STRUTniONID^K. 



b'. Feathers with a large after- 

 shaft :i. CASUARII, p. 585. 



b. Hallux present, and tiiree toes 

 anteriorly ; bill very long, much 

 longer than the head; the 

 nostrils near the tip 4. AFTER YGES, p. 003. 



Older I. STRUTHIONES. 



Only two toes, the third and fourtli, arc present ; terminal 

 phalanges shortened, with stunted nails. 



Maxillo-palatines articulating with the vomer, which touches 

 neither palatines nor pterygoids. 



Procoracoid large. No clavicles. Pubes united in a symphysis. 

 Tibia without bony bridge. 



Aftershaft absent. Quills and tail-feathers large. 



Caeca and rectum enormous. 



Ethiopian. 



The members of this Order are the largest birds actually living. 

 Their bill is broad and depressed, with the culmen flattened and 

 the tip strong, rounded and overlapping that of the mandible ; the 

 nostrils placed in a broad membranous groove near the middle of 

 the bill, and the opening oval ; the wings are short, imperfect, and 

 furnished with long soft plumes ; the tail is moderate, and composed 

 of curved pendent feathers ; the tarsi are very long, robust, and in 

 front near the toes covered with transverse scutes ; the two toes 

 are short and robust, the outer shorter and much padded ; the 

 claws short, broad and flattened. 



Only one family. 



Family STRUTHIONIDiE. 



1. STRUTHIO. 



Type. 

 Struthio, Linn. S. X. i. p. 26o, gen. 9G (176G) S. camelus. 



Range. Confined to Africa and Arabia. 



[^Cf. NoLTK, " Strausse imd Straussenzucht in Siidafrika " 

 (J. f. 0. 1895, pp. 44-79).] 



Keij to the Species. 



a. Featliers of the body black. (Males.) 

 n . Naked parts reddish ; a ring of white 



feathers on the lower part of the neck. . camelus, p. 572. 



