. In 
 the wing, which is rendered remarkable by a short, thick spur situated at the wrist-joint, there 
 are twenty-five very acute remiges, of which the posterior on the ulna are as long as the anterior 
 on the pinion, but, during repose, are almost completely covered by the long axillary feathers. The 
 tail bears twelve feathers, of which the middle ones are somewhat abbreviated, so that it appears 
 slightly furcate ; the outermost on each side is, however, shorter than the following one, which is 
 the longest. The oil-gland was remarkably thick and large, and the entire plumage was every- 
 where perhaps stronger and denser than in any other Scolopacine Bird. The legs are short, and 
 naked only from the heel-joint ; they are closely covered with small verruciform scales, but on the 
 
 This appears to be a peculiarity of all short-necked genera, a ptUosis continua occurring in the 
 long-necked forms, at least on the upper part. BURM. 
 
 IS 
 
138 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 surface of the toes with numerous small half-rings of equal size. The hinder toe is of moderate 
 size, and touches the ground. BURM.] 
 
 [12. The pterylosis of Hamatopus ostralegus, which Nitzsch had not investigated, appeared 
 to me, on account of the near affinity of this bird to Chionis, to require a more exact consideration ; 
 and I found it to be perfectly similar, all the tracts, especially, being equally close and strong, 
 with the exception of the posterior part of the dorsal tract, which is weak and has a narrow longi- 
 tudinal space, reaching to the caudal pit. The outer branch and ventral part of the inferior tract 
 are very broad, and consist of from six to eight feathers in each oblique row. The axillary tracts 
 are only three feathers in breadth, and are united in front to the outer branch of the inferior tract 
 by a narrow band. The long lumbar tracts are perfectly free. In the wing I found twenty- 
 nine remiges ; the twenty-sixth is situated at the elbow, and is of equal length with the third 
 primary. The large oil-gland was furnished with a circlet of contour-feathers, and on its mamilla 
 there were numerous grey oil-feathers. The tail bore twelve rectrices. BURM.] 
 
 13. Strepsilas interpres. The contour-plumage is almost exactly as in Tringa platyrliyncha, 
 but the main stem of the inferior tract is dilated somewhat more outwardly on the ventral surface, 
 and the branches of the fork of the anterior dorsal tract are narrower, although the other tract- 
 bands are on the whole somewhat broader and stronger. In the wing I counted twenty-five 
 remiges, and in the tail twelve rectrices. 
 
 14. Charadrius. The representation of the pterylosis of C. pluvialis, given in Plate IX, 
 figs. 8 and 9, shows that this genus possesses all the characters of the family, and, as regards 
 subordinate differences, belongs to that group in the members of which the lateral neck-spaces 
 and the inferior space extend up to the head. A greater peculiarity is to be found in the short 
 furcation of the hinder part of the dorsal tract, and the long, narrow form of the uropygial band of 
 this portion, from which the rather strong lumbar tracts are far removed. In the species 
 examined, such as C. minor, hiaticula, pluvialis, and morinellus, I found from twenty-five to 
 twenty-six remiges, among which, in C. morinellus, the first secondary is remarkably broad, 
 and is obliquely and sinuously truncated at the end, whilst the first primary has a singularly 
 thick shaft. The Lapwing (C. vanellus) also presents precisely the same characters as the other 
 Plovers ; but C. cedicnemus (CEdicnemus crepitans, TEMM.) has. twenty-nine remiges, and, if I have 
 observed correctly, a more sparse and scattered plumage on the uropygial band. All the species 
 above mentioned possess twelve rectrices. 
 
 In this genus I also examined the nestling-plumage in the case of the Common Peewit 
 (C. vanellus) ; and it appeared to be exactly analogous to that of the other Waders. The nestling- 
 down here also consists of downy barbs, which are seated upon the first perfected barbs of all 
 the contour-feathers, even upon the merely downy ones on the sides of the trunk, and subse- 
 quently fall off. The upper extremities of these deciduous nestling down-feathers have rather 
 long hair-like points, which are differently coloured, and produce the well-known markings of the 
 young nestlings. As this is similar in all the Scolopacina, this structure of the nestling-coat 
 appears to belong to the whole family. 
 
 15. Tachydromus isabellinus is distinguished from Charadrius only in having the hinder 
 part of the dorsal tract more deeply divided as far as the caudal pit, and the axillary tracts very 
 broad, rounded off posteriorly, and united anteriorly to the commencement of the pectoral 
 branch of the inferior tract by a narrow band. The number of remiges amounts to twenty-seven 
 or twenty-eight. 
 
SWIMMING BIRDS. 139 
 
 16. Thinocorus rumicivorus, ESCHSCH., Zool. Att. (Ocypetes torquatus, WAGL., Isis, 1829, 
 p. 762). This remarkable bird, which Wagler very improperly compares with the Sand Grouse 
 (Pterodes), (is in every particular an aberrant Scolopacine form, related to Glareola in exactly the 
 same way as Chionis to Hcematopus, or Dramas to Recurvirostra. BuRM.). 1 Its pterylosis differs 
 from the form represented for Charadrius only as follows : the outer branch of the inferior tract 
 is more closely approximated to the main stem, and lies exactly upon the middle of the breast ; 
 the ventral portion of the same tract is very strongly arched, and dilated externally ; the hinder 
 part of the dorsal tract has its longitudinal space extending further down, is rather wider on the 
 whole, and comes in contact anteriorly with the fork of the anterior part ; the inferior space 
 extends up beyond the middle of the neck ; and, lastly, the axillary tracts, as in Tachydromus, are 
 broadly rounded and united anteriorly with the inferior tract. In the wing, which is nearly as 
 long and pointed as in Glareola, I counted twenty-six remiges ; the somewhat cuneate tail 
 consists of twelve feathers. 
 
 17. Glareola. In both species of this genus I found exactly the same pterylosis as in 
 Thinocorus and Tachydromus ; the nurnbetfof remiges is also the same, as is that of the rectrices, 
 although the tail is very remarkable for its furcate form. However, I could discover no down- 
 feathers among the contour-feathers in G. orientalis ; hence the outer branch of the inferior 
 tract appeared to be somewhat broader, and to be rather more connected with the main stem 
 anteriorly. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SWIMMING BIRDS NATATORE8. 
 
 THE most general pterylographic character of this last main division of the class of Birds 
 consists in the very broad form of their tracts, with which is combined a comparatively narrow 
 form of the spaces. Nevertheless, the arrangement of the plumage approaches much less to an 
 uninterrupted feathery covering than in other broad-tracted birds, especially in those Picarite in 
 which, as in the Maccaws, Hornbills, and Colics, there is nearly aptilosis continua ; because in the 
 Natatores the contour-feathers stand remarkably close together, and form such dense tracts that 
 even a very narrow space may be distinctly recognised. In the tracts, moreover, the contour- 
 feathers are inserted perfectly regularly in parallel rows, which are always placed obliquely to the 
 longitudinal axis of the body, and meet, on the margins of the perpendicular median plane 
 which would divide the body into two symmetrical halves, in such a manner as to form an acute 
 angle, when they are not separated by a space situated at that part. This oblique direction of 
 
 1 Nitzsch- was inclined to refer it to the Alectorides a view which is admissible inasmuch as the 
 Alectorides themselves are only aberrant forms, which belong partly to the Scolopacirue (Otis), partly 
 to the Fulicarice (Dicholophus, Grits, Psophia, and Palamedea). BURM. 
 
140 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 rows of contour-feathers in the tracts is the rule not only in the case of every tract, whether 
 broad or narrow, in this family, but also in all other birds, and occurs equally in the 
 Aerial, Terrestrial, and Wading Birds, but cannot always be recognised with equal distinct- 
 ness in all these on account of the narrowness of the tracts. Essentially the natural direc- 
 tion of these rows appears to be from within and in front, outward and backward, so that the 
 angle formed by each pair of rows at their point of contact in the median line opens pos- 
 teriorly ; but as this contact is always deficient on the ventral surface, and is only distinct on 
 the dorsal surface when the dorsal tract contains no longitudinal space, the rows of feathers not 
 only appear to run in an opposite direction in many places, but two rows may even seern to meet 
 and intersect each other, forming acute angles with their obtuse complementary angles of 
 course because the distance of each two feathers in each row being the same, these mutually cor- 
 responding feathers themselves again form rows. These rows may be very distinctly recognised 
 on birds plucked quite clean, by the follicles in which the feathers are inserted, and the small 
 cutaneous muscles which pass from the interior lower extremity of each contour-feather towards 
 all the four neighbouring feathers, and are inserted on the inner surface of the skin in the circum- 
 ference of the follicle in which the feather is inserted. These feather-muscles, which are employed 
 in the erection and depression of the contour- feathers (see p. 13), are seen most distinctly, on 
 account of their size, in the Natatores, and especially in those with a pneumatic skin, such 
 as Dysporus and Pelecanus. But no one can overlook them even in our Domestic Goose, when 
 the inferior tracts of this bird, beautifully cleaned, are brought to table with the smoked 
 breast. The regular serial position of the contour-feathers is so distinctly expressed as to 
 be unmistakeable. 
 
 Between each four feathers, which together form a rhombus, there is always at least one 
 down-feather, and this is exactly in the middle of the space just indicated ; but besides these 
 we not unfrequently find others which appear to be intruded between each two contour-feathers 
 of each row, so that in such a case the rows consist of alternate contour- and down-feathers ; 
 or they are seated upon the surface of each individual rhombus, but still in the same direction 
 with regard to the contour-feathers. These down-feathers are then always smaller than those 
 which occupy the middle of the rhombic spaces ; but neither of these positions can be recognised 
 after the down has been pulled out, partly because the down-feathers have much smaller tubes, 
 but partly because they are entirely destitute of the above-mentioned feather-muscles. The 
 difference between the down-feathers is, however, usually a comparative one, those occupying the 
 middle being larger than those between the contour-feathers ; nevertheless in Anas pcnelope I 
 have found the larger down-feathers to be of a darker colour than the smaller ones. Of course, 
 this difference must disappear when all the down-feathers are white, as in the white Domestic 
 Goose, Swans, or other white Swimming-birds ; but in those with varied colours the down-feathers 
 are, as usual, grey. As regards the spaces of the Natatores, these likewise have a dense downy 
 covering, which perhaps also consists of double down-feathers. I need scarcely remark, as it has 
 already been stated in the first section, that each contour-feather has its filoplumes about it, and 
 that there may be as many as ten in this group, e. ff. in the Geese. In such cases, although 
 they have a similar structure, they are of very various lengths. 
 
 The very frequent, although not universal deficiency of the after-shaft on the contour- 
 and down-feathers appears to arise from this closely approximated position of the feathers, which, 
 without it, form a very dense and securely protective covering; for it is exactly in those Swimming- 
 
THE LONGIPENNES. 141 
 
 birds in which the plumage is very dense, such as the genera Diomedea and Halieus, and the 
 family of the Unguirostres, that the aftershaft is entirely wanting. In harmony with this is 
 its remarkable size in those birds which are without down-feathers, whether only between the 
 contour-feathers or also on the 'spaces, such as the Gattinae, Passerinae, and many Picarice. In 
 these groups also it is lost when dense down-feathers make their appearance, as in Alcedo. The 
 Pigeons alone, of which, however, the tracts are broad and very densely feathered, have neither 
 down-feathers nor aftershafts, whereas the Diurnal Birds of Prey, like most of the Waders, are 
 provided with both ; but their tracts are narrow, and the bands of which they are composed 
 consist often only of two, and at the utmost of five or six rows. 
 
 The general outlines of the tracts in the Natatores agree much more in all their members 
 than is the case, for example, in the Wading Birds. The general rule is, that the inferior tract 
 does not possess a distinct and perfectly free outer branch, and the dorsal tract is not interrupted 
 by a true gap. The Longipennes form exceptions to both rules, and thus approach the Scolopacince. 
 Then Diomedea, Colymbus and Eudt/tes have a true gap in the dorsal tract, and Una, Alca, and 
 Mormon, a half-free outer branch reaching as far as the knee-covert. A trace of this is found in 
 the Unguirostres, and more distinctly in the Tubinares. In all these cases the ventral portion, 
 which is often independent only from the extremity of the sternum, is usually not only very broad, 
 but dilated towards the sides in the middle of the belly ; a structure which occurs only in Water 
 Birds, and has already been very distinctly recognised among the Scolopacince (seep. 134). The 
 relative numbers of the remiges and rectrices are more various in this group. The former here 
 attain their greatest number, namely fifty, in Diomedea; they are usually thirty, and rarely 
 decrease to twenty-five, as in the small species of Colymbus. Of the tail-feathers it may be 
 asserted in general, that they are very small, soft and numerous, but nevertheless often vary in 
 number. Thus among the Unguirostres there are usually twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, 
 twenty, or twenty-four rectrices but also fifteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, or twenty-three ; 
 in which cases there is one more on one side than on the other. I found the largest number 
 in Aptenodytes, namely thirty, but they are remarkably small. Twelve large, strong rectrices are 
 possessed without exception only by the Longipennes : the small Petrels appear to possess ten, as 
 the smallest number ; but even among these the majority have twelve, and Procellaria gigantea 
 has fourteen. Among the Unguirostres and Pygopodes nearly every species has its own charac- 
 teristic number ; but among the Steganopodes, in which again they become stronger, the usual 
 number is twelve, Phaeton having sixteen, some species of Haliem fourteen, and Pelecanus 
 twenty-two, twenty-three, or twenty-four. In those birds which are constantly swimming, such as 
 the Tubinares and Steganopodes, the oil-gland is very large, and frequently furnished with more than 
 two orifices; in the other families it is of smaller size, and has only two -apertures. Neither the 
 circlet of oil-feathers, nor the gland itself, is ever wanting in this division. 
 
 1. LONGIPENNES. 
 
 The pterylosis of this family approaches very closely to that of the Scolopacince, and can 
 hardly be distinguished therefrom with certainty by any character. It consists, on the head, of a 
 continuous plumage, in which I only find spaces about the eye and the orifice of the ear. From 
 
142 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 this two tract-bands originate a rather broad one on the back, and a narrow one at the angle of 
 the throat. These are separated by the rather broad lateral neck-spaces. The former remains 
 simple as far as the scapulas, and then divides into a fork, the tolerably strong branches of which 
 terminate before reaching the extremities of the shoulder-blades. At this point the dorsal tract 
 is usually interrupted by a true gap, but in Lestris parasitica this is either entirely wanting or 
 very imperfect. The following posterior part is at first weakened in proportion as the gap 
 appears more distinctly; it then commences with two parallel rows of feathers between the 
 arms of the fork, and these become widened on the outside posteriorly, and at the same time grow 
 somewhat stronger, only coalescing at the caudal pit to form a short, strong stem, which runs to 
 the oil-gland, and apparently terminates at it. From this posterior part the lumbar tracts are 
 generally quite separate ; in Lestris catarrhactes alone, in which they stand much more obliquely, 
 they touch the stem of the uropygial band. The inferior tract -which, as we have seen, issues 
 simple from the plumage of the throat, remains undivided as far as the middle of the neck, when 
 it separates into two divergent limbs, and continuing in this condition over the middle of the 
 furcula, passes on to the pectoral surface. Here it immediately forms an outer branch, sometimes 
 quite free, sometimes free only in its posterior half; this is somewhat stronger than the main 
 band, and terminates rather far back, at the margin of the mmculus pectoralis major. The 
 somewhat narrower and weaker main band at first turns inwards, and approaches nearest to its 
 fellow at the middle of the sternal crest ; from this point the two bands diverge, form a curve on 
 the belly, where they become rather broader and stronger, and terminate close to the anus. The 
 rest of the plumage presents no special peculiarities. On the humerus, which is remarkable for 
 its great length, there is beneath a strong hypopterum, which also appears upon the breast, but 
 is not actually connected with the outer branch of the inferior tract. This part of the wing is in 
 other respects a mere space ; but the upper surface has a continuous plumage, separated from the 
 strong axillary tracts by a small space which is particularly insignificant behind. On the 
 contour-feathers I observed a weak, fluffy aftershaft. The large, broad oil-gland, which is 
 strongly truncated behind, bears a dense circlet of oil-feathers, and has frequently, perhaps 
 always, several orifices in each half. 
 
 1. Sterna (PI. IX, figs. 11 and 12). In this genus, in consequence of the slender and 
 elegant form of the body, the tracts are very narrow, and perfectly Scolopacine ; but in other 
 respects correspond with the general description above given. Of the species examined, namely, 
 8. caspia, leucopareia, Mr undo, arctica, TEMM., fissipes and minuta, the first has thirty-three 
 remiges, the following three twenty-nine, and the last two only twenty-six, of which the first is 
 always the longest, and ten are seated on the pinion. The tail contains twelve feathers, and is 
 generally furcate, although the two outermost feathers are not always the longest, but sometimes 
 two others; for example, in S. stolida, the fourth on each side counting from without. In 
 S. hirundo the first secondary, the eleventh feather in the wing, is remarkable for its broad form, 
 and for being sinuously truncated at the end. This species also has three orifices on each half 
 of the oil-gland, whilst in S.fissipes I only found one. 
 
 2. Jthynchops. From an examination of R. nigra and R. albirostris, LICHT., this genus 
 seems to have exactly the pterylosis of Sterna ; but the down-feathers appeared to be smaller, and 
 entirely deficient among the contour-feathers of the tracts. Both species have twelve tail-feathers 
 and from twenty-nine to thirty remiges, of which ten are seated on the pinion, and the first 
 is the longest. 
 
