THIRD ANNUAL MEETING 



37 



e?;tinct ground-pigeons, Solitaire and Dodo, are known by nearly com- 

 plete skeletons. 



This is probably the last of that group of birds which belong to the 

 class called "startling," the others belonging to the class "ordinary," 

 attracting- less attention and, as a matter of fact, furnishing fewer 

 important lessons, thus justifying the palaeontologist's pride in the 

 extraordinary forms. 



For the sake of brevity we may bunch together a somewhat hetero- 

 geneous assemblage of terns, curlews, snipes, woodcocks, coots, etc.. 



103 



104 



10.5 



106 



107 



Crania and brains of ancient birds and reptiles for comparison with recent forms, all 

 reduced to the same size. 



Fig. 10.3 — Loon {Coli/mbus) for comparison with Fig. 104. 



Fig. 104 — Hexperovnis re<jaUs. 



Fig. 105 — Ichthyornis. 



Fig. 106 — Tern for comparison with Fig. 10.5. 



Fig. 107— Pterodactyl. 



Fig. 108— Brain of Lizard. 



Fig. 109 — Brain of Duckbill {Pldti/pus), a mammal of low order. 



Fig. 110— Brain of owl. 



C, cerebrum; Cb, cerebellum; M, medulla; 01 f, olfactory lobes; Op, optic lobes. 



Attention is directed to the evidences of cerebral evolution shown in the expanding 

 cerebrum and cerebelhim and the subordination of the olfactory lobes and optic lobes as 

 seen in the modern forms. 



and report them as represented by fossil remains in Tertiary beds. 

 Hawks, parrots, owls, woodpeckers, etc., are all represented. The 

 Passeriformes — crows, larks, sparrows, warblers, etc., — are represented 

 by such enormous numbers of living members, some eleven thousand 

 in all, as to make the list of known fossil forms seem especially mea- 

 gre. As an apology for this lack of knowledge it should in all justice 

 bo explained that the bones of such small birds are often obscure 

 guides to exact taxonomic arrangement. And it is all the worse when 

 the bones are fragmental, as is apt to be the case ^vith such delicate 



