4 THE STORY OF THE BIRDS 



been described from the same locality), a crea- 

 ture which, although presenting not a few 

 reptilian characteristics, was unquestionably dur- 

 ing life a feather-clad bird. The Archaeopteryx 

 was a bird about the size of a Crow, with a short 

 blunt bill. The upper jaw was furnished with 

 thirteen and the lower jaw with three conical 

 teeth on each side, each embedded in a distinct 

 socket. This curious bird was also furnished 

 with a long lizard-like tail composed of twenty- 

 one vertebrae, from each of the first twelve of 

 which grew a pair of feathers. The three free 

 digits of the wing were armed with claws. Of 

 course nothing can be said with certainty re- 

 specting the habits and mode of life of the 

 Archasopteryx, but the structure of the feet 

 suggest a possible arboreal existence. 



The next known bird forms (Ornitholites) 

 appear in the Cretaceous epoch. All these, so 

 far as is known, still continue to present the 

 character of teeth, but the lizard-like tail com- 

 pletely disappears. Many of the remains found 

 in the deposits of this epoch, and formerly 

 beheved to be Ornitholites, have been shown 

 to be those of Pterodactyls (bat-like reptiles). 

 However, in 1858, undoubted avine remains (of 

 a form believed by some authorities to be allied 