THE TUBINARES. 143 
 
 3. Larus. The smaller species of this genus, such as L, minutus, ridibundus, and canus, 
 have precisely the pterylosis of Sterna; but in the larger species, such as L. argentatus, 
 tridactylus, eburneus, and marinus, the tract-bands appear perceptibly broader, although exactly 
 similar in pattern, from which it follows, as a matter of course, that the spaces must be of less 
 extent. Nevertheless, the outer branch and main stem of the inferior tract are not partially 
 coalescent, but, on the contrary, the space separating them is broader in proportion than in 
 Sterna. I found down-feathers all over the body, even decidedly between the contour-feathers. 
 Even upon the body of the oil-gland, which is not very large, there are several rows of semi- 
 plumes. The mamilla of this gland is somewhat longer than in Sterna, and has three orifices in 
 each half; these open close together in a bowl-shaped depression. I found this structure 
 in L. marinus and tridactylus, and believe we may assume that the same occurs in all other 
 species of Larus. Of the species examined L. minutus had twenty-eight remiges, L. ridibundus 
 thirty, L. canus and tridactylus thirty-one, L. argentatus and marinus thirty-four. In all there are 
 ten on the pinion, and the first is the longest throughout. The number of rectrices is twelve. 
 
 4. Lestris. This genus differs from the other Longipennes especially in having the outer 
 branch of the inferior tract united with the main stem in the first part of its course (PI. IX, 
 fig. 13), and all the tracts still broader and stronger than in Larus. In L. catarrhactes and 
 pomarinus the dorsal tract agrees with the type of the Longipennes, although its longitudinal space 
 is proportionally broader, on account of the stouter formation of the thorax in the Skuas. Hence 
 also, probably, it happens that the lumbar tracts are placed more obliquely than in the Gulls, and 
 coalesce posteriorly with the uropygial band of the dorsal tract (PL IX, fig. 14). I have already 
 mentioned with regard to L. parasiticus that the anterior part of the dorsal tract is not dis- 
 tinctly separated from the posterior. I may add that the arms of the former pass directly 
 into the two branches of the latter, thus producing a form which appears to be very similar to 
 the type of the Hallince (see p. 125). Combined with this is an increased separation of the outer 
 branch from the main stem of the inferior tract. All three species have twelve tail-feathers, and 
 from twenty-six to twenty-eight remiges, of which ten are situated on the pinion, and the first is 
 the longest. In Lestris catarrhactes the large oil-gland agrees perfectly in structure with that of 
 Larus marinus : it has semiplumes on its surface, but only at the base ; a very broad, short 
 mamilla, and three orifices in each half. 
 
 2. NASUT^E seu TUBINARES. 
 
 In this family the tract-formation of Lestris is elevated into the type of a group, undergoing 
 scarcely any change in the form of the inferior tract, but showing some little modification in the 
 dorsal tract. We find, therefore, on the head, a uniformly dense plumage, from which the two 
 principal tracts issue. The latter are separated from each other by the lateral neck-spaces, which 
 extend high up, nearly to the head. The inferior tract is divided near the head, becomes of con- 
 siderable breadth whilst still on the neck, and passes in this condition on to the breast, the 
 surface of which is covered by each band in a rather broad, parallel-sided form, emitting no 
 branch as far as the margin of the musculus pecloralis major. Here it is divided by a space 
 
144 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 starting from the knee-covert, in such a manner that a short continuation of the tract, which is to be 
 regarded as an outer branch, passes near the knee into the lateral space of the trunk, runs on over the 
 thigh, and soon afterwards terminates. The other, inner branch, which represents the main band, 
 then proceeds upon the belly, turns in a somewhat arcuated form outwards, dilates considerably 
 in the middle of the bow, and terminates near the anus. By this means the inferior tract 
 acquires nearly the appearance of that of the genera Hcematopus, Chionis, Dramas, Recurvirostra , 
 Thinocorus, &c., among the Scolapacince, departing chiefly from the type of these birds only in 
 having a much shorter outer branch, which is free only at its extremity. The dorsal tract is at first 
 broad, becomes narrower towards the middle of the neck, then expands to the shoulder, and 
 divides at that point, or from the middle of the scapulae, into two limbs. In most of the Tubi- 
 nares these limbs pass uninterruptedly into the posterior half of the dorsal tract ; and this circum- 
 stance forms their family character as distinguished from the Longipennes. In the present group 
 the posterior half of the dorsal tract encloses a longitudinal space as far as the caudal pit, dilates a 
 little outwardly upon the pelvis, and thus usually becomes united with the very oblique lumbar 
 tracts, and grows rather strong in the simple uropygial band, also covering the base of the oil- 
 gland. The latter is always of very remarkable size, and has a strong circlet of feathers on the 
 mamilla, but rarely more than two orifices. Diomedea, which possesses a greater number, also 
 differs in having the anterior part of the dorsal tract separated from the posterior simple part, and 
 presents several deviations from the type of the family, especially in the length of its wings and 
 some other characters. The same fact is likewise expressed in its very broad and strong axillary 
 tracts, and the comparatively small size of its hypopterum. 
 
 1. Procellaria. The tract-formation in P.glanalis (PI. X, figs. 1 and 2) maybe regarded 
 as well representing of the general character the family, from which, however, some 
 species differ in particular points. It may be seen from the figures, that the inferior space 
 actually reaches to the angle of the throat, that the emargination in the inferior tract at the knee- 
 covert is moderately deep, that the ventral portion of this tract is but little widened, and that the 
 dorsal tract is connected posteriorly, where it becomes broad, with the lumbar tracts, which are 
 neither very strong, nor separated from the plumage of the tibial regions. In the wing I found 
 thirty-two remiges, of which ten are seated on the pinion, and the first is the longest. The tail 
 con tain s fourteen rectrices. The pterylosis in P. capensis is precisely similar ; but the notch in the 
 inferior tract near the knee is deeper, and the ventral portion broader. The number of remiges is 
 only thirty-one, but that of the rectrices is fourteen. P. giyantea exhibits no difference in the 
 inferior tract, except that it is broader, and the notch is consequently deeper in proportion. In the 
 dorsal tract, however, the anterior part can be clearly distinguished from the posterior by its 
 stronger and more densely feathered formation, although the two parts pass directly into one 
 another. The posterior part consists of two converging rows of strong contour-feathers, which 
 become parallel from the caudal pit, and form the simple uropygial band, but have scattered, 
 weaker contour-feathers beside them, by which they meet the biserial and rather strong, but short 
 lumbar tracts. The anterior part is comparatively more deeply cleft, and the spinal space reaches 
 the level of the shoulders. The number of remiges amounts to thirty-eight or forty, their 
 relative length continuing the same ; the number of rectrices is sixteen. In the large 
 oil-gland I think I detected several orifices in each half. P. pelagica is characterised by narrower 
 tract-bands, but has a dorsal tract of precisely the same form as in P. gigantea, except that the 
 scattered contour-feathers near the hinder part are wanting. In the wing I counted 
 
THE NASUT^E. 145 
 
 twenty-two remigcs, of which the first was equal to the fourth, and the second was the 
 longest. 1 
 
 2. Pachyptila ceerulea presents exactly the pterylographic characters of Procellaria, except 
 that the short lateral neck-space advances but little forward, and the notch in the inferior tract is 
 so deep that its posterior or ventral half is completely separated from the anterior. The dorsal 
 tract presents nearly the same character as in P. gic/antea, but the division of the anterior part is 
 not so deep, and the lumbar tracts join the posterior part in the same oblique direction that I have 
 shown in Puffinus oliscurus (PI. X, fig. 3). The number of remiges is twenty-eight, and of these 
 the second is the longest. The rectrices are only twelve in number. 
 
 3. Puffinus olscurus (PI. X, fig. 3). The feather-tracts of this genus differ from those of 
 Procellaria only in that the spinal space is situated higher up, reaching to the level of the 
 shoulder, but not passing beyond the commencement of the pelvic region. Here this tract, which 
 does not divide into two parts either as regards the position or the strength of the feathers, becomes 
 simple, and receives the somewhat sparsely feathered lumbar tracts, which are prolonged obliquely 
 from behind forwards. By this means they present precisely the reverse of the form represented in 
 Procellaria, and closely approach the formation of Pachyptila; a resemblance which is still further 
 increased by the short lateral neck-space, reaching only to the middle of the neck. Puffinus 
 obscurus has thirty remiges, of which the first is the longest ; and twelve tail-feathers, which, again, 
 furnishes an analogy with the second genus mentioned. 
 
 4. Diomcdea. This genus, judging from an examination of D. exulans (PI. X, fig. 4) and 
 D. chlororl/yncha, has on the ventral surface precisely the pterylosis of Procellaria, except that the 
 inferior space only commences at the middle of the neck. The dorsal tract, however, presents 
 many peculiarities. The most important character is unquestionably the complete separation of 
 the anterior part from the posterior, the former being at the same time very strong and coarse, 
 and the latter weak. The former is broad, densely feathered, and furcate from the shoulder- 
 joint, with the extremity of each branch of the fork rounded off. The posterior part forms a weakly 
 feathered ellipse, extending from the extremity of the anterior part to the caudal pit ; its feathers 
 are placed, as usual, in oblique rows, converging in the middle, and running outward and back- 
 ward. At the caudal pit the ellipse contracts into a parallel-sided, strongly feathered uropygial 
 band, the extremity of which touches the large oil-gland. The latter is covered at the base with 
 semi-plumes, and has a strong circlet of feathers round the five openings of each half, which are 
 arranged in a perpendicular row. To these peculiarities are added very weak uniserial lumbar 
 tracts, closely approximated to the rump ; and proportionately stronger, broad, sex-serial axillary 
 tracts, which, in repose, entirely cover the enormously long wings. The length of the wings is 
 caused by the unexampled extent of the humerus and ulna. Hence also the number of remiges, 
 which amounts to fifty, is the greatest which I have ever observed in any bird. Nevertheless, 
 only ten of them are seated on the pinion, and of these the first is the longest ; the remaining forty 
 occupy the ulna in a row, and are consequently very small. These are followed on the humerus 
 by a large parapterum, consisting of about twenty feathers, corresponding with which there is 
 an equally strong hypopterurn on the lower surface. The number of rectrices is only twelve. 
 
 1 The University collection [at Halle] also contains P. oceanica, a species very nearly allied to 
 the last-named one. In this twelve rectrices are certainly present ; in a specimen of P. pelagica I only 
 find nine, but some are wanting on the left side. BURM. 
 
 19 
 
146 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 The contour-feathers are entirely destitute of aftersliafts, but have a very thick, inflated 
 quill. 
 
 3. UNGUIROSTRES sen 
 
 The form of the tracts in this family, which is very uniform also in other respects, follows a 
 very definite type, and is perfectly alike, with the exception of a slight difference in the length 
 of the spinal space, in all the species examined by me. The head is clothed with a continuous 
 plumage, which extends to the middle of the neck. Here the inferior space commences (PI. X, 
 fig. 5) as a narrow stripe, which widens a little upon the breast, and runs, continuing uniform in 
 breadth, exactly over the crest of the sternum, to the belly, where it becomes a little broader, and 
 continues so until it terminates at the anus. Corresponding with this space in position and form 
 is a somewhat narrower spinal space (fig. 6), which is always shorter, both before and behind, 
 than the inferior space, but generally extends from the lower extremity of the neck to the caudal 
 pit, although sometimes it is limited to the interscapulium. The dorsal tract enclosing this space 
 is of equal strength in all parts, never interrupted anywhere, but not of uniform breadth through- 
 out, being at first very narrow, then broader, and at last so broad as to be completely united to 
 the lumbar tracts, presenting no difference in texture either from these or from the plumage of the 
 tibial region. Besides the two spaces just described, there is a rather broad lateral trunk-space 
 (fig. 7). From this a continuation passes forward between the dorsal and axillary tracts up to the 
 level of the shoulder, and, reaching the lower extremity of the neck, forms the very short lateral 
 neck-space. Another prolongation passes along by the outer margin of the inferior tract and 
 beneath the wing, the base of which it surrounds, and unites with the lateral neck-space, com- 
 pletely separating the axillary tract from the inferior tract. Posteriorly the lateral trunk-space 
 extends to the knee, proceeds on the inside of the tibia beside the ventral portion of the inferior 
 tract, and reaches to the tail-feathers, bounded on its two sides by the dorsal and inferior tracts. 
 But before it reaches the region of the knee-covert a very strong prolongation of the inferior tract, 
 starting from the margin of the great pectoral muscle, penetrates into it, and this must be 
 regarded as an indication of an outer branch. It must therefore be assumed, with regard to the 
 latter, that it is completely united on the breast with the main stem of the inferior tract, although 
 it does not terminate in an oblique truncation at the margin of the breast ; but, as in the 
 Procettariee, extends beyond the breast, and is continued on the sides of the trunk almost to the 
 knee. This very considerable length of the outer branch occurs in many Waders, and has also 
 already been noticed in Crypturus (p. 117). This short outer branch, and the broad, obtuse, 
 axillary tract, constitute the strongest portion of the entire plumage of the trunk. Of the feathers 
 themselves there is little to be said. In their position they exactly follow the laws laid down for 
 the Natatores in the introductory remarks ; and as there are always not only one, but usually 
 several down-feathers between each four contour-feathers, the aftershaft destined to thicken the 
 plumage is here regularly altogether deficient. The contour-feathers of the truncal portion of the 
 
 See on the general structure of this family the article under the same title in ' Ersch und 
 Grater's Allgem. Enzykl.,' Erste Sekt, Bd. xxiv, p. 206. 
 
THE UNGUIROSTRES. 147 
 
 inferior tract are generally very broad, rounded, particularly strongly curved, and elastic. By this 
 means they lie very close together, and completely repel the water during natation. The oil- 
 gland, which, by its secretion, promotes this property of the contour-feathers, is of a cordate form 
 and of considerable size. Each half contains only one cavity, and opens by a separate orifice on 
 the pointed mamilla, which is crowned by a circlet of oil-feathers. The powerful remiges vary in 
 number from twenty-four to thirty-four, but there are always ten on the pinion, and the first of 
 these is generally the longest, more rarely the second, and very seldom (in Anas moscJiata} the 
 fourth. The rectrices are remarkably soft, small, and very variable in number, ranging between- 
 twelve and twenty-four. 
 
 Of the five genera of this family there is only one Cereopsis, 1 that I have been unable to 
 examine ; of the other four the following were accessible to me : 
 
 1. Cygnus. Contour-feather-tracts exactly as in Anser cinereus ; the spinal space, also, is of 
 the same length, at least in C. olor and musicus, which I examined. Both species have more than 
 thirty remiges, the second certainly thirty-four, of which ten are'seated on the pinion ; the second 
 is the longest. The first three have a strong angular emargination on the inside of the vane. In 
 the tail I found twenty-four feathers in C. musicus, in C. olor only twenty-one, and on one 
 occasion only sixteen. The large oil-gland has long and strong oil- feathers and two wide orifices 
 (see p. 41). 
 
 2. Anas. This genus is distinguished by the longer and stronger terminal branch of the 
 inferior tract, and has a still shorter lateral neck-space than the rest. Notwithstanding a great 
 general similarity, two pterylographic groiips may. be established in it, and these differ also 
 zoologically from each other in the form of the hinder toe. 
 
 a. The Pochards (Hydrobates, TEMM.) have a shorter spinal space, which is generally 
 limited to the interscapulium (as in Dysporus, PI. X, fig. 9), and never extends beyond the com- 
 mencement of the pelvis. In other respects they are distinguished by a still denser plumage, 
 and by the presence of the aftershaft, which, indeed, is often very small, for example, in 
 A.fuligula. I have seen it more distinctly in A. lobata, TEMM., and A. clatiffula, in which it is of 
 considerable dimensions. Most of the species, such as A. lobata, fuligula, ferina, leucopldlialma, 
 ri/fina, mollissima, marila, nigra, clangvla, and glacialis, have twenty-six or rarely twenty-seven 
 remiges, of which ten are seated on the pinion, and fourteen rectrices ; but of the latter A. lobata, 
 possesses twenty, A. leucophthalma eighteen, A. rufina and nigra sixteen, and exceptionally 
 A. clangula has seventeen and A. leucopldlialma fifteen. 
 
 b. In the true Ducks the spinal space generally reaches from the base of the neck to the 
 caudal pit (PL X, fig. 6), and is somewhat shorter only in particular species, for example, in 
 A. tadorna and crecca. I have never observed an aftershaft in them. In the wings I have 
 usually counted twenty-six remiges, of which the second is generally the longest ; in A. moscJiata 
 alone the fourth was the longest, and the preceding three were graduated. A. tadorna has 
 thirty remiges, and A. crecca only twenty-four. In the tail I found fourteen feathers in 
 A. penelope, tadorna, boschas, querqnedula, and clypcata ; sixteen in A. crecca and acuta ; but 
 the curled feathers of the male individuals are true tail-feathers, and not tail-coverts, and these 
 raise the number to twenty, at least in A. boschas. The females have the same number. 
 
 3. Anser. The spinal space extends to the commencement of the pelvis, and the lateral 
 
 1 I have only ascertained the number of tail-feathers in this bird, which is sixteen. 
 
148 PTERYLOGEAPHY. 
 
 neck-space nearly to the middle of the neck. At the same time the outer branch of the inferior 
 tract (PL X, fig. 7) is smaller and weaker, and, like the hinder part of the dorsal tract, more sparsely 
 feathered. In the wing there are twenty-nine remiges in A. cinereus, canademis, cygnoides, 
 albifrons, and leucopsis, and thirty in A. torquatus; in the tail I find fourteen feathers in 
 A. torquatus and pollicaris, sixteen in most species, and exceptionally seventeen, but eighteen only 
 in A. canadensis. A. gerrlda, an East Indian species, very similar to A. madagascariensis, has 
 twelve rectrices and twenty-five remiges. 
 
