44 BIRDS. 



P. FAMILIES OF LAMELLIROSTRES. 



I. Legs not very loni? ; tibiae feathered ; bill not decurved. 



Anatid^, 60. 

 Q. FAMILIES OF STEGANOPODES. 



I. Bill longer than tail, many times longer than head, with the 



gular pouch enormous; wings long. . Pei-ecanid^, 61. 



II. Bill about as long as head, shorter than tail, which is fan- 



shaped, of rigid feathers; wings short. 



PlIALACROCOKACID^, 62. 



R. FAMILIES OF LONGIPENNES. 



I. Nostrils nottubuhu*, perforate; bill with a continuous covering. 



Laiiid^, 63. 



S. FAMILIES OF PYGOPODES. 



I. Feet palmate; tail developed; head closely featlicred. 



EUDYTID^, 64. 



II. Feetlobate; tail undeveloped; head usually with naked loral 



strip and peculiar feathers. . . . Podicipid^, 65. , 



OEDER G.-PASSERES. 



( Passerine Birds.) 



Toes always 4; feet fitted for perching; the hind toe 

 always on a level with the rest, its claw at least as long- 

 as that of middle toe, and often much longer; joints of 

 toes respectively 2, 3, 4, o, from first to fourth; toes 

 never versatile; wing coverts comparatively few, chiefly 

 in two series. Tail feathers 12, primaries 9 or 10. 

 Musical apparatus more or less developed. Sternum of 

 a certain uniform pattern. Nature altricial. 



This group comprises the great majority of all Birds, 

 and they represent the " highest grade of development, 

 and the most complex organization of the class; their 



