154 
AVES. 
membrane ; the back toe jointed to the tarsus above the joint of 
the other toes. 
XI. Alectorides —Birds with the tarsus long and slender; 
three toes before and one behind; the articulation of the pos¬ 
terior one higher than those before. 
XII. Cursores. —Birds with long legs, naked above the 
knee, with two or three toes directed forwards. 
XIII. Grallatores. —Birds with long and slender legs, 
more or less naked above the knee; three toes before and one 
behind; the posterior one joined on the same level with the 
others, or more elevated. 
XIV. Pinnatipedes. —Birds with feet of medium length; 
tarsi, slender, or compressed; three toes before and one behind, 
with a rudimentary membrane along the toes ; the posterior 
one joined interiorly on the tarsus. 
XV. Palmipedes. —Birds with short feet, more or less 
drawn up to the abdomen ; anterior toes partly or wholly con¬ 
nected by a membrane; the posterior toe articulated interiorly 
upon the tarsus, or totally wanting in some genera, 
XVI. Inertes. —Birds with feet retracted into the abdo¬ 
men ; three toes divided before; the posterior toe short, arti¬ 
culated interiorly. 
TERMINOLOGY OF BIRDS. 
It is impossible to understand the descriptions given by authors, 
so as to enable the student to trace with certainty various spe¬ 
cies, without being acquainted with the technical names of the 
different parts of Birds. 
Within these few years a new nomenclature has been adopted, 
so that to be an expert Ornithologist, a knowledge of the old as 
well as the new terminology is indispensable. 
Old Terminology. 
Plate XXXV. fi g . I. 
The Auriculars, or feathers which cover the ears, ]. 