 4. Mcrgns. This genus, from the absence of the lateral neck-space and the shortness of 
 the spinal space, approaches most closely to the Pochards ; but the spinal space rises higher upon 
 the neck, even reaching to its middle. M. merganser, serrator, and cuciillatus, have eighteen 
 rectrices ; M. albettus possesses only sixteen ; but all four have the same number of remiges, 
 namely, twenty-seven. 
 
 Lastly, I have to notice the nestling plumage in this family, and to state with regard to 
 the Domestic Goose, in which I carefully examined it, that the down-feathers of which it consists 
 are true feathers, provided with shafts and tubes, which, however, are probably seated upon the 
 points of the future contour-feathers, just as we have seen them to be among the Cursorial Birds 
 (p. 119). The shaft and barbs of these down-feathers are rigid and of a yellow colour, and ter- 
 minate in fine capillary tips. The barbules attached to the lower part of the barbs are likewise 
 thin, filamentous, or capillary, but have a short, laminar basal piece, although no trace of knots 
 or hooks. The barbs stand very far apart on the shaft, and are, therefore, not numerous. 
 
 4. STEGANOPODES. 
 
 This family, like the preceding, has a very persistent type of pterylosis, and presents no 
 generic differences, except, perhaps, a variation in the density of the plumage, which appears to 
 be dependent on the climates in which the birds live, and is much more considerable in northern 
 than in tropical genera. The latter, such as Phaeton, Tachypetes, and Ilalieus, have certainly no 
 aftershaft on the contour-feathers ; but even in the other genera I have not met with it, and 
 it is therefore probably generally wanting. With regard to the feathers and tracts, the Stegano- 
 podes are, however, clearly enough distinguished from the Unguirostres. The feathers are here 
 always smaller, more pointed, and far less curved than in the Ducks and Geese. Nevertheless, 
 they are not placed closer together, but, on the whole, are rather wider apart and more sparse. In 
 the tracts the chief difference presented is the complete absence of a pectoral branch on the inferior 
 tract, the latter gradually becoming narrower from the commencement of the breast, and passing, 
 without the least break, from the pectoral surface to the ventral. Connected with this is an 
 abbreviation of the very narrow inferior space, for this never passes forward beyond the point of 
 furcation of the furcula, although posteriorly it attains the anus. The lateral space of the trunk 
 is broader, at least in Dysporus, where it is continued between the lumbar and dorsal tracts, and 
 reaches the true tail, which is the case in no other genus. To make up for this, Dysporus has 
 quite a short spinal space on the interscapulium ; but the axillary tracts are connected with the 
 sparse lateral portions of the dorsal tract. This occurs in a still higher degree in all the other genera, 
 
THE STEGANOPODES. 149 
 
 although even here the axillary tracts may be very clearly distinguished by the greater closeness 
 of their plumage from the dorsal tract. The space observed in the dorsal tract in Dysporus is 
 deficient in the Cormorants (Carlo) and Darters (Plotus) ; all other genera have a very distinct 
 spinal space, extending from the shoulder-joint to the commencement of the pelvis. A short, but 
 broad and insulated lateral neck-space is also generally present, but, with this exception, only 
 the inside of the thighs and wings are free from contour-feathers ; the latter, however, contains 
 the large strong parapterum. The number of the powerful remiges is considerable, varying 
 between thirty-six and forty ; their form is very elongate and narrowly pointed, and the first is 
 always the longest. In the tail we usually find twelve, fourteen, or sixteen powerful rectrices. 
 Pelecanus alone has twenty-four small and weak ones. This genus is remarkable for the large 
 size of the oil-gland and the six orifices of each of its halves. Phaeton appears to possess three 
 apertures, but the other genera only one. After these statements there remain only a few 
 peculiarities to be described under the different genera. 
 
 1. Pelecanus. This genus approaches most closely to the Unyuirostres, in the above- 
 mentioned great number and soft texture of its tail-feathers. The covering of contour-feathers is 
 almost uninterrupted, being deficient only on the very narrow inferior space, in the region of the 
 axilla, on the under surface of the arm in the neighbourhood of the wing-membrane, and on the 
 inside of the tibia. I found in the wing thirty-nine true remiges, and about fifteen feathers in 
 each parapterum, of which the lower one especially is very strong. The oil-gland is nearly as 
 large as a hen's egg, and perfectly cordate in form. On the convex upper surface, a little behind 
 
 the middle, a small cordate space is circumscribed by the oil-feathers, and upon this the two 
 sets of six orifices stand close together in two parallel longitudinal rows. The pneumatic 
 texture of the skin already repeatedly mentioned presents the same characteristics as in Dysporus, 
 under which I shall describe it in detail. 
 
 2. Halieus. The species examined by me, H. carlo and africanus, present precisely the 
 same characters of pterylosis as Pelecanus, and have, besides the spaces there mentioned, only 
 one other on each side of the pelvis behind the thighs, which I did not observe in Pelecanus. The 
 aftershaft was entirely wanting. In the wing I found thirty-two remiges in //. carlo, but 
 only twenty-six in //. africanus; in the former the parapterum superius consisted of nine and the 
 p. inferius of six flat principal feathers, and the thumb bore four feathers. Of rectrices I counted 
 fourteen in H. carlo, and in one individual abnormally fifteen ; H. africanus has twelve. I have 
 already spoken (p. 15) of the white spots which the old Cormorants possess in spring on the 
 tibiae and neck, and I repeat that these consist of filoplumes ; but I cannot say whether the larger 
 white spots on the thighs, the feathers of which appear exactly like contour-feathers, are also 
 produced by such filoplumes. 
 
 3. Tachypetes aquila has exactly the pterylosis of Halieus, but has a remarkably sparse 
 arrangement of the feathers, and a distinct spinal space, which reaches from the shoulder-joint to 
 the pelvis. Even a division of the dorsal tract into two halves is indicated by a much stronger 
 structure of its contour-feathers in the interscapulium, but no interval is observed behind these 
 strong feathers. Indeed, as the Frigate-bird differs from the type of the Natatores in many other 
 points, 1 it does so also in its pterylosis, especially in the slight elasticity, the curvature, and par- 
 
 1 One of the most remarkable peculiarities of Tachypetes is the shortness of the tarsi, which 
 is particularly perceptible in the skeleton, and probably occurs in an equal degree in no other bird. 
 
150 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 ticularly in the distant position of its contour-feathers. I observed down-feathers between these, 
 but, indeed, as also in Pelecanus, only umbellate down-feathers. In the wing I counted 
 thirty-four remiges, of which the ten inserted on the hand are remarkable for their very powerful 
 structure and strong quadrangular shafts. The paraptera consist of from six to eight feathers, 
 and the tail of twelve. 
 
 4. Dysporus. Of this genus I have examined D. bassanus and D. sula, two species well 
 distinguished by the colour of the naked skin of the face, although they are very similar, and 
 also agree perfectly in their pterylosis. The representation of the pterylosis of D. bassanus given 
 in PI. X, figs. 8 and 9, shows all the peculiarities of the family, and appears to indicate a distinct 
 genus only in the short and proportionally broad spinal space in the interscapulium near 
 the axillary tracts. The oil-gland is, however, also remarkable on account of its flat shield-like 
 form, which renders it impossible to distinguish it through the skin as a definitely limited body ; 
 and as the plumage is not deficient at this point, it takes some trouble to discover it. The two 
 orifices which occur on the hinder part of the gland at some distance from its extremity are also 
 very small and difficult of detection, although the closely placed white oil-feathers soon indicate 
 their position. The body of the tail upon which the gland covering the greater part of it lies is 
 remarkably long, and projects considerably behind beyond the gland. On this I found in 
 D. bassanus only twelve, but in D. sula fourteen rectrices, which form a cuneiform tail ; in the 
 wing I counted from twenty-eight to twenty -nine remiges, of which ten are seated on the pinion ; 
 the hypopterum consisted of eighteen feathers. A young specimen of D. bassanus examined by 
 me, although already nearly as large as a Goose, was clothed all over with snow-white down, 
 except on the naked black skin of the face, on which, however, there were also a few minute down- 
 feathers. 
 
 I must dwell a little longer on this genus, in order to describe more particularly the 
 remarkable pneumaticity of the body, which has already been repeatedly referred to, and 
 which extends over a great part of the skin. In the interior of the trunk the air-cells are in 
 their ordinary position, but the large lateral cells are of very considerable size. On the other hand, 
 the hepatic cells are very small, and, as usual, contain no air. Their partition is not firmly 
 attached to the commissure of the liver, but only lies loosely upon it, and, as it were, surrounds it, 
 which I have also found to be the case in the Crane. The smaller or anterior air-cells I only 
 recognised indistinctly, because these air-holders were broken into more divisions than usual. 
 From the latter the air gets under the skin through the axillary cavity, and diffuses itself hence over 
 the entire pectoral and ventral regions, from the furcula to the pubis. These large air-spaces 
 form two cells on each side, but these are connected together and run in a parallel direction 
 side by side. One of them occupies the region of the ribs from the axillary cavity, the other 
 the regions of the sternum and belly, and the latter is contiguous to its fellow of the opposite 
 side, but is separated from it by an aponeurotic partition starting from the crest of the sternum. 
 Consequently, at those places where these air-cavities are situated the skin does not actually rest 
 on the body, but hangs round it and shakes to and fro when the cavities are not full of air. It 
 is, however, particularly remarkable that the skin does not form the immediate outer covering of 
 the above-described air-spaces, but that another thinner and very delicate membrane is stretched 
 between the tips of the contour-feathers inserted in the skin. By this means there is produced 
 between this inner membrane, which forms the true covering of the air-spaces, and the external 
 skin of the body a space of the same height as the portions of the feather-tubes penetrating into 
 
THU PYGOPODES. 151 
 
 the skin. This space also contains air, which it receives through small apertures in the inferior 
 delicate membrane, situated close to the anterior side of each contour-feather. Now, as the small 
 cutaneous muscles between each four contour-feathers are constantly drawn to and fro, and the 
 interspaces of these muscles are also filled up by a delicate membrane which coats the muscles 
 themselves, membranous sacs are formed between them, into which the air can penetrate from 
 the large cavity by the orifices above described. There is not even a trace of fat between th e 
 membranes, which are doubtless formed of delicate layers of cellular tissue, and all the spaces 
 which elsewhere usually contain this matter in abundance here contain only air. I observed 
 precisely the same structure in Pelccanus crispus, which I obtained in spirits from Vienna, and 
 in this case found the spaces, otherwise filled with air, already partly filled with the fluid in 
 which the specimen was immersed. 
 
 5. Phaeton. The pterylosis has no peculiarities, and is very similar to that of Dyspoms, 
 but the narrow spinal space reaches to the caudal pit, and the bands of the dorsal tract do not 
 touch the axillary tracts. On the other hand, the whole posterior dorsal region over the pelvis 
 is uniformly feathered, and on the thighs two rows of stronger contour-feathers make their appear- 
 ance as femoral tracts. In the wing I counted thirty-two remiges and in the tail sixteen rectrices. 
 The oil-gland has a very short, nearly perpendicular mamilla, and three orifices on each side ; 
 of these the anterior is distinctly larger than the posterior ones. Among the many concordances 
 of this genus with the preceding are the pneumaticity of the skin on the breast and the presence 
 of the small air-cells between the contour-feathers. The latter, moreover, are much more elastic 
 and curved than in Tacliypetes, and rather resemble those of the Geese. 
 
 6. Plotus. The Darter in its plumage to a certain extent resembles the Penguins, 
 inasmuch as its body is nearly uniformly clothed with small and rather soft contour-feathers and 
 very delicate down-feathers. The feathers only begin to be more rigid on the sides of the lower 
 part of the neck, but become still more so on the axillary tracts, into which those neck-feathers 
 pass. Besides these only the upper wing-coverts, the primary coverts, the very acute remiges, and 
 the rectrices, are of a stronger formation. The number of rectrices is twelve, that of the remiges 
 is twenty-six. Besides the lateral spaces of the trunk, I found only a narrow inferior space ; all 
 other spaces are wanting. 
 
 5. PYGOPODES. 
 
 Among the Natatores this family is indisputably the most strongly marked pterylographically, 
 both by the form of the tracts and by the texture of its plumage. The latter, wherever feathers 
 stand (and this in many forms is the case over the whole surface of the body except the bill 
 and feet), is denser and more closely packed than in any other bird, and consists, of course, of 
 contour- and down-feathers, except on the spaces where down-feathers alone occur. Nevertheless, 
 both the contour- and down-feathers possess a distinct aftershaft, and this is not wanting 
 even on the nearly scale-like contour-feathers of the Penguins. The object of its presence here is 
 evidently to render the plumage of these birds, which are more constantly in the water than any 
 others, as dense as possible. As regards the forms of the tracts, there are in this family three 
 types, which are very definitely distinguished from each other, and correspond with the groups 
 of the Divers (Colymbus or Podiceps, and Eudytes], the Guillemots (Uria, Alca, Mormon), and the 
 
152 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 Penguins (Spheniscus and Apterodytes), and may be distinguished from each other as follows, by 
 their chief characters. 
 
 A. The plumage separated into definite tracts by several spaces, 
 a. The inferior tract-lands with no trace of an outer branch. 
 
 This division includes the Grebes and Divers. In the form of their tracts they approach pretty 
 closely to the Steyanopodes, especially in the perfectly branchless inferior tract, which is formed 
 exactly as in the latter. The chief distinction of the two groups lies in the dorsal tract, inas- 
 much as here a division into the usual two parts may be clearly recognised, and this is absent in the 
 Stet/anopodes. The anterior part is stronger, and cleft at least from the commencement of the 
 trunk ; the posterior, much weaker part, certainly reaches to the anterior part, but is readily dis- 
 tinguished from it by the sparser distribution and weaker structure of the contour-feathers. The 
 neck is uniformly feathered, unless the spinal or inferior space is still continued upon it ; the 
 lateral neck-spaces are entirely wanting. The lateral space of the trunk is larger than in the 
 Steganopodes, and is particularly extended upon the back, completely separating the dorsal 
 tract, not only from the strong axillary tracts, but also from the weak lumbar tracts. An 
 upper wing-space is present beside the axillary tracts, but is very narrow behind. The wing- 
 feathers present nothing remarkable; but the small and soft, frequently indistinguishable, tail- 
 feathers remind us of the structure of the Ducks. With these the oil-gland is also in harmony 
 in its size and form, and especially in its small delicate mamilla, which has never more than two 
 orifices. 
 
 1. Colymbus (PI. X, figs. 10 and 11). This genus, of which I have carefully examined the 
 large species, C. cristatus, and compared with it the smaller species, such as C. rubricollis, 
 minor, &c., is especially distinguished from the following one by the length of the two median 
 spaces. Both the inferior space, which becomes very broad posteriorly on the belly, and the 
 spinal space, reach far up upon the neck. Hence it may be that the limbs of the anterior part of 
 the dorsal tract advance but little beyond the commencement of the shoulder-blades, and the 
 remarkably weak, narrow, posterior part extends forward far between the shoulder-blades. The 
 oil-gland, on which this tract strikes, is much elongated, deeply divided, pointed anteriorly on 
 each half, furnished at the obtuse posterior extremity with a high, perpendicular mamilla, and 
 occupied internally in its greater part by a wide cavity. The circlet of oil-feathers is seated on 
 the middle of the conical mamilla, and at the apex of this we may with some trouble detect 
 two small orifices. I could not discover true (or rather well characterised) rectrices on the 
 small conical tail ; in the wing I counted in C. cristatus thirty-two remiges, of which eleven are 
 seated on the pinion, and the first is the longest ; the paraptera are of considerable size, and 
 consisjt of from eight to ten feathers. In C. rubricolHs I counted thirty remiges, of which eleven 
 were on the pinion ; in C. minor there were only twenty-six, but still eleven primaries. The 
 latter species has also a much broader oil-gland, which is obtuse and thicker in front, and its- 
 inner cavity is remarkably small. 
 
 2. Eudytes (PI. X, fig. 12). From an examination of E. arcticus and septentrionalis (sive 
 rufoffiilaris), this genus is to be distinguished from the preceding by the following points : 1. The 
 inferior space is very narrow, remains of equal breadth throughout, and extends forward only to 
 the furcula. 2. The anterior part of the dorsal tract is cleft only to the shoulder, and its rather 
 
THE PYGOPODES. 153 
 
 strong limbs reach to the end of the shoulder-blades ; the very broad posterior part is much 
 shorter, and does not attain the shoulder-blades. 3. The broader tail bears definitely distin- 
 guishable rectrices, the number of which is eighteen or twenty. 4. On the pinion of the 
 wing there are probably only ten feathers, and the total number of remiges is more than 
 thirty. 
 
 b. The inferior tract-lands have a distinct, and even long, but narrow outer branch. 
 
