464 AVES. 



F. peregrinus L., peregrine falcon ; F. aesalon Tunst., merlin ; F. 



suhhuteo L., hobby ; F. tinnunculus L., kestrel. 

 Fam. Pandionidae. Without aftershaft, with long feathered tibia ; 

 outer toe reversible. Pandion haliaetus Cuv., osprey or fish-hawk, nearly 

 cosmopolitan. 



Tribe 8. TINAMIFORMES (CRYPTURI). 



Terrestrial birds with the power of strong and swift flight. The skull 

 is dromaeognathous, the vomer being broad behind, fused with the pala- 

 tines and interposed between the palatines, pterygoids and basisphenoidal 

 rostrum. The quadrate articulates with the skull by a single facet. In 

 this character, as well as in the posterior separation of the ischium and 

 ilium, the absence of a pygostyle, they resemble Ratitae. The tail is 

 abbreviated, usually with 10 weak rectrices, and the hallux is elevated. 

 The tongue is small, there is a small penis ; and the male takes part in the 

 incubation. The eggs have a metalhc gloss and the young are praecoces. 

 They are confined to the Neotropical Region (extending into Mexico), 

 with 30-40 species. Fossil forms are unknown. Their position is imcer- 

 tain ; by some zoologists they are placed with the Ratitae (see Pycraft, 



op. cit.). 



Fam. Tinamidae. Tinamous, with principal genera, Tinamus, Cryp- 

 turus, Rhychotus Nothura, Eudromia. 



Tribe 9. GALLIFORMES. 



Terrestrial or arboreal birds with a scliizognathous skull, simple rham- 

 photheea, nares imperviae, and ten carpal remiges. They are qtiinto- 

 cubital, and the feet are adapted for perching. They are good nmners 

 and seek their food on the groimd, either in forests or in fields, feeding 

 especially on berries, buds and seeds, and on insects and worms. They 

 form rude nests l^sually on the surface of the ground or in low bushes, 

 more rarely on high trees ; and they lay a considerable number of eggs. 

 Many are polygamous, but the male takes no part in building the 

 nest or in the care of the brood. The yotmg are for the most part prae- 

 coces. The hens are easily domesticated and, on account of their eggs 

 and well-favoixred flesh, have been made useful as domestic animals from 

 the earliest times. 



Fam. Mesitidae.* With the single genus and species Mesites varie- 

 gatus J. Geoffr. from Madagascar, to which it is confined. The bill is long 

 and slender, the clavicles are absent, there are seventeen cervical vertebrae 

 and 16 rectrices ; there is no aftershaft. The condition of the yoimg and 

 the structure of the viscera are unknown. 



Fam. Turnicidae. Quintocubital, with aftershaft, without hallux, with 

 only left carotid. Small, solitary, non-migratory forms, which run 

 quickly. The male incubates and feigns lameness. Turnix Bonn. 

 {Hemipodius Reinw.) with about 9 species in S.- Eur., Africa, India. 



Fam. Pedionomidae. Aquintocubital, with small hallux, with both 

 carotids. Pedionomua torquatus Gould, Australia. 



The three next families, Megapodiidae, Cracidae, and Phasianidae are 

 grouped together as Galli. 



* This form is of very uncertain position. A. Milne-Edwards, who is 

 the only man who has dissected it, placed it near the rails {Ann. Sc. Nat., 

 (6), 7). 



