286 OSTEOLOGY OF TUB1NARES AND STEGANOPODES. 



the scapular process of the coracoid on the transverse facet which occu- 

 pies its superior margin. 



The mesial angle of this head is tilted up to meet the posterior apex 

 of the clavicle, when in situ, as naturally articulated. The furcula and 

 scapula' of this shoulder girdle are both non-pneumatic, but the cora- 

 coids have air admitted to their interual cavities through a few fora- 

 mina, which are situated on their posterior aspects in the broad concav- 

 ity which is formed at each sternal extremity. 



This condition of the coracoids in the Albatrosses disagrees with 

 what we found in the Fulmars, these bones in F. rodgersii being com- 

 pletely non-pneumatic. 



So far as the Tubinares are concerned, this completes the description 

 of all the material I have at present at my command. Mr Forbes says 

 that L'llerminier, A. Milne-Edwards, and Huxley have all, in describ- 

 ing various points in the osteology of the Tubinares, pointed out simi- 

 larities of various kinds between their osseous structure and that of 

 various forms of Steganopodes, though they still kept them close to the 

 Larithe. Eyton, on the other hand, places the various Petrels he de- 

 scribes in the family " Pelecanidie," and Gulls forming a separate fam- 

 ily by themselves. 



"Put no one will be prepared, I think, to dispute that the Stegan- 

 opodes are allied to the Herodiones, including under that name the 

 Storks and Herons, with Scojms only. 



" Thus, on osteological grounds alone, there is sufficient ground for 

 placing the Tubinares in the vicinity of the Steganopodes and Hero- 

 dines. And, in fact, neglecting the desmoguathous structure of the 

 palate— the taxonomic value of which per se is becoming more aud more 

 dubious as our knowledge of the structure of birds increases — there is 

 little in the characters assigned to the groups Pelargomorplne and Dys- 

 poromorphre by Professor Huxley that is not applicable to the general 

 Petrel type: 1 



It gives me a great deal of pleasure aud satisfaction to quote these 

 passages from Mr. Forbes's work (Coll. Scientif. Mem., p. 434), because 

 of all the various schemes of classification and relationships proposed 

 for the Tubinares that I have read none so well meet my own views in 

 the premises as these. 



OBSERVATIONS UPON SEVERAL OF THE AMERICAN REPRESENTA- 

 TIVES OF THE ORDER STEGANOPODES. 



This group is represented in the fauna of this country by si.v very 

 well-distinguished families, viz: 



1. The Phaethontidse, The Tropic Birds. 



2. The Sulidae, The Gannets. 



3. The Anhingidse, The Darters. 



4. The Phalacrocoracida*, The Cormorants. 



5. The Pelecanidse, The Pelicans. 



6. The Fregatnke, The Man o'-VVar Birds. 



