Pterylography of the Tinamiformes. 15 



.... is continued beyond the pectoral boundary, passes 

 through the lateral space of the trunk, and unites with the 

 anterior extremity of the lumbar tract of the same side. 

 Nowhere else have I observed a similar union of the 

 two tracts/^ Besides these observations he remarked that 

 the tail-feathers ai'e wanting in C. tataupa and Rhyn- 

 chotus rufescens, and that he had "never observed any 

 great thickening of the lower half of the shaft of its contour- 

 feathers/' though a few pages previously he included these 

 birds in a list of some five others (Gallinaceous birds, with 

 which he placed the Tinamous) which have certain of their 

 feathers ''^characterized .... by the enormous width of that 

 portion of the shaft of the contour-feather on which the 

 downy barbs are seated.'^ 



Stejneger (12) says: — "The tail-feathers concealed under 

 the coverts or altogether absent .... Powder-downs are 

 present among the feathers, and in some the feathers have 

 aftershafts.^' 



Gadow appears to have derived the main part of his infor- 

 mation from Nitzsch, but has a few remarks relative to the 

 nestling that I take to be original. 



In the Anatomischer Theil of his most valuable work (5) 

 he says: — "Tinamidse, Puderdunen mit den Conturfedern 

 des grossen Sattels der Riickenflur gemischt^'; and again, 

 " Wahre Duuen, die theilweise zu Puderdunen umgewandelt 

 sind,finden sich zwischen den Conturfedern desUnterriickens. 

 Dorsalflur .... keinen Rain enthalt."" 



In his recently-published second volume (6) (Systema- 

 tischer Theil) the pterylography assumes rather an important 

 place, and such parts as must be discussed here may be col- 

 lated as follows : — " Vorhandensein von allerdings nur spar- 

 lichen Dunen bei den Erwachsenen; einige sind in Puderdunen 

 umgewandelt." 



" Alte Dunen nur zwischen den Conturfedern, einige Dunen 

 zu Puderdunen umgewandelt." " Ohne Spinalrain.^' These 

 statements agree with those of Nitzsch. 



The nestling-down is briefly described thus : — " Sehr einfach 

 gebaute, dicht stehende Neossoptile." In the earlier part 