 In the members of this group, to which the genera Uria, Alca, Phaleris, and Mormon belong, 
 the ptilosis continua extends to the middle of the neck. Here it is interrupted by the lateral 
 neck-spaces which reach to this point, and soon afterwards the inferior space also commences, whilst 
 the spinal space does not advance beyond the limits of the trunk. The inferior tract, the division 
 of which thus becomes visible a little in front of the jugular region, consists of two broad, densely 
 feathered bands (PL X, fig. 13), the feathers of which present the ordinary arrangement of 
 oblique rows, which run parallel to each other and to the crest of the sternum as far as 
 the anus, in front of which they terminate, separated only by the very narrow inferior space. 
 Exteriorly each band is from the first as broad as the entire pectoral surface, and is, therefore, con- 
 nected by its anterior extremity with the axillary tracts. From this point the band is continued 
 beneath the axillary cavity, embraces the shoulder-joint in front, and extends over the sides of 
 the trunk as far as the knee-covert, gradually becoming somewhat broader behind. This greater 
 breadth is, however, only apparent, for a continuation of the lateral space of the trunk pushes 
 itself from the knee-covert into the tract in such a manner that the latter is divided into two 
 approximated parallel bands. The inner -of these bands, which passes without interruption from 
 the surface of the breast upon the belly, and here usually increases somewhat in width, is 
 unquestionably the main stem ; the outer one, on the contrary, must be described as the pectoral 
 branch, which is elsewhere usually much shorter and comparatively wider. In Alca torda, which 
 has been selected for the pictorial representation of these conditions, the main stem is rather 
 narrow in comparison with the branch, but still evidently broader than the latter. This proportion 
 is greatly increased in Alca impennis, but is less marked in Uria and Mormon, in which both 
 bands have nearly the same width. In every respect Alca impennis differs more from its relations 
 in the group, especially in the remarkable dilatation of the main stem upon the ventral surface, 
 which penetrates backwards in an acute angle into the inguinal region, and gives the ventral 
 portion of the two bands the appearance of a broad arrow-head. This species has also the 
 narrowest inferior space ; indeed, all its spaces are very narrow. 
 
 The spinal space in this group does not differ essentially from that of the Unguirostres and 
 Steffanopodes ; it is uninterrupted, of equal strength throughout, and widened behind, where it is 
 coalescent with the lumbar tracts, and through these with the plumage of the tibia. In Mormon 
 arcticus the spinal space appeared to be wanting ; but in the other genera it made its appearance 
 in the dorsal tract, between the shoulder-blades, in the form of a narrow band, which usually 
 reached to the caudal pit (PL X, fig. 14), but in Alca impennis only to the commencement of the 
 pelvis. This species, which is so remarkable for the small size of its wings, has, nevertheless, 
 from twenty-nine to thirty remiges, ten of which are primaries. I found the same number of 
 remiges in A. torda and Uria grylle ; but U. troile and U. alle have only twenty-six, of which 
 eleven appeared to be primaries, as also in the other species. The number of tail-feathers in the 
 
 20 
 
154 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 Guillemots, such as Uria troile, U. grylle, and U. die, is decidedly twelve. I found the same 
 number in Phaleris cristatella and Alca tor da; but Alca impennis has eighteen, which, however, 
 are but small and weak. The oil-gland in all these genera is of comparatively small size, broadly 
 cordate, deeply bilobed, and rounded off anteriorly ; its body bears semiplumes, and its short 
 thick mamilla a strong circlet of oil-feathers round the orifices, the number of which amounts to 
 four on each half, at least in Uria troile. I have, however, been able to examine the organ in 
 question carefully only in this species. 
 
 B. The plumage shows no distinction between tracts and spaces, but is of uniform structure 
 throughout. 
 
 In the genera Spheniscus (demersus) and Aptenodytes (patagonlcus) the con tour- feathers stand 
 with the most perfect uniformity over the whole surface of the body, and not the smallest trace of 
 a space can be detected anywhere, even in the axillary cavity. They are very closely approximated, 
 but arranged, in the manner previously described, in definite rows. The feathers themselves have 
 a narrow lanceolate form, and a very broad flat shaft, convex beneath, in which the ordinary 
 furrow of the lower surface is wanting, and from which the barbs issue like splinters of the 
 superior horny lamella. At the extremity of the feather the barbs are rigid, and rather 
 bristle-like, although flat ; at the lower part they become softer and downy. The distinctly 
 recognisable aftershaft has exactly the same texture. Beneath the latter follows the short, 
 fusiform, inflated tube, discriminated from the shaft by a deep constriction ; the main shaft 
 does not, as usual, meet with this in the same axial direction, but at a decided and very perceptible 
 angle. Between the contour-feathers there are, of course, down-feathers everywhere. True, 
 specially formed remiges cannot be detected in the close scaly covering of the wings, but in the 
 tail stiff rectrices may be distinguished. Their number in A. patagonicus is thirty -two or more. 
 The oil-gland is not wanting, but is difficult to find on account of the dense and rigid covering 
 of feathers which conceals it. When it is discovered the dense circlet of oil-feathers is also soon 
 recognised ; its feathers are distinguished from the rest of the plumage by finer but still rigid 
 shafts, and much longer, capillary, soft barbs, which are downy below. I could not exactly 
 ascertain the number of orifices. 
 
 Besides these two species I have been unable to examine any member of the group of 
 Penguins. 
 
APPENDIX. 155 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE I, p. 38. Some additional information on the powder-down tracts in various birds 
 will be found in the following paper, reprinted from the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' 
 and in the paper given in Note II. 
 
 ON THE AFFINITIES OF BAL^NICEPS. By A. D. BARTLETT.! 
 
 ON appearing before you this evening with new evidence of the affinities of this bird, and 
 in endeavouring to aid in settling a subject so long disputed and frequently discussed, I beg to 
 refer, first, to the elaborate and carefully written paper by Mr. Parker, in which this bird, after 
 the most careful examination and comparison of its bones, is considered to be an Ardeine. 
 
 I have, then, to observe, that from an entirely different course of examination, and by the 
 consideration of its other structures, I have arrived at the same conclusion ; and I hope, with the 
 assistance of my friend Mr. Stewart, to prove to the satisfaction of our ornithological friends, that 
 there is uo longer any doubt in the matter. 
 
 The death of the survivor of the two birds brought home by Mr. Consul Petherick has 
 afforded me the opportunity of making a more accurate examination of its structure, and this has 
 led me to the discovery of two remarkable powder-down patches which, it will be remembered, I 
 stated on a former occasion 2 I had failed to find in the living bird. 
 
 Upon removing the skin from the body of this bird, I was so struck by its close resemblance 
 to the Herons, that I immediately killed a Heron and removed its skin also, in order to form a 
 fair opinion by a close comparison of all the parts of these two birds. The exact form of the 
 body and limbs was most remarkable ; the structure of the hind toes (upon which so much stress 
 has been laid) was alike, these turning backwards, forwards, or sideways in both species. The 
 head and neck, however, of JBalceniceps, when compared with the same parts of the Common 
 Heron, present some very considerable differences. These differences consist, first, in the much 
 larger head, and consequently stronger neck, in JBalceniceps as compared with the Heron. 
 Doubtless these modifications have reference to the food and the mode of obtaining that food. 
 Many illustrations can be found of similar modifications ; I may refer to one in the group under 
 
 1 From the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London/ 1861, p. 131. 
 
 2 See P. Z. S. 1860, p. 461. 
 
156 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
 consideration, which results from the comparison of Cancroma with Eurypyga, and which presents, 
 perhaps, the most extreme modification in the form of the bill in two birds of the same family. 
 
 As far as I was able to examine the viscera of the Baloeniceps, I could discover nothing that 
 would lead me to doubt its Ardeine affinities ; the stomach, liver, intestines, &c., of the two birds 
 appeared exactly to correspond in structure and arrangement. 
 
 Directing my attention to the skin of Balceniceps, I was surprised at finding on the lower 
 part of the back, reaching from the end of the scapulars to the base of the tail, two large, well- 
 defined powder-down patches. The drawing 
 (fig. 1) represents these two patches in situ on 
 the body of the bird stripped of its feathers. 
 These remarkable patches are dark-coloured on 
 the inside of the skin, and on the outside the 
 down is of extreme thickness, and the quantity 
 of white or grey powder very great. This 
 powder, when examined under the microscope, 
 appears excessively oily, and will not mix with 
 water. It is greasy to the touch, and is evi- 
 dently produced by the growth of the down. 
 It appears, in fact, to be the quill-shafts of the 
 down broken up ; or perhaps the down roots 
 secrete this powder, which is distributed over 
 the entire plumage, rendering the feathers im- 
 pervious to water, in the same way that the oil- 
 glands effect this in other birds. In this bird, 
 however, the oil-glands are extremely small, not 
 larger than the oil-glands of a Sparrow. 
 
 With reference to these patches, it is my intention to point out in the birds that I consider 
 allied to Balceniccps the existence of these patches of down ; and I may remark, that the attempt 
 to arrange animals by such means is not new ; as, for instance, in the case of the Ruminants, 
 some of the genera are distinguished by peculiar patches of hair, which are said to be glandular, 
 upon the legs, &c. ; and again the Vwerridae are distinguished by the existence or otherwise of 
 anal and other glands and pouches. 
 
 I therefore proceed to point out the species more or less allied to Balceniceps that exhibit 
 these singular structures. In the New World form {Cancroma) this structure appears to be most 
 fully developed, this bird having four pairs of these powder-down patches, as shown in fig. 2, 
 which represents the upper, and fig. 3, which gives the lower surface of the body of this bird ; 
 while in the Old World form (Balceniceps) one pair only exist, as we have seen in fig. 1. 
 
 It is worthy of notice, that the true Herons, which inhabit both the Old and New World, 
 and which have generally been regarded as the type of the group, have three pairs of these 
 patches ; the little and certainly aberrant form of Heron, Eurypyga, has only one pair of these 
 down patches ; while intermediate between this bird and the Herons come the Bitterns, in which 
 two pairs of these patches exist. 1 
 
 1 Having had many opportunities of studying the habits of the living examples of Eurypyga and 
 Botaurus, I have observed a striking resemblance in these birds, particularly in the drooping and 
 
APPENDIX. 157 
 
 By these remarks one is naturally led to observe the often-noticed correspondence of forms 
 in the Old and New World ; as, for instance, the Ostrich of Africa represented by the Rhea of 
 
 FIG. 2. FIG. 3. 
 
 America, the Camel of the Old World by the Llama of America, the Lion by the Puma, and 
 many other similar representations. 
 
 In the work on ' Pterylographie,' published by Ch. L. Nitzsch, the author, who evidently 
 has paid great attention to the subject, says, that " these powder-down patches are found (but in 
 a much smaller degree) in the genus Tinamus, one or two Parrots, and also in some of the Birds 
 of Prey." I have not, however, met with them in any group except the Ardece and their allies. 
 I can assert most positively that no traces of these patches exist in the Pelicans, Storks, or Cranes. 
 I have also taken considerable trouble with Scopus. This bird is considered by Prof. Reinhardt 
 to be closely allied to Bcdaeniceps. I cannot find anything to justify such a belief; the skins and 
 skulls of the two birds are so entirely different, that it is useless to enter into any further details 
 respecting them. 1 
 
 There is one thing, however, that I wish to remark, and I do so with considerable uneasi- 
 ness lest I should be accused of casting a doubt upon the veracity of the gentleman to whom we 
 are indebted for the first living specimens of this rare bird ; and this consideration would have 
 prevented my making the remark, had not my great desire been to call attention to the subject 
 in the hope of obtaining a truthful explanation of what appears to me inexplicable I refer to the 
 statement, made by Mr. Petherick, that Balceniccps runs about in search of food immediately 
 after it is hatched. If this is true, it is one of -the most extraordinary facts I have yet met with. 
 
 spreading out of the wings, in which position the beautiful markings upon every feather are finely 
 displayed. I have so frequently seen this attitude assumed by both these birds, that I am satisfied it 
 is not merely an accidental thing. 
 
 1 I may remark that I cannot agree with Mr. Bartlett's views as to the affinities of Balceniceps, 
 which, in spite of its powder-down patches, must, I think, be referred to the Storks (Ciconiida), 
 P. L. S. 
 
158 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE II, p. 92. The following paper, reprinted from the Zoological Society's ' Proceedings ' 
 (1865, p. 682, et seq.), furnishes some further details concerning the structure of this re- 
 markable form. 
 
 ON THE STRUCTURE OF LEPTOSOMA DISCOLOR. 1 By P. L. SCLATER, M.A., PH.D., 
 
 F.R.S., Secretary to the Society. 
 
 SINCE the time of Brisson and Levaillant, I am not aware that any original observations 
 have been made upon one of the most abnormal types of the strange 'avifauna of Madagascar 
 the Leptosoma of Vieillot although several attempts have been made to fit it into different parts 
 of the natural system. The collectors who have recently obtained access into the interior of 
 Madagascar have sent home many examples of both sexes of this bird, and I am thus enabled to 
 offer a few remarks upon some remarkable points in its structure which have hitherto escaped 
 observation. 
 
 The Leptosoma was first made known to science by Brisson, 2 who describes both sexes in 
 his usual accurate manner from specimens in the museum of M. 1'Abbe Aubry. Brisson 
 remarks upon the obvious differences between this bird and the ordinary Cuculi, which might 
 entitle it to constitute a genus by itself. 3 Buffon figures both sexes in the 'Planches EnlumineeV 
 (pi. 587, 588), and in the text thereto copies parts of Brisson's description. 
 
 Levaillant also figures both sexes of this bird in his ' Oiseaux d'Afrique,' 4 and pretends to 
 have met with it in ' Cafferland," as in the many other cases where the falsehood of his state- 
 ments is equally glaring. 5 Several scientific appellations have been bestowed upon the bird upon 
 the faith of these authors, such as Cuculus afer, Gm. S. N. i. 418, Cuculus discolor, Hermann, 
 Bucco africanus, Stephens (Zool. ix, p. 25), &\\&Leptosomusviridis, Vieill. Enc. Meth. hi, p. 1342." 
 Of these it becomes necessary to adopt discolor as the permanent specific designation of the 
 species, although not the first given (as Gmelin's term involves a gross error in the locality), and 
 to combine it with Vieillot's generic term Leptosoma, so that the correct name of the bird will be 
 Leptosoma discolor. 
 
 Lesson in 1831 (Traite d'Ornithologie, p. 134) conceived the unhappy idea that the older 
 authors had been wrong in regarding the somewhat dissimilar sexes of this bird as belonging to 
 the same species, and accordingly made of the female a separate species under the name Leptosoma 
 
 1 From the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society .of London,' November 28th, 1865. 
 
 2 Ornith. iv, p. 160, pi. xv, f. 1 and 2. 
 
 8 " Species ista rostro donatur multo rectiore quam reliqute omnes hujus generis species : quod 
 rostrum nequaquam est superne convexum, sed angulosum. Nares habet lonyas, et versus medium longi- 
 ludinem mandibuloi superioris oblique positas. Ab aliis speciebus insuper discrepat cauda duodecim 
 rectricibus conflata, dum in alteris decem tantum nee amplius unquam observavi. Hcec species posset 
 suum genus constituere." 
 
 * ' Le Vourougdriou,' v. t. 226 et 227. 
 
 5 Cf. Sundevall's ' Commentary on Levaillant in Kong. Sv. Vet. Ak. Handl./ n. s., ii, pt. 1. 
 
 5 Here and in his ' Analyse' Vieillot writes the name Leptosomus. But Leptosoma is 
 correct. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 159 
 
 crombec. Prof. Reichenbach, not satisfied with this, has gone so far 1 as to establish a new genus 
 (Crombus) on the female, and to place it in a different part of the system ! In his ' Conspectus,' 
 Prince Bonaparte retains this form near the Cuculida, but makes an independent family of it 
 (Leptosomidee}. In his more recent ' Conspectus Systematis Ornithologise ' 2 he has removed it 
 into the neighbourhood of the American Bucconida. Before attempting to solve the question as 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
 Head of male Leptosoma 
 
 to which of these two views is most correct, I must ask leave to call the Society's attention to 
 some remarkable points in its structure, which appear to have been hitherto unnoticed. 
 
 FIG. 2. 
 
 Outline of the skull of Leptosoma. 
 
 The first thing which strikes one as remarkable in examining the external characters of Lepto- 
 soma discolor is the extreme elongation of the feathers of the lores and their projection forward over 
 
 ' Handb. d. Sp. Orn.,' ii, p. 51. 
 - ' Ann. d. Sc. Nat., 5 ser. 4, ' Zool.,' i, 1854. 
 
160 APPENDIX. 
 
 the bill on each side (see fig. 1, p. 159). The bill is in reality long and strong, and the gape very 
 wide ; but the basal half is entirely concealed from view by this extraordinary development of 
 the loral plumes. It is, I suppose, for the purpose of getting the nostrils out of the way of these 
 that the openings of them are carried so far forward. They are placed laterally, rather nearer 
 the apex of the beak than the front (where the feathering commences), and consist of a narrow 
 diagonal slit, just as in the genus Eurystomus. But in Eurystomus the apertures lie, as is the 
 case in the majority of birds, at the base of the beak close to the frontal plumes. On examining 
 the skeleton of Leptosoma we see at once that this remarkable formation has been effected by the 
 elongation of the basal portion of the beak, and that the lateral coverings of the nasal passages 
 (alas nasi), which in most birds are entirely membranous, have in this form become completely 
 ossified, so as to add very materially to the strength of the upper mandible (see fig. 2, p. 159). 
 
 A very similar formation occurs in Eurystomus, but is not carried to the same extent, the 
 covering of the nasal passages remaining membranous in this form. 
 
 The wings of Leptosoma are of moderate length, reaching to about half the length of the tail 
 from its base. The primaries are ten in number, the third, fourth, and fifth being nearly equal 
 and longest, the second half an inch shorter, and the first more than an inch shorter again, being 
 about equal to the eighth. The first six are narrowed towards the apex ; the remaining four are 
 broad-tipped like the secondaries. The secondaries are twelve in number. 
 
