46 SHUFELDT — OSTEOLOGY OF THE CUCK003. [Jan. 4, 



One pair of pelvic ribs that do not quite reach the sternum by their 

 costal ribs. 



Pelvis not strikingly peculiar, though cuculine in general pattern. 

 Posteriorly, the ilia curl outward only very moderately, and the 

 prepubic processes are quite vestigial in character. (Eleven verte- 

 brae in sacrum of young Coccyzus). 



Caudal vertebrae and pygostyle agree in the main with N. Ameri- 

 can Cuculidce generally. 



12. Os furcula U-shaped, slender, with luniform hypocleidium of 

 good size. Blade of scapula not strikingly narrow, broadish distally, 

 where it is sharp-pointed and slightly curved outward. A coracoid 

 agrees closely with that bone as it is seen in Crotophaga, and in 

 both it develops a conspicuous, upturned process at its sternal end at 

 the outer angle of the dilated portion. 



13. General pattern of sternum agrees with Crotophaga but the 

 bone has two notches upon either side of the carina, as in the Cen- 

 tropodincB. It differs also from both Crotophagince and Ce?itropodince 

 in possessing four facets for costal ribs upon either costal border. 



14. Skeleton of pectoral limb cuculine, but possesses an individ- 

 uality of its own. The humerus is a trifle shorter than either the 

 ulna or radius ; the bones of the antibrachium are straighter, 

 especially the ulna, than they are in the other subfamiles. Os 

 humero-scapulare, though small, is usually present in all of our 

 Cuculidce. 



15. Bones of pelvic limb long and slender, and apparently non- 

 pnuematic. They have some characters in common with the Anis, 

 and some in common with the Ground Cuckoos. A small patella 

 is present. Fibula feebly developed. Pro- and ecto-cnemial 

 processes of tibio-tarsus reduced, and the hypotarsus of the tarso- 

 metatarsus twice perforated for tendons, with lateral grooves for 

 the passage of the same. 



These grooves are formed by the process being capped with a 

 lamina of bone. Anterior aspect of tarso-metatarsus quite flat. 



Skeleton of pes upon the same plan as in other Cuculidce, charac- 

 terized above. 



Brief Discussion of Cuculine Kinships. 



When we come to consider the affinities of the Cuckoos we are 

 confronted with a more or less natural group of birds that have 

 representatives in nearly all parts of the world. They are very 

 different from any of the Suborders thus far treated of by me in 



