XXX INTRODUCTION. 



Order GALLINJE. 



Family T E T R A O N I D .E. 



Tetrao, Limtceiis. — Bill short, strong ; upper mandible convex, and arched from 

 the base to the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly closed by an arched scale, 

 and hidden from view by small closely-set feathers. Space above the eye naked, 

 the skin covered with red i^apilla;, and fringed. Wings short and rounded ; 

 the fifth quill the longest. Tail of eighteen feathers. Tarsi feathered to the 

 junction of the toes, which are naked ; the three in front united as far as the 

 first joint ; one toe behind, short ; the edges of all pectinated (p. 491). 



Lagopus, Brisson. — Bill very short, clothed at the base with feathers ; the upper 

 mandible convex, and bent down at the point. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly 

 closed by an arched membrane, and nearly hidden by the small closely-set 

 feathers at the base of the bill. Eyebrows naked, as in Tetrao. Wings 

 short, concave, with the third and fourth quills the longest. Tail of sixteen 

 feathers, generally square at the end. Tarsi and toes completely feathered ; 

 hind toe very short and barely touching the ground with the tip of the nail ; 

 claws long and nearly straight (p. 495). 



Family PHASIANID.'E. 



Phasianus, Brisson. — Bill of moderate length, strong ; upper mandible convex, 

 naked at the base, and with the tip bent downwards. Nostrils basal, 

 lateral, covered with a cartilaginous scale ; cheeks and the skin surrounding 

 the ejes destitute of feathers, and with a verrucose red covering in the male. 

 Wings short ; the first quill narrow towards the tip, the fourth and fifth 

 feathers the longest in the wing. Tail of eighteen feathers, long, wedge- 

 shaped, graduated. Feet with three anterior toes united by a membrane as 

 far as the first joint ; the hind toe articulated upon the tarsus, which is 

 furnished with a horny, conical, and sharp sjnir, in the male (p. 499). 



Perdix, Brisson. — Bill short, strong, naked at the base ; upper mandible convex, 

 deflected towards the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, the orifice partly con- 

 cealed by an arched naked scale. Wings short, concave, rounded in form ; 

 the first three quills shorter than the fourth or fifth, which are the longest 

 in the wing. Tail with sixteen feathers in the same plane, short, rounded. 

 Feet with three toes in front and one behind, those in front united by a 

 membrane as far as the first joint (p. 501). 



Caccabis, Kaup.-V^iW short, stout, naked at the base; upper mandible de- 

 curved to the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly covered by an oblong 

 horny scale. Wings short, rounded ; the first three feathers shorter than 

 the fourth and fifth, which are the longest. Tail of fourteen feathers, 

 short, rounded. Tarsus anteriorly scutellated, and — in the male- armed with 

 blunt spurs ; three toes in front united at their bases by a membrane ; one 

 toe behind (p. 503). 



COTIIRNIX, Boiutaterre. — Bill strong, shorter than the head, upper mandible 

 curved. Nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane. Wings 

 moderate, the first quill the longest. Tail short, rounded, almost hidden 

 by the tail-coverts. Tarsus without a spur. Feet with four toes, those 

 anterior connected by a membrane as far as the first joint (p. 505). 



