144 GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY part ii 



covered by the term. Lore, however, should properly be restricted 

 to a narrow line between the ej'e and bill in the direction of the 

 nostrils. It is excellently shown in the heron and grebe families, 

 where " naked lores " is a distinctive character. The lore is an 

 important place, not only from being thus marked in many birds, 

 but from being frequently the seat of specially modified or specially 

 coloured feathers. The rest of the side of the head, including the 

 space between angle of jaw and bill, has the name of cheek (Lat. 

 ge%a, first eyelid, then, and generally, the prominence under the 

 eye formed by the cheek-bones ; Fig. 25, 36). It is bounded above 

 by loral, infra-orbital, and auricular regions ; below, by a more or 

 less straight line, representing the lower edge of the bony prong of 

 the under mandible. It is cleft in front for a varying distance by 

 the backward extension of the gape of the mouth ; above this gape 

 is more properly gena., or malar region (Lat. rtiala, upper jaw) in 

 strictness ; below it is jaw {maxilla), or rather " side of the jaw." 

 The low^er edge of the jaw definitely separates the side of the head 

 from the " under surface " of the head ; properly bounded behind 

 by an imaginary line draw^n straight across from one angle of the 

 jaw to the other, and running forward to a point between the forks 

 of the under mandible. As already hinted, "throat" (gida ; Fig. 

 25, 37) extends upward and forward into this space without 

 obvious dividing line; it runs into chin (Lat. mentum ; Fig. 25, 38), 

 of which it is only to be said that it is the (varying in extent) 

 anterior part of the under surface of the head. Anteriorly, it may 

 be conveniently marked off, opposite the point where the feathers 

 end on the side of the lower jaw, from the feathery space (when 

 any) betiveen the branches of the upper mandible itself ; this latter 

 is called the interrarnal space (Lat. inter, between, ramus, fork). 



The head is so often marked lengthwise with different colours, 

 apt to take such definite position, that these lines have received 

 special names. Median vertical line is one along the middle of pileum, 

 from base of bill to nucha : lateral vertical lines bound it on either 

 side. Superciliary line has already been noticed ; below it runs the 

 lateral stripe ; that j)art of it before the eye is loral or ante-orbital ; 

 behind the eye, post-orbital ; when these are continuous through the 

 eye, they form a transocidar (Lat. trans, across ; oculus, eye) line ; 

 below this is malar line, or cheek-stripe (Lat. frenum, a bridle) ; 

 below this on the under jaw, maxillary or submaxillary line; in the 

 middle below, mental (L. mentum, chin) or gular lines. 



No other part of the body has so variable a ptilosis as the head. 

 In the great majority of birds it is wholly and densely feathered ; 

 it ranges from this to wholly naked ; but nakedness, it should be 

 observed, means only absence of perfect feathers, for most birds 

 wdth unfeathered heads have a hair-like grow^th of filoplumes on the 



