STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 



27 



process by which the ribs are articulated to the transverse pro- 

 cesses of the dorsal vertebrae ; c7, <^, the heads of the ribs arti- 

 culated to the bodies of the vertebrae ; 6, ^, the thin laminar 

 processes. 



The thorax is completed anteriorly by the sternum, w^hich 

 is marked in Plate I. by the letters o, ^, q\ but which, form- 



FiG. 4. Sternal Apparatus of Golden Eagle. 



ing with the clavicles and scapulae, perhaps the most curiously 

 modified part of the skeleton of birds, requires a separate illus- 

 t rat ion. 



Fig. 4 then represents the Sternal Apparatus. In it are seen 

 the sternum, «, h, r, c?, e, f; the seven sternal ribs, g, g, g, g ; 

 the coracoid bones, A, h ; the scapulae, ^, i ; and the furculae, 

 j, j, j. As is seen in Plate I, the sternum is a large expanded 



