544 



SCRATCHING BIRDS — GALLINiE. 



Family TEEDICID^, The rAUTiiincES. 



Chak. Nostrils protected liy a naked scale. The tarsi bare and scix- 

 tellate. 



The partridges difi'cr hrnn the gmnse in the liare legs and naked nasal 

 grooves. They have a very extended distriljution, being fonnd, in one genus 

 or another, over almost the A\-hole globe. Tlie Old and tlie Xe-\v A^'orld 

 forms are tpute different, the latter forming the sub-family Ortyyina;. 



Sub-Family ORTYGIN.E. 



Chae. Bill stout ; the lower mandiltle more or less bidentate on each 

 side near the end. 



The toothed or serrated character of the edge of the lower jaw, although 

 an apparently trifling feature, yet marks a constant distinction from the 

 smooth-edged bills of the Old World sub-families. There are several genera 

 recognized by naturalists, many of them represented by species of the 

 United States, and the total number of species is nearly fifty. They have a 

 close resemblance to each other, and the differences of form pointed out 