 The tail consists of twelve rectrices of nearly equal length, and squared at the apices. 
 
 The feathering of Leptosoma presents some remarkable characters. The body-feathers have 
 a long downy aftershaft, longer than half the length of the feather itself (see figs. 3 and 4). In 
 
 FIG. 3. 
 
 FIG. 4. 
 
 Feathers of Leptosoma. 
 
 Eurystomus there is a similar auxiliary plume, but not quite so highly developed. In the Cuculidce, 
 I believe, the aftershaft is always deficient. 1 The upper ptilosis also appears nearly similar to that 
 assigned by Nitzsch to Coracias and Eurystomus. The spinal tract bifurcates between the 
 
 1 Cf. antek, p. 90 et seq. 
 
APPENDIX. 161 
 
 shoulders, leaving a wide featherless space. The branches are then discontinuous for a short 
 
 distance, but reappear in two gradually converging lines, which unite on the rump. But here a 
 
 very abnonnal feature presents itself, which is found neither in the Coraciida nor in any other 
 
 family of the Order Picariac. This is two large and highly developed powder-down patches (fig. 5, 
 
 p, p), which are placed on the flanks, on each side of the rump. They 
 
 are of an oval shape, and measure about If inch in length by an inch FIG. ** 
 
 in breadth. The development of these lubricating organs may perhaps 
 
 account for the atrophy and almost total disappearance of the oil-gland, 
 
 which can scarcely be recognised in the minute papilla (o, fig. 5), situated 
 
 at the base of the two medial tail-feathers. 1 
 
 The sternum of Leptosoma (figs. 6 and 7, p. 162), a specimen of 
 which Mr. A. Newton has kindly lent me from his extensive collection 
 of these objects, does not, I must admit, present us with any very close 
 resemblance to that of Coracias. At the same time I do not see that it is 
 in any respect more like that of the Citculida. 
 
 The two posterior fissures so characteristic of the greater number 
 of forms of the order Picarise are here run together, forming but one 
 large opening, the apophysis between them not reaching to the line of the 
 posterior margin, and the outer fissures being smaller and not so deep 
 
 as the inner pair. In Coracias and Eurystomus the outer fissures are deeper, and the separating 
 apophysis advances quite to the posterior margin. There are two other points in which the 
 sternum of Leptosoma differs considerably from that of the Coradidce. These are the very 
 rudimentary condition "of the episternal process (e,p., fig. 7), and the remarkable thickening of 
 the rami of the furcula at their anterior extremities, and their attachment to the front of the 
 coracoid by a massive head. In Coracias and Eurystomus^ the episternal apophysis is well- 
 developed and terminates in a point, which advances some way forward between the coracoids, 
 nor are the rami of the furcula thickened to any noticeable extent where they join the coracoids. 
 It may also be noticed that the coracoids of Leptosoma overlap one another a little at their 
 junction with the sternum, as is the case with some of the Accipitres. 
 
 1 This is, I believe, the first instance of powder-down patches having been noticed to occur in any 
 species of the Order Picarise. Nitzsch (antea, pp. 37, 38) describes them as met with in the 
 following genera : Order. 
 
 Nauclerus . . . . . 
 Elanus . rAccipitres. 
 
 Cymindis . . . . . 
 
 Artamus ..... Passerinse. 
 
 Tinamus ..... Gallinse. 
 
 Ardea and its affines . . . -i 
 
 Cancroma ..... i-Grallae. 
 Eurypga . . . . . * 
 
 Mr. Bartlett has determined their presence in Balceniceps (see antea, p. 165, and Rhino- 
 chetus (' P. Z. S./ 1862, p. 218). 
 
 - Cf. Blanchard, " Recherches sur les Caracteres Osteologiques des Oiseaux/' ' Ann. d. Sc. Nat.,' 
 Zoologie, ser. 4, vol. xi, p. 127. 
 
 21 
 
162 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The tongue of Leptosoma, of which Mr. Newton has also kindly lent me a specimen, is 
 remarkable for its thin horny nature and pellucid appearance, and (as far as I can tell, the 
 
 FIG. 6. 
 
 FIG. 7. 
 
 Sternum of Leptosoma. 
 
 FIG. 8. 
 
 example not being quite perfect) for being without any traces of laceration at its extremity. It is 
 much lengthened, and of nearly uniform thickness throughout ; but the sides are bent upwards, 
 
 leaving a deep medial channel, which grows 
 shallower towards the base, where it termi- 
 nates in two simple lateral projections without 
 any traces of papillae. 
 
 In a note to his ' System der Pterylo- 
 graphie' (antea, p. 92), Nitzsch has stated that 
 in two examples of Leptosoma examined by 
 him the outer toe " appeared to have/owr pha- 
 langes," instead of five, the normal number. 
 This, however, is not the case : Leptosoma 
 does not diverge from the ordinary rule among 
 birds in this respect. The structure of its feet 
 may be described as follows : 
 
 The tarsus is rather longer than the second digit, measuring 1*2 in. in length. It is covered 
 in front with a series of ten or twelve irregular oblong scutes, which are divided in the upper and 
 lower portion of the tarsus, but entire in the middle. On the outer side is a series of smaller 
 similar scutes. Behind, the tarsus is covered with numerous small irregular hexagonal scutes, 
 which extend over the lower surface of the planta. 
 
 The first or posterior digit measures O63 in. in length, including the nail, and is placed 
 behind in its usual position. The second and third digits are placed directly in front, and 
 measure 0'63 and 1'5 in. respectively (with the nail). They show no appearance of syndactylism, 
 being separated nearly to the base. The fourth digit measures Til in. in length, and, as I have 
 
 Tongue of Leptosoma. 
 
APPENDIX. 163 
 
 already stated, has the normal number of five phalanges the first two being very short, each 
 measuring only about 0'5 in. in length. It is articulated not in a directly reversed position, as 
 among the more typical Zyyodactylae, but laterally, rather more behind than in front. It will 
 therefore be seen that Leptosoma, even in this respect, diverges widely from the Cuculida, 
 i(cconid<s, &c., in which the fourth digit is placed in a directly reversed position. 
 
 So much, then, I am at present able to say concerning the peculiarities of this remarkable 
 type. In order to refer Leptosoma decisively to its proper place in the natural series, an 
 examination of the soft parts of its structure still remains to be made, which as yet I have had 
 no opportunity of doing. But it appears to me that sufficient is known to show that Leptosoma 
 can no longer be left as a genus of the family Cuculidce, from which it differs in many important 
 points, particularly in the form of the nostrils, in the presence of an auxiliary plume on the 
 body-feathers, in having twelve tail-feathers, and in the structure of its feet. As far as I can at 
 present form an opinion, a more natural situation for Leptosoma would be as the type of a 
 separate family in the neighbourhood of the Coraciida. The singular structure of the nostrils 
 very much resembles that of Eurystomus. Eurystomus also has the aftershaft, and the same 
 number of tail-feathers although differing from Leptosoma in the form of the sternum and the 
 structure of the feet, so that they could hardly be associated together in the same family. 
 
 I have as yet had no opportunity of seeing more than a stuffed specimen of another singular 
 Madagascar type the Brachypteracias leptosomus ; but I think it very probable, from the super- 
 ficial examination I have made of it, that this, as suggested by Lesson, may be the missing link 
 which connects Leptosoma with the Coraciidte. 
 
 Explanation of the Figures. 
 
 Fig. 1. Head of Leptosoma, showing the projection of the loral and frontal plumes, and the position of 
 the nostrils. 
 
 Fig. 2. Outline of the skull of Leptosoma, showing the position and form of the nasal apertures (a) and 
 the ossified covering (b). 
 
 Fig. 3. Lower surface of a feather from the back of a male Leptosoma, wrth part of the inner web 
 removed, so as to show the auxiliary plume more clearly. 
 
 Fig. 4. Lower surface of a feather from the breast of a female. 
 
 Fig. 5. Upper surface of Leptosoma with feathers removed (reduced), showing the bifurcation 
 of the spinal tract and the position of the two powder-down patches ( p, p) and oil- 
 gland (o). 
 
 Figs. 6, 7, Sternum of Leptosoma. 
 
 Fig. 8. Tongue and hyoid bones of Leptosoma. 
 
164 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE III. 
 LIST OF NITZSCH'S ORNITHOLOGICAL WORKS AND MEMOIRS. 
 
 1. Pterographische Fragmente (Mit 1 Taf.). Voigt's Magaz., Bd. ii, 1806, p. 393. 
 
 2. Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte der Eiilen. Voigt's Magaz., Bd. xii, 1806, p. 397. 
 
 3. Osteografische Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel. Leipzig, 1811, 8vo. 
 
 4. Ueber die Knochenstiicke im Kiefergeriist der Vogel. MeckePs Deutsch. Arch. f. Physiol., 
 
 Bd. i, 1815, p. 321. 
 
 5. Ueber die Bewegung des Oberkiefers der Vogel. Meckel's Deutsch. Arch. f. Physiol., 
 
 Bd. ii, 1816, p. 361. 
 
 6. Ueber die Nasendriise der Vogel. Meckel's Deutsch. Arch. f. Physiol., Bd. vi, 1820, 
 
 p. 234. 
 
 7. Ueber die Haare im Magen des Kuckuks. Meckel's Deutsch. Arch. f. Physiol., Bd. viii, 
 
 1823, p. 559. 
 
 8. Ueber das Vorkommen einer Epiglottis bei Vogeln. Meckel's Deutsch. Arch. f. Physiol., 
 
 1826, p. 613. 
 
 9. Ueber die Pneumaticitat und einige andere Merkwiirdigkeiten des Skeletts des Kalaos 
 
 (Buceros). Ibid., p. 618. 
 
 10. Observations de Avium arteria carotide cornmuni. Halge, 1829, 4to, 26 pp. 
 
 11. Pterylographia; Avium pars prior (Diss. Inaug.). Hake, 1833, 50 pp. 
 
 Posthumous Works. 
 
 12. System der Pterylographie von C. L. Nitzsch nach seiner handschriftlich aufbevvarteten 
 
 Untersuchungen verfasst, von Hermann Burmeister. Halle, 1840, 4to, 228 pp. 
 
 13. Vergleichung des Skeletts von Dicholophus cristatus mit dem Sklettypus der Raubvogel, 
 
 Trappen, Huhner u. Wasserhiihner. Abhandl. d. Naturf. Ges. in Halle. Bd. i, 1853, 
 Quart, i, p. 53. 
 
 14. Anatomische Notizen uber die Papageieu. Zeitschr. f. d. Ges. Nat. Bd. xiii, 1859, p. 1 18. 
 
 15. Zur Anatomic der Papageien, nach Chr. Nitzsch's Untersuchungen mitgetheilt von C. 
 
 Giebel. Zeitschr. f. d. Ges. Nat., xix, 1862, p. 133. 
 
 16. Ueber die Familie der Passeriuen. Ibid., p. 389. 
 
 17. Ziir Anatomic von Vultur fulvus. Zeitschr. f. d. Ges. Nat., 1863, xxi, p. 131. 
 
APPENDIX. 165 
 
 NOTE IV. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS DE AVIUM ARTERIA CAROTIDE COMMUNI. Auctore CHR. LUD. 
 NITZSCH, Medic, et Philos. D., in Universit. Lit. Haleusi Hist. Nat. Prof. P. Ord. ; Musei 
 Zool. Direct. ; Pluriura Academ. et Societ. Liter. Sodali. Halse, 1829. In Bibliopolio 
 Gebaueriano. 
 
 CAPUT PRIMUM. 
 Auctorum exponuntur observationes de avium arteria carotids communi edit. 
 
 Carotides arterias binas communes sive primitivas, dextram nempe et sinistram, unam et 
 alteram ex subclavia sui lateris arteria oriundam in avibus adesse, viri celeberrimi CuviEiius 1 et 
 TiEDEMANNUS 2 aliique eos secuti docuerunt ita quidem, ut nullius exceptionis mentionem fecerint 
 vel ejus suspicionem moverint. 
 
 Illustris autem MECKELITJS ; cujus indefessa et fructuosa opera anatomise comparataa nova 
 usque accedunt augmenta, in promptuarii sui, anatomias et physiologiae dicati particula prima, 
 initio anni 1826 edita 3 retulit, se quidem artcriaa illius duplicitatem, in mammalibus solemnem, 
 ejusque cursum ab auctoribus laudatis indicatum saepe reperisse in avibus ipsisque in Grallis 
 collo procero insignibus, Rheam tamen et Phcenicopterum alius structures maxime notabilia 
 exempla obtulisse, unicam nempe arteriam carotidem communem, in Rhea e sinistra, in 
 Phcsnicoptero e dextra arteria subclavia ortam, in eadem linea colli media, qua binse alias 
 arteria3 exsurgant, sursum tendentem et brevi demum a capite distantia in dextram et sini- 
 stram rursus divisam. Addit auctor celeberrimus, hanc singularem conformationem a natura 
 quasi preeparatam esse eo, quod in binas arterias carotides habentibus uterque truncus arteri- 
 osus se invicem longo tractu proxime tangat, illamque verisimiliter ab ingenti, quae colli 
 dictanim avium est, longitudine pendere. 
 
 Ad calcem ejusdem libri particulaB primaB,* ubi observationem priorem publicavit laudatus 
 auctor, novam prodidit, non minus memorabilem ; nimirum vidit in Ardea stettari arteriam 
 carotidem communem dextram et sinistram separatam quidem ex sui lateris arteria subclavia 
 originem ducere, sed eo loco, ubi in aliis avibus, carotidum communium pari instructis, una 
 alteri proxime apponitur, utramque in unicum truncum coalescere, qui demum in capitis vicinia 
 rursus divideretur in dextram arteriam et sinistram ; atque hanc structures rationem eo magis 
 memoria dignam omni jure censet, quod neque in alia ejusdem generis specie, nempe Ardea 
 cinerea, neque in Ciconia, utpote duplici a. carotide primitiva nee in unam confluente praaditis, 
 locum habeat. 
 
 Eodem circiter tempore, ubi MECKELIUS ilia typis exscribenda curavit, in lucem emissa est 
 
 1 ' Le9ons d' Anatomic Comparee,' iv, p. 266. 
 
 2 ' Zoologie,' vol. ii, p. 581 et seqq. 
 
 3 'Archiv fur Anatomic u. Physiologic,' Jahrg., 1826, p. 19. ' Beitrag zur Geschichte des 
 Gefafssystems der Vogel.' 
 
 4 L. c., p. 157. 
 
166 APPENDIX. 
 
 clar. BAUERI dissertatio 1 observationes valde laudabiles de avium arteriis, sub illustris RUDOLPHII 
 et eel. SCHLEMMII auspiciis factas continens. Ex quo libello cognoscitur, non solum ipsam 
 unius arteriae carotidis communis observationem in Hirwndine factam auctorem inprimis 
 instigasse ad arteriarum avium accuratius examen, sed etiam in pluribus aliis volucrum generibus 
 et speciebus illam arterise carotidis unitatem eidem esse visam. Leguntur enim pagina sexta 
 libelli citati hsec verba : " Quivis truncus anonymus (ita subclavise arterise primus tractus 
 auctori appellatur) extrorsum sursumque progrediens prope bronchum sui lateris in arteriam 
 carotidem communem et arteriam subclaviaui discedit et quidem in avibus majoribus, uti in 
 Anate, Gallina, Falcone Milvo, &c. In nonnullis vero, inprimis minoribus, truncus anonymus 
 sinister in arteriam carotidem communem et art. subclaviam uti in majoribus avibus, dexter 
 autem in art. vertebralem et subclaviam discedit. Arteria carotis communis dextra hie deest. 
 Hoc reperi in SMa europaea, Corvo Cornice, Pica et glandario, Oriolo Galbula, Alauda arvensi, 
 Turdo viscivoro, Loxia, Emberiza citrinella et miliaria, Fringilla ccelibe et linaria, Motacilla 
 Ruticilla (? plicenicuro) Paro majori, Hirundine urbica et apode et Colymbo cristato." 
 
 Prseter illas nullae mihi innotuerunt observationes publice editse de arteriae carotidis com- 
 munis rationibus apud aves diversis. 
 
 CAPUT SECUNDUM. 
 
 Traduntur observationes generates de avium arteriarum carotidum communium numero orfu et 
 
 cursu diverse. 
 
 Equidem, si numenis tantum et origo spectatur, quatuor arterise illius rationes in avibus 
 inveni, neque in majori observationum copia plures ill. MECKELIO indicatis ; siquidem plures 
 cogitari vix posse videntur. Etenim arteria carotis communis : 
 
 1. Vel duplex est (dextra atque sinistra a principio et postea; 
 
 2. Vel simplex est longiori tractu, sed duobus truncis, dextro et sinistro, mox in unum 
 
 confluentibus oriunda, dein rursus divisa ; 
 
 3. Vel una tantum est eaque dextra ; 
 
 4. Vel denique unica eaque sinistra. 
 
 Quartam rationem non minus ac primam vulgatissimam esse, secundam vero, uti tertiam 
 rarissime inventam, postea patebit. Sed antea, quam de illis rationibus seorsum dicatur, 
 generalia qusedam exsequenda reor. 
 
 In omnibus avibus, si Psittaci qugedam species excipiuntur, cursus et situs arterise carotidis 
 communis, sive sit unica ilia sive duplex, fere idem sunt. Quemadmodum enim, ubi adest a. 
 carotis communis dextra et sinistra, quselibet ex arteria subclavia sui lateris orta. postquam 
 prseter alios raraos arteriam vertebralem emisit, mox ad mediam anticse colli faciei lineam vergit, 
 ibique cum altera, sibi proximo apposita musculis colli anticis longo tractu 3 tecta sursum tendit, 
 ac demum in capitis vicinia ex hac occultatione rursus exit et ad id latus, quo exorsa est, 
 vertitur, ut denique in ramos, arterise carotidis facialis et cerebralis vicem implentes, dispescatur ; 
 
 ' Disquisitiones circa nonnullarum avium Systema Arteriosum/ auctore Frid. Bauer. 
 Berolini, 1825. 
 
