that connect the Orders and Families of Birds, 487 



newly discovered in some islands of the Eastern Archipelago, the 

 Megapodius of M. Temminck, serves strongly to illustrate these 

 principles, and to corroborate my opinion as to the situation of 

 the singular New Holland genus before us. The Megapodius, 

 brought home to France by one of her late expeditions, is con- 

 fessedly gallinaceous in its habits, and as such has been placed 

 without hesitation among the true Rasores ; and yet its foot is 

 precisely of the same construction* as that of Mennra. The bill 

 also shows no very material difference from those of the extreme 

 groups of the Cracidce. To return, however, to the general affi- 

 nities of the family, it may again be repeated, that all the latter 

 genera, thus united among themselves, evince an evident ap- 

 proach to the ColumbidcB, from which, it may be remembered, 

 we commenced our observations on the order. The whole of the 

 groups of the Rasores, thus following each other in continued 

 affinity, preserve their circular succession without interruption. 



Ord. IV. GRALLATORES. 



The birds of the next succeeding order, another of the aber- 

 rant groups of the class, exhibit an equally circumscribed sphere 

 of action as those of the order we have just quitted. Holding 

 an intermediate station between the Gallinaceous birds, which 

 we have observed to be confined to the land, and the Natatorial 

 groups, which are confined to the water, their typical groups 



* " Tous les doigts (sont) longs, le posterieur posant a terre dans toute sa longueur." 

 Temm. Art. M. Freycineti. PI. Col. 220. — The habit of these birds of leaving' their 

 eggs on the ground and deserting them, unlike the typical groups of the order, afibrds 

 an additional reason for placing them in an extreme division. In this respect they 

 evince an affinity to some of the Struthionida, another aberrant group. See Temm. 

 uhi sup., and Cuv. Regne Anim. i. p. 46 1. 



appear 



