228 



VERTEBRATA. 



The legs are very stout, feathered to the knees and often 

 beyond them ; the tarso-metatarsus at its back part is often 

 armed with a spur, or accessory toe, rarely with two. The head 

 is small, the body bulky, the wings only adapted for short flight, 

 which is accompanied by a whirring sound. 



In the Tinamous the sternal notch extends nearly to the costal 

 margin. 



The Gallinae are mostly polygamous ; the females make very 

 slight nests on the ground ; the young feed themselves. Me- 

 gapodiidas raise huge mounds in which they place their eggs, 

 leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. 



The order Turnicomorphae of Huxley is confined to the family 

 Turnicidae. 



Tinamus represents the Dromaeognathous suborder, which 

 Huxley considers to be nearly allied to the Struthiones. Opis- 

 fhocomus comprises his Heteromorphse. Chionis has been placed 

 with the pigeons ; some consider it to be allied to the rails, and 

 others to the grouse ; it has also been suggested that from such a 

 stock gulls and plovers have descended. Carus includes Thino- 

 corus in the Chionidae. 



This order contains the quail ( Coturnix dactylisonans), partridge 

 (Perdix cinerea), ptarmigan (Lag opus vu(garis), red grouse 

 (Lagopus scoticus), black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), prairie-hen of 

 America ( Tetrao cupido), capercailie ( Tetraogallus urophasianus), 

 guinea-fowl (Numida meleagris), peacock (Pavo cristatus), and 

 turkey (Meleagris gallo-pavo] [the "turkey" of Australia is Otis 

 australasianus}. The domestic fowl is supposed to be descended 

 from the jungle-cock (Gallus bankiva). 