 2 Quo quidem tractu in aliis avibus ramusculos plures, in aliis nullos edit arteria carotis, sive sit 
 duplex ilia sive simplex. 
 
APPENDIX. 167 
 
 ita simplex quoque et unica arteria carotica, sive sit e dextra arteria subclavia, sive e sinistra, 
 sive ex utraque orta, pariter longiori vel longo tractu penitus absconditur musculis illis, in eadem 
 linea colli antica media caput versus pergens ; hand procul vero a capite rursus prodit, divisa in 
 duos truncos, quorum unus ad dextrum alter ad sinistrum latus (eodem modo, quo aliarum 
 volucrum dexter et sinister inde a principio sejunctus) se convertit et in arterias diversis capitis 
 partibus sanguinem subministrantes dividitur, de quarum cursu et divisione ad TIEDEMANNI et 
 BAUERI scripta lectorem liceat ablegare. 
 
 Neque tarnen solo musculorum operimento tutus et munitus est ille carotidum arteriarum 
 truncus vel duplex vel unus, sed etiam in ipsis vertebrarum corporibus via ei facta est plus 
 minusve cava et ad anticam vertebrarum singularum partem tuberculorum pari limitata, quod 
 saepius in pontem transversum confluit, vel ex toto osseum, vel media parte cartilagineum aut 
 membranaceum. Pontibus ejusmodi sive retinaculis plane osseis in pluribus colli vertebris, quse 
 inter priores et ultimas sunt, radicantibus tectara vidi arteriam carotidem communem, v. c. in 
 Picorum, Ardearum, Colymborum, et Eudytarum generibus, ideoque hie fere eodem modo ab- 
 sconditam et munitam ac vertebralem arteriam. Atque hanc rationem tarn in avibus, quae 
 duplici, quam in iis, quae simplici art. carotide communi utuntur, inveniri, citata exempla 
 probant. 
 
 Extra mediam autem colli lineam illam arteriara nonnisi in Psittacorum quibusdam specie- 
 bus, nimirum in Psittaco erithaco, ocJirocepJialo, leucocephalo, caniculari et Macavuunna sitam 
 et decurrentem videre milii contigit. Etenim in his, quibus utraque (dextra et sinistra) arteria 
 carotis communis utique distincta est, dextra sola vulgari modo in ilia linea media musculis tecta 
 ad caput tendit, sinistra vero longe remota a dextra, ipso sinistro colli latere ascendit, omni 
 musculorum tegmine destituta et cute sola tecta. Quae quidem singularis arteriarum carotidum 
 ratio in pluribus illorum Psittacorum exemplis mihi dissectis cernebatur constans, sine dubio 
 praeterea in multis aliis ejusdem generis speciebus reperiunda. 
 
 Omnino numeri, originis et decursus carotidum arteriarum ratio nunquam ex lusu quasi 
 naturae variare videtur, sed, mea saltern experientia, constantissima et in cunctis ejusdem speciei 
 exemplis prorsus eadem est. Quanquam enim plurium specierum (v. c. Falconis Buteonis, 
 laffopodis, Nisi, Corvi Cornicis, frugilegi, Lanii Excubitoris, Pari majoris, Fringillee Montifrin- 
 gilleR, Einlerizee citrinellce, Cypseli apodis, Columbce domestic^ et Galli domestici) decem ad viginti 
 circiter ; aliarum (e quarum numero Falco Albicilla, Subbuteo, JEsalon, Strix Aluco, brachyotos, 
 passcrina, Corvus Monedula, Bombycophora garnla ) Sitta europeea, Fringillae, Emberiza, Sylvia, 
 Turdi, Hir undines plures, Caprimulgus europaeus, Coracias garrula, Cuculus canorus, Yunx Tor- 
 quilla, Upupa Epops, Charadrii, Totani, Anates et Colymbi varii) quinque ad minimum specimina 
 examinavi (eas enim omitto species, quarum minorem individuorum nurnerum observavi), tamen 
 nullam unquam arteriae illius diversitatem intra unius avium speciei limites reperire potui. 
 
 Neque etiam ipsas ejusdem generis species hac vasorum sanguiferorum parte inter se differre 
 animadverti, exceptis Ardearum et Psittacorum generibus. Alia quippe in Ardea cinerea, alia in 
 Ardea stellari, MECKELIO, uti supra relatum est, atque etiam mihi carotidis arteriae communis 
 ratio visa est. Psittacinum autem genus triplicis quodammodo differentiae exernplum memoria 
 dignissimum mihi obtulit. Alii nempe Psittaci binos truncos arteriarum carotidum usque 
 distinctos ac solito more in linea colli mediana proximo sibi sursum tendentes, alii binos quidem, 
 sed, uti paullo antea indicavimus, sinistrum longe remoturn a dextro et ad colli latus ascendentem, 
 alii deuique solam sinistram arteriam carotidem primitivam habent. 
 
1G3 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sed probe notanduin est, hanc et illam ejusdem generis specierura diversitatem cum aliis 
 quibusdam diiferentiis esse conjunctam, ita ut, quse illius arteriae ratione dissideant species, etiam 
 subgeneris fere gradu diversae esse videantur. 
 
 Familias autem quod attinet avium, aliarum genera ilia re inter se differre, jam ex supra 
 dictis patet, aliarum vero ea convenire putandum est, si quidem ex observationibus hucusque 
 factis concludere licet. Accipitrinee v. c. itemque GallinaccfB, Limicola, Longipennes, et Unt/ui- 
 rostres mmquam non arterias carotides communes binas, PasserincE semper tantuin sinistraui 
 arteriam, Cuculinarum contra genera alia binas, alia nonnisi unam mihi obtulere, atque in his 
 genera sibi valde affinia, Meropis puta et Galbulae, art. carotidum communium ratioue diiFerre 
 vidi ; ut alia exempla taceam. 
 
 Causam, cur avibus aliis alia a natura concessa sit art. carotidum primitivarum ratio, nullo 
 niodo potui eruere. Hanc enim diversitatem a colli longitudinis gradu baud pendere, simplicem- 
 que truncum caroticum minime longicollibus tantum quibusdam avibus (in quam opinionem ill. 
 MKCKELIUS propensus fuit) a natura datum, sed in ipsis collo brevi, immo brevissimo utentibus 
 maxime solemnem esse, utique certum est. Erunt fortasse, qui in colli qua dam motione vel 
 directione magis continua illius diversitatis causam aliquam quaerendam esse opinentur, cum 
 observent, Psittacos alios nonnisi dextri, alios sinistri pedis ope cibum ori admovere, ideoque 
 colhmb ubi vescantur, hos magis ad sinistrum, illos ad dextmm latus flectere ; vel si animad- 
 vertant, avibus dormientibus aliis sinistrae, aliis dextrae, aliis neutri alse caput submittendi con- 
 suetudinem esse. At ilia colli perseverantius ad latus flectendi consuetudo neque in Psittacis 
 escam su ^ntibus, ueque in avibus his et aliis dormientibus satis observata affatimque in singulis 
 et multis determinata est (auctores enim de hac re fere nihil omnino prodiderunt), neque ubi est, 
 respondere videtur carotidum arteriarum rationibus, quas indicavimus diversis ; neque cur has 
 propter illam consuetudinem ita nee aliter differant, sive qui inter has et illam obtineat nexus 
 facile perspicitur. Certum est diversimode institutam esse arteriam carotidem communem tarn 
 in iis, quae eodem mode caput in somno abscondunt, quam in illis, quae, veluti Strides et 
 Cypseli, capite usque libero nee alis submisso dormiunt. Volucrum autem plures species vel 
 specierura exempla, dum dormiunt, sine certa regula caput nunc hac, nunc altera ala tegere, 
 diligentcr observantibus facile patebit. 
 
 Sinistram solam arteriam carotidem communem saepissime inveniri in avibus quodam- 
 modo explicari posse videtur eo, quod in plurimis horum animalium sinistrum corporis latus 
 etiam circa alia nonnulla, inprimis sexus organa pra3 valet prae dextro. Ac talis asyinnietrias 
 vestigium leve in illis quoque nonnunquam mihi vidisse videor, quae tam dextro quam sinistro 
 trunco carotico instructa sunt, ita ut sinister dextro paullulum praestet amplitudine. 
 
 Ceterum id, quod ad amplitudinem attinet, silentio non transmittendum est, carotidem 
 arteriam communem, si una adest sola, duplo ampliorem esse semper singula quaque in binas 
 habentibus obvia. 
 
 CAPUT TERTIUM. 
 
 Families avium consiffnant/ir addita indicatione rafionis arferia? carotidis communis in quaque 
 
 illarum observata. 
 
 Antea vero quam singula exempla cujuslibet art. carotidis communis differentiae proferam, 
 familias avium secundum systema meum (diuturno quidem labore praeparatum, sed, licet saepius 
 
APPENDIX. 169 
 
 mutatum, tamen ob magnara rei difRcultatem minime absolutum), quam brevissime potero, 
 consignare, simulque art. carotidum rationem cuique familiae propriam, quantum ex meis obser- 
 vationibus liceat, indicare, idoneum et necessarium esse videtur. 
 Avium igitur familise hse sunt : 
 
 I. AVES CARINAT^E, MERREMIO dicte. 
 
 A. AVES CAR1NATJE AEREjE. 
 
 1. ACCIPITRINJE (Accipitres LINN., excepto Lanio, sive Raptatores ILLIG., Rapaces 
 
 TEMMINCKII), in diurnas et nocturnas subdividendse. Harum qusecunque dissecare 
 potui genera, dextrara et sinistram carotidem arteriam undique distinctam obtulere. 
 
 2. PASSERINE. Familia omnium longe numerosissima, cui accenseo aves illustri CoviERO 1 ) 
 
 " passereaux " dictas, exceptis tamen Trocliilo, Cypselo, Caprimulgo, Podargo, Todo, 
 Prionita, Coracia, Merope, Sucerote, Upupa, EpimacJio, Alcedine, Dacelone et Colio, 
 utpote ab hoc ordine prorsus alienis. In veris Passerinis dextram arteriam carotidem 
 communem desideravi semper. Sinistra, quse sola adest, sero demum musculis 
 nee unquam retinaculis ex toto osseis tegitur. 
 
 3. MACROCHIRES (*. longimante} in duas dividends tribus, quarum una continentur Trochili, 
 
 altera Cypseli et Hemiprocnes N?) genera. Hae aves itidem dextra arteria caro- 
 tide communi semper carere videntur. 
 
 4. CUCULIN^E, rursus in tres tribus dispcscendse, quarum prirnse insunt Caprimulgus, 
 
 Nyctornis N. [cujus species Caprimulgusgrandis']\,Podargns secundse : Tod/is, Prio- 
 nites, Coracias, Merops, Galbula tertiae : Cuculus, PJioenicophanes, Coccygius, 
 Centropus, Crotophaga, Scythrops, Leptosomatus, Prodotes N. (Indicator auctorum) 
 et Troffon*). Hujus familise quinque tantum genera respectu carotidis arteriae obser- 
 vavi, quorum unum sinistram solam, reliqua dextram et sinistram undique discretam 
 obtulere. 
 
 o. PICIN.E, continentes altera tribu genera, quorum nomina: Bucco, Micropogon, Pogonias, 
 Capita, Monasa, Rhamphastos, Pteroglossus altera : Picas, Picumnos et Yunges. 
 Qu33 ex utraque tribu examinavi genera nonnisi sinistram arteriam obtulere. 
 
 6. PSITTACIN^E. -Genera : Psittacus et Microglossus. Quomodo illius species arterias caro- 
 
 tidis ratione different, supra dictum est. 
 
 7. LIPOGLOSS^E, quse constituuntur. Sucerote, Upupa, Epimacho, Alcedine et Dacelone. Alias 
 
 nonnisi sinistram, aliae utramque habent arteriam. 
 
 1 Vid. ejus Regne animal, vol. i, edit, prima p. 334 seqq. edit. sec. p. 347 seqq. 
 
 ~ Hemiprocnes geuus, cui Cypselos, qui ill. TEMMINCKIO longipennis, comatus, fuciphagus, torquutus 
 vocantur, aliosque accenseo, a veris discrepant Cypselis et hallice, sive digito pedum primo, retrorsura 
 semper verso, et digitorum phalangum numero eodem, qui in ceteris avibus solemnis est. 
 
 ! Differt a Caprimulgi genere et aliis rebus et digito pedum quarto quinque-articulato. 
 
 4 Genus oppido notabile, cui, ut videtur, soli inter omnes aves pedibus, quos vocant, scansoriis 
 prseditas, minirae digitus quartus, sed secundus, tri-articulatus cum hallice retro versus est. 
 
 22 
 
170 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 8. AMPHIBOLY 1 ), quibus accensenda reor genera Musophaga, Colii et OpistAocomi, respectu 
 art. carotidis mihi nondum observata. 
 
 B. AVES CARINA-M; TERRESTRES. 
 
 1. COLUMBINE, duabus tribubus composite, quarum prior Columbas, altera Pteroclem*) et 
 
 Syrrhapten continet. Vulgarem arteriarum carotidum bigam mihi monstrarunt. 
 
 2. GALLINACEJS, in duas quoque dividendse familias, quarum priori insunt Tetrao, Perdix, 
 
 Cryptonyx, Pavo, Polyplectron, Gallus, Phasianus, Lophophorus, Argus, Meleagris, 
 Numida, Vrax, Crax et Penelope ; secundae : Hemipodius, Crypturus, Megapodius. 
 Itidem arteriam carotidem dextram et siuistram habent, quascunque cultro subie- 
 cimus, omnes. 
 
 C. AVES CARINAT^E AQUATICS. 
 * Grallte Linn. 
 
 1. ALECTORIDES, quae Otide et Dicholopko componuntur. Dextram et sinistram arteriam 
 
 c. c. exhibuit prior. 
 
 2. GRUIN.E, quibus iusunt Gruis, Psopltia et Palamedece genera. Pariter carotides arterias 
 
 binas Gruis exemplo ostendunt. 
 
 3. FULICARI^;, quarum genera : Parra, Crex, Rattus, Gallinula, Porphyrio, Fulica. Omni- 
 
 bus mihi examinatis binae sunt arterise. 
 
 4. HERODI^E, quibus insunt Ardea, Cancroma et Eiirypyga. Horum generum primum supra 
 
 dictas arteriae c. c. rationes mirifice diversas exhibuit. 
 
 5. PELARGI. Genera: Ciconia, Tantalus, Anastomus, Scopus et appendicis loco Platalea. 
 
 Arterias carotides binas in Ciconia vidimus. 
 
 6. ODONTOGLOSS^E. Phcenicopteri genus hanc familiam constituens nonnisi dextram arteriam 
 
 habet. 
 
 7. LiMicoL^; (olim Scolapacinee nobis nuncupatae), quarum genera : Ibis, Numenius, Limosa, 
 
 Machetes Cuv., Tringa (cum qua Calidris utique conjungenda), Phalaropm, Eury- 
 rhynchus, Strcpsilas, Eecurvirostra, Dramas, (Edicnemus, Cliaradrius ( Vanellos auctt. 
 quoque complectens), Typanus N. (cujus species Charadrius aegyptius), Haematopus, 
 Hypsibates N. (Himantopus auct), Totunus, Rhyncluea, Scolopax. Appendicis loco 
 Tachydromus quoque et Glareola hue referantur. In his avibus binas semper arterias 
 reperi, serius musculis colli anticis conditas. 
 
 Hsec familia cum quinque antecedentibus olim nobis conjungebatur in unam, Picariarum titulo 
 insignitam. 
 
 Hoc genus, cui persimilis Syrrhaptes, turn forma alarum, turn ratione pterylarum sive plagarum 
 pennatarum (quibus in avibus quam plurimis explorandis a longo inde tempore operam dedi), turn 
 figura sterni (ut alia tacearn) magis ad Columbas, quam ad aves gallinaceas accedit, praeterea phalangum 
 digiti pedum quarti numero quateruario memorabile. 
 
APPENDIX. 171 
 
 * * PalmatdR. 
 
 8. LONGIPENNES Ittiff. addita Vaginali. Has dextram et sinistram arteriam habere videntur 
 
 omnes. 
 
 9. NASUT.K (Tubinares ILLIGERI), respectu arteriae c. c. nondum exploratae. 
 
 10. UNGUIROSTRES, quarum genera: Cereopsis, Anser, Cygnus, Anas, Hydrobates, Mergus. 
 
 Itidem dextram et sinistram arteriam nobis obtulere semper. 
 
 11. STEGANOPODES, Illig. addita Podoa appendicis loco. Binas arterias c. c. Halieus saltern 
 
 exhibuit. 
 
 12. PYGOPODES (Pygopodes et Tmpennes ILLIG.) Ex his Colymbus ILLIG. sive Podiceps 
 
 LATH, sinistram arteriam solain, reliqua autem, quae dissecui, genera dextram et 
 sinistram obtulerunt. 
 
 II. AVES RATIT^E, 
 
 Generum, quee hanc familiam, ILLIGERO Procerarum titulo appellatam constituunt, quorumque 
 nomina Struthio, Hhea et Casuarius, nullum circa vasorum sanguiferorum systema examinavi. In 
 Rhea sinistram tantum arteriam carotidem ex MECKELII observatione adesse dictum est. 
 
