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Tllh: WIXGS AXD THE SKELETON OF PHALACliOCOBAX 



IIAlllUSI. 



BY H. GADOW, Ph.D., Rt.A . F.R.S. 

 (Pl.ites XIV., XV.) 



THE (lanilii'idge Miisoum of ZociIii<,'y lias aci|iiireil tlio sluii of an ailult- ni'dc 

 s])ecimeii of the great flightless (Jormoraut, ami the Hon. Walter Rothschild 

 has presented a complete skeleton. Examination of tliese and of several other 

 specimens has revealed a condition wliich is niii(|ne so far as fligiitless aipiatic birds 

 are concerned. 



There are oul}- a few marine birds whicli have lost their power of flight. 

 The Penguins, with their enormously modified wings, transformed into screwing 

 paddles, with a greatly increased nnniher of hand- and arm-i|nills, stand apart ; 

 lint AIra impeiinis and Tdcln/i'irs riiifreiis, the Steamer Duck, possess wings which 

 are simply miniature editions of those of their congeners, so far as nnmher, size, 

 and proportions of the remiges are concerned. 



All the ( 'oruiorants, with the exception of /'//. //'//v/.s/, possess ten fiuictional 

 primaries, with a very small occult eleventh or terminal quill, which is tucked 

 away between its upper and lower coverts. The length of this eleventh ((uill 

 varies, of course, according to the size of the species. It is, fu- instance, about 

 I'.l mm. long in PI/, riobici-'us, about 3.") or :}s mm. in Ph. (liloplmx and Pit. xincnsiii. 

 Moreover, the tip of the wing is formed by the nintli and eighth quills, whilst the 

 tenth is but slightly shorter, and in most cases equal to the seventii. 



Now, in P/i. Iirirrisi the number of functional primaries is reduced to nine, 

 whilst the tentli is reduced to a cundition resembling the eleventh of other 

 Cormorants; and the eleventh is likewise jiresent, though still smaller. The 

 tip of the wing is formed by the sixth and fifth quills, the seventh and eighth, 

 and still more the ninth, being considerably shortened, the latter measuring 

 scarcely more than (i cm. in length. The wing is consequently more rounded off, 

 instead of being decidedly pointed. 



The number of secondaries is likewise reduced — namely, to lo. Other large- 

 sized Cormorants possess a mnch greater number : e.g. I'li. c<(rlw, about ~1 or 'i'i ; 

 /'//. (ilhirentris and Ph. dilophiis, 20 ; Ph. ninemi.'i and Ph. sulrirostr/.i, 20 or I'.i ; 

 but in the obviously somewhat short-winged Ph. riolnceu.i there are only b'^ or IT, 

 and in the little /'//. (ifrii'a)ii(.<<, which is decidedly long-winged, the number is 

 reduced to Hi or lo. Not much is therefore to be gathered from the bare numbers 

 of the cnbiti\ls' reduction in Ph. hfirn'.si, except that its nearest ally, Ph. rarbo, 

 liMs at least six more orbital quills. 



