TUBINARES: TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. 



1021 



Order TUBINARES: Tube-nosed Swimmers. 



Nostrils tubular. 

 Bill epignathous; its 

 coveriug discontin- 

 uous, consisting of 

 several horny pieces ^ 

 separated by sutures. 

 Hallux small, ele- 

 vated, functiouless, 

 appearing merely a.-^ 

 a sessile daw, often 

 minute, or absent. 



Tliese are cosmo- 

 politan oceanic birds, 

 rarely landing except 

 to breed, unsurpassed 

 in powers of liiglit, 

 and usually strong 

 swimmers. Except- 

 ing the Diving Pet- 

 rels or Sea-runners , 

 {Pelecanoididce). none 

 of them dive well. 

 Witli the same ex- 

 ception, the wings 

 are long, strong, and 

 pointed, of 10 stiff 

 ])rimaries and usually 



numerous short sec- Fig. 702. -Ne8t of the Fulmar. (Designed by H. W. KUiott.) 



ondaries (no 5th secondary in any, and the number reduced tt) 10 in one group) ; upper arm 

 and forearm sonietimes extremely lengthened. Tail short or moderate, of fewer than 20 feath- 

 ers, usually 12 or 14, variable in shape. Feet usually short, with long full-webbed front toes, 

 and rudimentary hallux, or none. Among anatomical characters may be noted : Palate schi- 

 zngnatlious; nasals holorhinal; vomer large, flat, pointed; basipterygoids ])resent or absent; 

 nian(Hble truncated; top of skull with large depressions for the supraorbital glands. Great 

 prctciral muscle double, and .'3d pectoral well developed; outer humeral condyle large; ancoual 

 ossicles present as a rule; coraco-humeral groove shallow. Femorocaudal and semitendinosus 

 present, and usually also the accessory femorocaudal and the amiiicus. I'roventriculus very 

 large; gizzard small, of ]ieculiar shape ; duodenum at first ascending; tongue small or rudi- 

 mentary; coeca varial)l(' ; traclieo-1)ronchial muscles attached to 7th or oth bronchial rings. 

 Oil-ghmd tufted. Spinal pteryla marked in the neck by lateral apteria. (Forbes. Gapow.) 

 In size, these birds vary remarkably, ranging from that of a Swallow up to the immense 

 All)atr(isses, unsurpassed by any birds whatever in alar expanse, and yielding to few in bulk 



' Tlie formal nomenclature of these pieces Is: 1. Narirorn or rhinolheca, the nasal tube. 2. Ciihninicom, cover- 

 iiin the <Milm(>n. .■?. Lalerirom, tlie sifle-piece of the upper mandible. 4. Superior unfjiiirom, forming the hook of the 

 upper nian(lil)le ; alwj called <lerlrnt/iecti. .'>. litiinirorn, thp side-piece of the lower mandible. <>. Inferior unffiiicorn, 

 forniiiiR the tip of the under mamlible ; also called niijTotlieca. 7. /n/crrdHiicorn, alouR the Ronys, a small piece best 

 wen ill AlbntrosseH, in whirli all the otherH may also be most coiiveiiieiitly studied. (CouKs, Proc. Pliila. Acad. May, 



iscc, pp. \--,, 17(; ) 