 CAPUT QUARTIIM. 
 
 finumerantur volucrum genera et species, qua singula cvjusque rationis arteria carotidi-y communis 
 
 exempla hucmque exhibuerunt. 
 
 Jam vero cujusque earum art. carotidis c. rationum, quas supra indicavi, exeinpla mihimet 
 ipsi observata singulatim recensenda sunt, in qua re exequenda hanc mini scripsi regulam, ut in 
 honim numero nulla alia ponam, nisi in adversariis accurate notata. Sic certissime baud plura, 
 sed facile pauciora proferentur, quam revera vidi. Nam ubi ordinis vel generis alicuius normam 
 respectu arteriee illius pluribus jam exemplis satis cognovisse mihi visus sum, in notandis obser- 
 vationibus posteris, quas mihi cognita tantum confirmarunt, paullo negligentiorem me fuisse, baud 
 diffiteor. Ceterum in sequentibus tabulis exarandis versabor ita ut, quae ad eandem avium 
 familiam pertineant, exempla illius nomine praemisso componam, sed gradus inferioris tantum 
 familias respiciam, nisi hae, quod in Ralitis solis accidit, desint. 
 
 PRIMA RATIO. Arteriee carotides communes adsunt binee, dextra et sinistra, cursu toto distinctne. 
 
 Hanc rationem saepissime et in omnibus fere avium familiis plura genera continentibus, 
 exceptis Passerinarum, Macrochirium et Picinarum ordinibus, nobis esse observatam tabula priori 
 capite exhibita docuit. Sed utrum ssepius, i. e. in pluribus volucrum speciebus occurrat, quam 
 arteria carotis unica, dubium maxime est. Species, in quibus illud arteriae carotidis duplum 
 vulgare ipse reperi, ha? sunt : 
 
172 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 1. ex ACCIPITRINIS : 
 
 Falco Albicilla,fulvus, lagopun, Buteo,$alumbarius, Nisus, ceruginosus, Pygargus, 
 
 cineraceus. 
 Pernis apivorus, 
 Pandion Haliaetos, 
 
 Rhynchodon (Falco auctt.) peregrinus, Subbuteo, jfisalon, Tinnunculus, 
 Strix Bubo, Otus, brachyotos Aluco, nisoria, passerina, 
 Ulula (Strix auctt. }Jlammea; 
 
 2. e CUCULINIS : 
 
 Caprimulgus europceus, 
 Coracias garrula, 
 Galbula longicauda, 
 Cuculus canorus ; 
 
 3. e PSITTACINIS : 
 
 Psittacus Macavuanna, ochrocephalus, Erithacus, leucocephalus, canicularis (quibus 
 sinistra a musculorum tegmine libera est et sinistro colli latere sursum tendit) 
 et haimatodus, in quo ambse arterise contiguse et carne tectae surgunt ; 
 
 4. e LIPOGLOSSIS : 
 
 Alcedo Ispida. 
 
 5. e COLUMBINIS : 
 
 Columba livia domestica, Turtur, risoria, 
 Pterocles senegcdensis ; 
 
 6. e GALLINACEIS : 
 
 Tetrao Tetricc, 
 Perdix cinerea, 
 Gallus Bankiva domesticus, 
 P/tasianus colchicus, 
 Meleagris Gattopavo, 
 Numida Meleagris, 
 Crypturus variegatus ; 
 1 . ex ALECTORIDUM familia : 
 Otis tarda ; 
 
 8. e GRUINIS : 
 
 Grus cinerea s. communis ; 
 
 9. e FULICARIIS : 
 
 Parra lassana, 
 Battus aquaticus, 
 Crex pratensis, 
 Gallinula chloropus, 
 Fulica atra; 
 
 10. ex HERODIIS : 
 
 Ardea cinerea; 
 
 11. e PELARGIS: 
 
 Ciconia alba et nigra ; 
 
APPENDIX. 173 
 
 12. e LIMICOLAKUM faniilia: 
 
 Numenius phceopus, 
 
 Machetes pugnax, 
 
 Tringa alpina, subarquata, Temminckii, 
 
 Phalaropus hyperboreus ci fimbriatus (spec, mexicana), 
 
 Strepsilas Interpres, 
 
 Charadrius Morinellus, Vanellus, (Edicnemus crepitans, 
 
 Totanus Glottis, Calidris, hypoleucos, 
 
 Scolopax Busticola, Gallinago, Gallinula, 
 
 Glareola austriaca ; 
 
 13. LONGIPENNIUM : 
 
 Lestris parasitica, 
 
 Sterna macrura N. (ariica TEMM.) minuta, 
 
 Larus aty en talus, ridibundus ; 
 
 14. STEGANOPODUM : 
 
 Halieus Carlo ; 
 
 15. ex UNGUIROSTRIBUS -. 
 
 Anser cinereus domesticus, atgyptius, 
 
 Anas Boschas, Qiterquedula, Crecca, 
 
 Ilydrobates (Anas auctt.) marilus, glacialis, clangulas, 
 
 Mergus Merganser, Serrator ; 
 
 16. PYGOPODUM ; 
 
 Eudytes arcticus, 
 Uria Grylle et Troile, 
 Alca Tor da. 
 
 SECUNDA RATIO. Arteria carotis communis longo tractu una est, sed a sinistro et dexiro trunco, 
 mox in unum medium conjluentibus, orta, in capitis vicinia rursus divisa. 
 
 Haec singiilaris structure illustri MECKELIO in binis, mihi in tribus Ardea stellaris 
 speciminibus (ita ut de ejus constantia baud possit dubitari), nee tamen praeterea in ulla alia 
 avium specie adhuc visa est. Sed in ceteris Ardearuin speciebus collo crassiore instructis, 
 Butionis subgenus constituentibus, si cultro subiiciantur, eandem rationem facile inventum iri, 
 persuasissimum mihi habeo. Quare Ardeam minutam, licet ut ejus avis, in vicinia nostra 
 habitantis, specimen recens mihi corapararem, omnem, quam potui, operam dederim, jam inci- 
 dendi occasionem me baud nactum esse, maximopere doleo. 
 
 TERTIA RATIO. Art. carotis communis una tantum adest eaque dextra. 
 
 Ea ratio a MECKELIO in Phoenicoptero antiquorum inventa nobis quoque in hujus avis 
 exemplo e Sardinia misso (quod museum nostrum academicum benevolse debet curse eel. 
 RUDOLPHI WAGNERI, M.D., nunc Erlangensis), nee in ulla alia avium specie adhuc animadversa 
 est. Dextra, quse sola adest, Phcenicopteri arteria carotis communis oppido ampla est. Vix ex 
 subclavia sui lateris orta jam colli, pone claviculas etiam latentis, musculis anticis submittitur, 
 
174 PTERYLOGRAPHY. 
 
 quibus tecta et praeterea vertebrarum ansis, medio raembranaceis, ad latera vero osseis, firmata ad 
 caput tendit, ut in ejus vicinia solito more in dextrara et sinistram dividatur. 
 
 QUARTA RATIO. Arteria carolis communis unica adest eaque sinistra. 
 
 Quartam denique art. carotidis communis rationem supra indicatam, cujus MECKELIUS 
 unura exemplum laudavit, quamque haud ita raram esse jam ex BATJERI, septemdecim ejus 
 exempla citantis, observationibus colligi potest, vulgatissimam esse nullus dubitavi, simulac vel 
 in una ave passerina illam mihi contigerat reperire. Etenim tantam respectu fere omnium 
 reliquarum internarum corporis partium in Passerinarum, quam dico, familia cognovi conveni- 
 entiam ut cuncta genera, ad eandem jure referenda, ilia quoque re inter se convenire, verisimilli- 
 rnurn, nisi certissimum, mihi videretur. Neque ea opinio postea me falsum habuit unquam. 
 Quascunque enim illarum avium species cultro subjecerim, omnes unam tantum, et quidem 
 sinistram arteriam carotidem communetn obtulerunt, ut deinde fere trederet, rei tot exemplis 
 jamiam confirmatse ergo plures examinare. Passerinarum autem familia, ut minimum dicam, 
 cunctarum avium tertiam saltern partem, nisi dimidiam, continet. Neque tamen hujus familise 
 finibus circumscriptus est numerus volucrum sinistram solam art. carotidem c. habentium. 
 Nam uti MECKELIUS in Rhea americana, sic BAUERUS in Cypselo (genere a Passerinarum ordine 
 plane diverso), et in Colymbo cristato, ILLIG. structuram dictam invenit. Equidem non minus 
 in his, sed prreterea in nonnullis aliorum ordinum generibus, quorum inprimis duo, Pici 
 nempe et Trochili, permagnam specierum numerum complectuntur, illam arteria? rationem 
 animadverti. 
 
 Nomina autem generum et specierum, quse sinistram solam arteriam carotidem communem 
 mihi obtulerunt, hsec sunt. 
 
 1. e PASSERINIS : 
 
 Corvus Cor ax, Comix, frugilegus, Monedula, Pica, fflandarius, 
 
 Lanius Excubitor, Collurio, 
 
 Bombycophora garrula, 
 
 Muscicapa luctuosa, grisola . 
 
 Turdus pilaris, musicus, iliacus, Merula, 
 
 Sylvia I/uscinia, suecica, Eubecula, hortcnsis, Curruca, atricapilla, Plioenicurus, 
 Hypolais, Fitis, Turdus arundinaceus, phragmitis cachinnans (Turdus leu- 
 curus L.), gutturalis (Saxicola ffutturalis, LICHTENST., ex Jigypto missa) 
 (Enanthe, Rubetra, 
 
 Mota cilia alba eijlava, 
 
 Antlius 1 pratensis et rufescens, 
 
 Accentor modularis, 
 
 Sphenura Acacite, LICHTENST, (e Nubia allata). 
 
 Troglodytes verm, murarius (species Americana), 
 
 Regulus verus et pyrocephalus, 
 
 ' Usum solemnem secuti Anthos a Motacillis et Turdos a Sylviis hie distinximus, revera generis 
 gradu haud distinguendos. 
 
 r 
 
APPENDIX. 175 
 
 Parus major, cceruleus, ater, caudatus, biarmicut,, 
 
 Certhia familiaris et brachydactyla, BREHM., 
 
 Nectarinia metallica, 
 
 Ccereba ceerulea, 
 
 Sitta europtea, 
 
 Oriolus-Galbula, 
 
 Icterus varius, 
 
 Alauda cristata, arvensis, bifasciata, 
 
 Emberiza miliuria, citrinella, Schceniculus, hortulana, 
 
 Fringilla Coccofbraustes, Chloris, punctularia, oryzivora, cucullata, canaria, cannabina, 
 
 montium, Calebs, Montifringilla, domestica, montana, Hispanica, carduelis, 
 
 Spinus, linaria, Amandava, 
 Pyrrhula vulgarls, 
 Hirundo rustica, urbica, et riparia ; 
 
 2. e MACROCHIRIBUS s. LONGIMANIS : 
 
 Cypselus Apus, 
 
 Trochilus moschitus et alia qusedam species rnihi hand definita ; 
 
 3. CUCULINARUM : 
 
 Merops Apiaster ; 
 
 4. PlCINARUM : 
 
 Pteroglossus Aracari, 
 
 Picus martius, viridis, major, medius, 
 
 Yunx Torquilla ; 
 
 5. e PSTTTACINIS : 
 
 Psittacus aaleritus ; 
 
 6. e LIPOGLOSSIS : 
 
 Upupa Epops ; 
 
 7. PYGOPODUM : 
 
 Colymbus (Podiceps auctt.) cristatus, rubricollis et minor. 
 Denique hie citandum est exemplum MECKELIO observatum in genere ordinis : 
 
 8. RATITARUM, nempe : 
 
 Rhea americana. 
 Ex praecedentibus tabulis, computatione facta, apparet, in censum nostrum vocatas esse 188 
 
 volucrum species, earumque 
 
 91 primam, 
 1 secundam, 
 1 tertiam, 
 95 quartam 
 arterise carotidis communis rationein obtulisse. 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE I. 1 
 
 Fig. 1. A dorsal feather of Argus giganteus of the natural size, seen from beneath, in which the left 
 series of barbs on the main shaft, and also the right aeries on the after-shaft, have been removed, in order to render 
 the relations of the two shafts more distinctly perceptible, a. The thickened portion of. the main shaft, with its 
 longitudinal furrow. b. The after-shaft, c, c, c. The barbs of both shafts, d. The short, obtuse tube. 
 
 Fig. 2. Four barbs of the same feather from the upper part, with their barbules, seen from above under a 
 moderate magnifying power, a. The barbs. 6. Barbules of the anterior series, on which the booklets are seated, 
 c. Barbules of the posterior series, without booklets. 
 
 Fig. 3. Six barbs (a, a, a) in transverse section, viewed from the cut surface, with their anterior (b, b, 5) and 
 posterior (c, c, c) barbules. From the outer side of the vane of one of the remiges of a goose, moderately 
 enlarged. 
 
 Fig. 4. An anterior barbule of the same feather, strongly magnified, with its booklets (b) and cilia (a). 
 
 Fig. 5. A posterior barbule of the same feather, equally magnified. 
 
 Fig. 6. A portion of the feather shown in fig. 1, seen from above, in which a is the main shaft, and b, b, two 
 of its barbs, from which issue the curiously curved laminar barbules, still without booklets or cilia. This 
 figure is particularly intended to show that even the main shaft bears barbules when the barbs stand far apart. 
 
 Fig. 7. The filoplume of a goose, moderately enlarged. 
 
 Fig. 8. The upper extremity of the same, with the tips cut off, more strongly magnified. 
 
 Fig. 9. A barbule of the same feather, very strongly magnified. The cavities of the cells may still be 
 recognised in it. 
 
 Fig. 10. A young goose-feather, seen from in front, just protruding the apex of the vane (4) from the 
 follicle (a). 
 
 Fig. 1 1 . The same from behind, opened longitudinally, a. The follicle, b, b. Feather-material, c. Matrix, 
 with its blood-vessels, d, d. Cast-off and desiccated portions of the latter. 
 
 Fig. 12. An immature barbule, of the posterior series, of a grey pigeon's feather. 
 
 Fig. 13. An immature barbule of the anterior series of the same feather. 
 
 Fig. 14. The lower portion of a barb, in which no distinction can yet be recognised between it and its barbules, 
 consisting of homogeneous cells and their nuclei. Taken from the feather represented in fig. 10. 
 
 Fig. 15. A portion of an immature barb, in which the barbules are already indicated, but not yet 
 divided off ; on the left those of the hinder and on the right those of the anterior series. Taken from a grey pigeon's 
 feather. 
 
 Fig. 16. Modified cells, becoming converted into solid horny substance, from the uppermost layer of a young 
 barb of this same feather. 
 
 Fig. 1". The cells of the epithelium of which the follicle consists, with their nuclei and nucleolar 
 corpuscles. 
 
 Fig. 18. The lower extremity of one of the wing-feathers of a pigeon, in which the tube has been laid open by 
 a cut, and the main shaft and barbs are cut off short ; the lowest barbs immediately above the tube are also removed. 
 a. Dry cast-off remains of the matrix which project from the upper opening of the tube and lie in the furrow of the 
 shaft, b. The position of the orifice, which has been removed by the cut. c. Dry cast-off portions of the matrix in 
 the interior of the tube, which, like the preceding, are placed one within the other, like a row of thimbles, d. The 
 outer, and e, the inner, side of the vane. 
 
 Fig. 19. White down-barbules of the domestic Duck, magnified 100 diameters. Taken from Nitzsch,in 'Voigt's 
 Magazin,' &c., Bd. xi, Taf. 6. 
 
 Fig. 20. Down-bnrbules from the lower part of a contour-feather of the same Duck. Ibid. 
 
 Fig. 21 . Beginning of a dowu-barbule from the lower part of a contour-feather of Corvus glandarius. Ibid. 
 
 Fig. 22. The same from Sylvia rubecula. Ibid. 
 
 Fig. 23. The same from the domestic Duck. Ibid. 
 
 Fig. 24. The same from Strix otus. Ibid. 
 
 Fig. 25. The same from the Turtle Dove. Ibid. 
 
 1 This Plate has been drawn by me chiefly from nature, and from my own investigations. Nitzsch was, even to 
 the last moment, undecided, as he told the publisher, whether he should represent upon it the different parts and 
 kinds of feathers, or give a diagrammatic representation of all the tracts, with their denominations. I chose the 
 former, as being in my opinion the most necessary and valuable, inasmuch as the position of the tracts is sufficiently 
 clear from the other plates. The latter I found completed ; they have been engraved from Nitzsch' s own drawings. 
 BURMEISTEK. 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 177 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Gypaetos barbatus, p. 44. 
 
 3. Falcofulvus, p. 59. 
 
 4. Falco apivorus, p. 64. 
 
 5. Falco brachypterus, p. 57. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Figs. 6. Rhynchodon peregrinus, p. 55. 
 
 7 . Pandion haliaetus, p. 54. 
 8, 9. Strixbulo, p. 68. 
 10, 11. Hybris flammea, p. 71. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. MotacUla alba, p. 83. 
 
 3. Certhia familiaris, p. 84. 
 
 4. Ocypterus leucorrhynchus, p. 80. 
 
 5. Pteryl. spin. Campephagce nova Guinea, 
 
 p. 80. 
 
 6. Pter. spin. Kittee thalassince, p. 76. 
 7, 8. Oriolus Gulbula,p. 79. 
 
 Figs. 9, 10. Coracina cephaloptera, p. 76. 
 11, 12. Pterylse Menuree, p. 82. 
 
