PHCENICOPTERI.^ — ANSEllES. 233 



Older LAMELLIROSTRES. 



So far as is known the Lamellirostres are the only birds which 

 combine the following characters : — 



Young born covered with down^ and able to run and feed them- 

 selves in a few hours ; palate directly desmognathous ; spinal feather- 

 tract not defined oil tlie neck. 



The Order Lamellirostres contains three Suborders^ only one of 

 which is represented in Japan. 



Suborder XXI. PIKENICOPTERL 



Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoid processes absent or very 

 rudimentary ; nasals holorhinal ; mandible much produced and re- 

 curved behind its articulation with the quadrate. 



The number of known species of Flamingo does not reach a dozen, 

 but they have a very wide range. They are found in the Neotropical 

 and Ethiopian Kegions, in the south of the Palsearctic Region, and in 

 the Oriental Region as far east as Calcutta. The Common Flamingo 

 is said to have occurred in the British Islands and on Lake Baikal, 

 but neither statement rests on satisfactory evidence. It is somewhat 

 remarkable that the range of the Phoenicopteri does not extend to 

 China or Japan. 



Suborder XXII. AFSEEES. 



The Ducks, Geese, and Swans possess a character which they share 

 with the Gallinse. They have basipterygoid processes on the rostrum 

 of the basisphenoid which articulate with the pterygoids as near as 

 possible to the palatines. They diflFer from the Gallinae in many 

 important characters, though they resemble them in having the man- 

 dible produced and recurved behind its articulation with the quadrate. 

 They are desmognathous, and there is only one notch on each side of 



