NINGH ANNUAL, REPOR, 229 
If we briefly review the various characters of the ratite birds 
we are as baffled in deciding which is the most specialized, as 
in studying the meagre fossil remains of this class. Although 
a bird of strong flight, Ichthyornis vet retained most primitive 
biconcave vertebrae. In like manner the two-toed, small-winged 
Ostrich is armed with two good claws on its fingers; and indeed 
we find in them all, a similar tangle of old and new characters, 
as puzzling as they are inspiring to further study. 