 13. Paradisea apoda, p. 75. 
 
 14. Hirundo urbica, p. 85. 
 
 15. Eurylaimus nasutus, p. 77. 
 16, 17. Cypselus apus, p. 86. 
 
 18, 19. Trochilus moschilus, p. 87- 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Caprimulgug europeeus, p. 87. 
 3,4. Nyctornis grandis, p. 88. 
 5, 6. Coracias garrulus, p. 89. 
 7, 8. Galbula viridis, p. 90. 
 9, 10. Todus, p. 89. 
 
 Figs. 11,12. Cuculus canorus, p. 91. 
 
 13,14. Centropus philippensis, p. 91. 
 
 15. Scythrops, p. 91. 
 16,17. Prodotes, p. 92. 
 1820. 2Vo0o, p. 93. 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Bucco armillaris, p. 93. 
 
 3. Pt. spin. Bucconis rosercollis, p. 94. 
 
 4. Micropogon cayennensis, p. 94. 
 
 5. Microp. erythropygos, p. 94. 
 6, 7. Pogonias sulcirottris, p. 94. 
 
 8. Pt. gastr. Poffon. senegalensis, p. 94. 
 
 Figs. 9,10. Capita Tamatia, p. 94. 
 
 11. Pt. spinal. Mosnastce fusci, p. 95. 
 12, 13. Rhamphastos erythrorhynchos, p. 95. 
 14, 15. Picus viridis, p. 96. 
 16 18. Paittacus pertinax, p. 99. 
 
 1, 2. Buceros abyssinicus, p. 102. 
 3, 4. Upupa epops, p. 103. 
 5, 6. Alcedo ispida, p. 105. 
 7. Dacelo gigantea, p. 106. 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 Figs. 8, 9. Musophaga Paulina, p. 106. 
 10, 11. Colius capensis, p. 107. 
 12, 13. Opisthocomus crutatus, p. 108. 
 
 23 
 
178 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Columba livia, p. 109. 
 
 3, 4. Pterocles exustus, p. 110. 
 5, 6. Gallus bankiva, p. 115. 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 Figs. 7, 8. Pavo cristatus, p. 1 1 5. 
 
 9, 10. Melengris gallopavo, p. 114. 
 11, 12. Crypturus tataupa, p. 117. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Otis tarda, p. 121. 
 
 3, 4. Psophia crepitans, p. 123. 
 5, 6, 7. Rallus aquaticus, p. 125. 
 
 8. /Wt'ea a<ro, p. 126. 
 
 9. Podoa surinamensis, p. 127. 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 Figs. 10, 1 1. Ardea stellaris, p. 128. 
 12. Ardea cinerea, p. 128. 
 13, 14. Caneroma cochlearia, p. 129. 
 15. Eurypyga helias, p. 129. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Ciconia alba, p. 130. 
 
 3, 4, 5. Scopus umbrella, p. 130. 
 
 6, 7. Phcenicopterus antiquorum, p. 132. 
 
 8, 9. Charadrius pluvialis, p. .138. 
 
 Figs. 10. Scolopax rusticula, p. 136. 
 11, 12. Larus ridibundus, p. 143. 
 13, 14. Lestris catarrhactes, p. 143. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2. Procellaria glacialis, p. 144. 
 
 3. Puffinus obscurui, p. 145. 
 
 4. Diomedea exulans, p. 14-5. 
 5, 6. Anas penelope, p. 147. 
 
 7. Anser cinereus, p. 147. 
 
 Figs. 8, 9. Dysporus bassanus, p. 150. 
 
 10, 11. Colymbus cristatus, p. 152. 
 
 12. Eudytes arcticus, p. 152. 
 
 13, 14. Alca torda, p. 153. 
 
Taf.l. 
 
 
 
 IS JTnn f.- tfota 
 

awtt. 
 
 <tA/ 
 
 / 
 
 Mttx-h dft.,itt not. 
 
rj. 
 
 ' 
 
 I'r. Sturm te. //./ . 
 
(f. Sturm tc. Il.rl.r 
 
(: . 'turn* /.'. Halo- 
 
r'f'f/s 
 
 \ ** A 
 
 Wl 
 
 
 tf 
 
 ii. .ftur-m fc. Holer. 
 
Tat: nil. 
 
 ;.. />,/,- 
 
 /;.. >,,-</ </,;,. /./. /-/.. 
 
 .. r.f. ( 
 
 
 G. J^urm . it'. Jlaltr. 
 
Taf.JX. 
 
 Niltseh 3*1. o^ nut . 
 
 G. JYwrm fr. 
 
Taf. X. 
 
 stj. w. a. fc/ym/H.t s-Mfo&J. /. Cjrf^/t-.i arrfo/r.i f.?. f-^.. T/r-tr 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Acanthylis, 86. 
 Accentor, 83. 
 
 Accipitrinee diurn<e,43 ; nocturn<e,67 
 JEgotheles, 88. 
 JEgypius, 47. 
 Aftershaft defined, 8. 
 Alauda, 78. 
 Alca, 153. 
 Alcedo, 105. 
 Alectorides, 121. 
 Amphiliola, 106. 
 Anabates, 83. 
 Anal oil-gland, 38. 
 Anal tract, 32. 
 Anas, 147. 
 Anastomus, 131. 
 Anser, 147. 
 Anthus, 82, 83. 
 Aptenodytes, 154. 
 Apteria defined, 16. 
 Apteria spuria, 32. 
 Aquila,' 59. 
 Arachnotheres, 84. 
 Aramns, 125. 
 .4rrf<?, 128. 
 Argus, 115. 
 r, 64. 
 
 Balaniceps, 155. 
 Barbicels defined, 10. 
 Barbs defined, 10. 
 Barbules defined, 10. 
 JJan'ta, 80. 
 Baza, 65. 
 Bomby cilia, 77. 
 Brood-spots, 33. 
 o, 68. 
 
 Bulutus, 91. 
 UMCCO, 93. 
 Baceros, 102. 
 .Bu^eo, 61. 
 Buphaga, 79. 
 
 Calyptomene viridis, 77. 
 
 Calyptorhynchus, 102. 
 
 Campephaga, 80. 
 
 Campylops, 84. 
 
 Cancroma, 129. 
 
 Canoree, 82. 
 
 Co/j^o, 94. 
 
 Caprimutffus, 87. 
 
 Carotid Artery of Birds, Nitzsch's 
 
 memoir on, 165. 
 Cassicus, 79. 
 Cassowary, 118. 
 Cathartes, 50. 
 Caudal tract, 3 1 . 
 Ceblepyris, 80. 
 Centropus, 91. 
 Cephalopterus, 76. 
 Cereopsis, 147. 
 Certhia, 84. 
 Chcetura, 86. 
 Charadrius, 138. 
 Chasmarliynchus nudicollis, 76. 
 Chionis, 137. 
 Ciconia, 130. 
 Cinclusoma, 83. 
 Cinclus, 83. 
 Circus, 66. 
 Coccyyius, 91. 
 Co/zu*, 107. 
 Columba, 109. 
 Coluntba coronata, 110. 
 
 Columba militaris, 110. 
 
 Columbinee, 108. 
 
 Colymbus, 152. 
 
 Conirostres, 78. 
 
 Contour feathers defined, 13. 
 
 Copsychus, 83. 
 
 Coracias, 89. 
 
 Coracina, 76. 
 
 Corvinee, 75. 
 
 Corythaix, 106. 
 
 a;, 116. 
 
 , 126. 
 Crotophaga, 91. 
 Crural space, 36. 
 Crural tract, 31. 
 Crypt onyx, 114. 
 Crypturus, \ 1 7. 
 Cuculinee calopterce, 88. 
 Cuculinee veree, 90. 
 Cuculus, 91. 
 Cygnws, 147. 
 Cymindis, 62. 
 Cypselus, 86. 
 
 Dacelo gigantea, 106. 
 Dendrocolaptes, 84. 
 Dentirostres, 79. 
 Dermorhynchi, 146. 
 Dicaum, 84. 
 Dicholuphus, 123. 
 Diomedea, 145. 
 Diplodon, 66. 
 Domicella, 100. 
 Down-feathers defined, 13. 
 Downy structure, 12. 
 Dromaus nova hollandice, \ 19. 
 Dramas, 137. 
 
180 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Drymophila, 81. 
 Dysporus, 150. 
 
 Edolius, 8'-'. 
 Elanus, 65. 
 Emberiza, 1V>. 
 Erodii, 127. 
 Epimachus, 76. 
 Eudytes, 152. 
 Euphone rufiventris, 78. 
 Eurypyga, 129. 
 
 /Wco, 52. 
 
 anthracinus, 58. 
 
 brachypterus, 57. 
 
 ecaudatus, 54. 
 
 melanops, 58. 
 
 Feathers, parts of, 4; forms of, 1-' ; 
 arrangement of, 16. 
 
 Featherless spaces defined, Hi. 
 
 Feather-tracts, defined, 16 ; investi- 
 gation of, 18 ; differences in, 
 19, 21. 
 
 Femoral or lumbar tract, 25. 
 
 Filoplumes defined, 14. 
 
 Filoplumous structure, 12. 
 
 Fringilla, 78. 
 
 Fulica, 12C. 
 
 Fulicaria, 125. 
 
 Galbula, 90. 
 Gallinaeeee, 111. 
 Gallinula, 126. 
 Gallus, 115. 
 Glareola, 139. 
 Gtaucopis varians, 75. 
 Gracula religiosa, 76. 
 raJ/, 120. 
 Grallina, 82, 83. 
 Graucalus, 80. 
 Grws, 124.. 
 
 Gypaetos barbatus, 4 I. 
 Gypogeranus, 63. 
 Gyps, 45. 
 
 Hcematopus, 138. 
 H aliens, 149. 
 Head-spaces, 36. 
 Head-tract, 31. 
 Henicurus, 83. 
 Hemiglottides, 133. 
 Ilemipodius, 117. 
 Hemiprocne, 86. 
 Herpetotheres cachinnans, 57. 
 
 Himauiopus, 137. 
 Hirundinece, 84. 
 Booklets defined, 10. 
 Humeral tract, 25. 
 Hydrobates, 147. 
 Hylophilus, 82, 83. 
 Hypothymu, 77. 
 Hypsibates, 137. 
 
 133. 
 Icterus, 79. 
 Indicator, 92. 
 Inferior space, 34. 
 Interrupted plumage, causes of, 1 7. 
 Investigation of feather-tracts, 18. 
 //ene, 82. 
 Irrisor, 104. 
 *, 83. 
 
 Kitta thalassina, 76. 
 
 Lanius, 80. 
 Lamprornis, 83. 
 Larus, 143. 
 Lateral neck-space, 33. 
 --- tract, 30. 
 spaces of the trunk, 34. 
 Leptosomu discolor, 92, 158. 
 Lestris, 143. 
 Limicolce, 134. 
 Limnsa, 136. 
 Lipoglossee, 102. 
 Longipeiines, 141. 
 Lophophorus, 115. 
 Lower wing-space, 35. 
 Loxia, 79. 
 Lumbar tract, 25. 
 Lypornis, 95. 
 
 Macheeropterus, 77. 
 Macrochires, 86. 
 Malurvs, 83. 
 Megapodiut, 118. 
 Meletiffris, 114. 
 Mergus, 148. 
 Menv.ru, 82, 83. 
 Merops, 89. 
 Micro/mi/on, 94. 
 Milvux, l>4. 
 Moiiasa, 95. 
 Monasti's, 95. 
 Moniiiui, 153. 
 Morphmis, 61. 
 Motacillu, 82, 83. 
 
 Muscicapa, 80. 
 Musophaga, 106. 
 Myiothera, 83. 
 Myophonus, 83. 
 
 Nasuta, 143. 
 
 Natatores, 139. 
 
 Neck-tract, 30. 
 
 Nectarinia, 84. 
 
 Neophron percnopterus and A r . mona- 
 
 chus, 49. 
 Nitzsch's Ornithological Works, list 
 
 of, 164. 
 
 Notherodius, 125. 
 Numenius, 135. 
 Numida, 1 14. 
 Nyctornis, 88. 
 
 Ochetorhynchus, 83. 
 Ocypetes, 139. 
 Ocypterus, 80. 
 OtJontofflossce, 132. 
 CEdicnemus, 138. 
 Oil-gland described, 38. 
 
 tract, 32. 
 
 Opetiorhynchus, 83. 
 Opisthocomus, 108. 
 Oriolus, 79. 
 Or/ypw, 117. 
 Ostrich, 118. 
 <!, 121. 
 , 68. 
 Oxyrhynchus, 79. 
 
 PacJiyptila, 145. 
 Palamedea, 121. 
 Palteornis, 101. 
 Pandion haliaiitos, 54. 
 Pura'lisea, 75. 
 Pardalotus punctatus, 78. 
 Parra, 126. . 
 Porw*. 83. 
 Pas.ierinee, 72. 
 Pastor, 79. 
 Pavo, 115. 
 Pelurgi, 130. 
 Pelecunus, 149. 
 Pene/o/ie, 116. 
 Pemiaceous structure, 12. 
 Pen//*, 113. 
 Pe/-/,i.v, 64. 
 Phaeton, 151. 
 Phal uropus, 136. 
 Phaltns, 153. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 181 
 
 Phasiamis, 115. 
 
 Philedon, 84. 
 
 Phcenicophanes, 92. 
 
 Phcenicopterus, 132. 
 
 Phyllornis, 83. 
 
 Phytotoma, 78. 
 
 Picarice, 85. 
 
 Piciform birds, 85. 
 
 Picince, 93. 
 
 Picolaptes, 83. 
 
 Pzcu*, 96, 97. 
 
 Picus luridus, Nitzsch, 96. 
 
 Pionus, 101. 
 
 Pipra, 77. 
 
 Pztta, 83. 
 
 Platalea, 133. 
 
 Platycercus, 101. 
 
 Platyrhynchus, 8 1 . 
 
 Platysternce, 118. 
 
 Ploceus, 79. 
 
 Plyctolophus, 102. 
 
 P/O<H, 151. 
 
 Podargus, 88. 
 
 Porfoa, 127. 
 
 Poffonias, 94. 
 
 Pofyborus, 62. 
 
 Polyplectron, 115. 
 
 Pomatorhinus, 83. 
 
 Porphyrio, 126. 
 
 Powder-down-feathers and tracts, 37- 
 
 Priorities, 89. 
 
 Procellaria, 144. 
 
 Procnias ventralis, 77. 
 
 Prodotes, 92. 
 
 Promerops caffer, 84. 
 
 fsarocolius, 79. 
 
 Plan's, 81. 
 
 Psittacince, 98. 
 
 Psittacula, 101. 
 
 Psittacus, 100. 
 
 Psophia, 123. 
 
 Pterodes, 110. 
 
 Pteroglossus, 95. 
 
 Pteroptochus, 83. 
 
 Pteryloe defined, 16. 
 
 Pterylat densipennee et raripennce, 1 9. 
 
 Pterylography, special, 43. 
 
 Ptilorhynchus holosericeus, 76. 
 
 Puffinus, 145. 
 
 Pygopodes, 151. 
 
 126. 
 
 Ramphastus, 95. 
 Rapacious birds, diurnal, 43 ; noc- 
 
 turnal, 67. 
 Recurvirostra, 137. 
 Regulus, 83. 
 Rhachis denned, 5. 
 Rhynchcea, 135. 
 Rhynchodon, 55. 
 Rhynchops, 142. 
 
 Saurofhera, 91. 
 
 Scopus defined, 5. 
 
 Scolopacince, 134. 
 
 Scolopax, 136. 
 
 Scops, 69. 
 
 Scopus, 130. 
 
 Scythrops, 9l. 
 
 Semiplumes defined, 14. 
 
 Sericutus, 79. 
 
 Shaft defined, 5. 
 
 Singing-birds, 72. 
 
 &'a, 83. 
 
 Sittace, 98. 
 
 Spaces, false, 32. 
 
 Spaces generally defined, 32. 
 
 Spheniscus, 154. 
 
 Spinal space, 35. 
 
 Spinal tract, 21. 
 
 Steganopodes, 148. 
 
 Stem defined, 5. 
 
 -Sterna, 142. 
 
 Strepsilas, 138. 
 
 70. 
 
 Sturnidee, 79. 
 Subulirostres, 82. 
 %foza, 83. 
 Synallaxis, 83. 
 Syrrhaptes, 108. 
 
 Tachydromus, 138. 
 Tacky petes, 149. 
 Tanagra, 78. 
 Tantalus, 132. 
 Thamnophilus, 80. 
 Teirao, 113. 
 Thinocorus, 139. 
 Timalia, 83. 
 TorfM*, 89. 
 Tolanus, 136. 
 Trichoglossus, 100. 
 Trichophorus, 80. 
 rnw^-a, 136. 
 Trochilus, 87. 
 Troglodytes, 83. 
 Troy on, 93. 
 Tubinares, 143. 
 Turdus, 83. 
 Tyrannus, 81. 
 
 Unyuirostres, 146. 
 Upper wing-space, 35. 
 D>/>o, 103. 
 
 Urubitinga anthracina, 59. 
 153. 
 
 80. 
 
 Ventral tract, 26. 
 Vultur fulvus, 47- 
 
 Vultures of the Old World, 43 ; of the 
 New World, 50. 
 
 Wing-space, upper and lower, 35. 
 Wing-tract, 31. 
 
 ;, 98. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 FEINTED BT J. E. ADLAKD, BARTHOLOMEW CLOSE. 
 
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