Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, ^c. 299 



Herons (including Cancroma) is in the development of a strong 

 interorbital septum. Now, this partly depends upon what I 

 would crave to call '' giganticism " (big birds generally having 

 a good wall placed between their eyes), and partly upon the 

 necessary abortion of the cranio-facial axis between the eyes 

 when the relative size of the eyeballs is very great. If Scopus 

 has a strong septum, I will be bold to prophesy that he will be 

 found to have small eyes. 



There is another point which I would mention, and that is, 

 that if the pelvis of the Balceniceps does not agree with Cancroma, 

 and does agree with Scopus, all that can be made of that is, that 

 Leptoptilus, Ciconia, and Cancroma all agree in having the ilia 

 project further backwards than the ischia, whilst the contrary is 

 the case in Scopus, Balceniceps, Ardea, and Botaurus. As to the 

 hook on the end of the bill, it certainly does exist, although feebly, 

 in Cancroma, the difference between it and the Balaniceps being 

 just such as obtains between Caprimulgus and Podargus. 



The affinities of the Balceniceps do not, however, exhaust them- 

 selves on the congeners of the bird ; they spread themselves into 

 all the adjacent region of the, as yet, badly classified "Grallatores." 

 It has, however, characters of its own, which it has borrowed 

 from no other bird, as well as isomorphisms or resemblances of 

 structure, giving it an apparent affinity with far-off groups. 



If Professor Reinhardt has the advantage of possessing the 

 skeleton of the Scopus, I glory over him in having seen the 

 living Balanicipites ; and as I am not under the necessity of 

 dissecting my cousins when I would prove their likeness to my 

 father or my mother, so, having stood face to face with the 

 Balceniceps, I had not to wish him dead that I might feel certain 

 that he was a Heron. 



Note. — In my paper (p. 337) I have spoken of the ilium and 

 ischium terminating in the same vertical line ; I find, however, 

 that the ilium does really project a line or two beyond the 

 ischium — not so much, however, as in the Boat-bill and the 

 Adjutant. I am. Sir, yours very truly, 



W. K. Parker. 



