28 CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
Suborder 20. PLATALE/A. 
The Ibises and Spoonbills may be diagnosed as follows :— 
A. Palate desmognathous. B. Nasals schizorhinal. 
This diagnosis may be strengthened by many other characters :— 
C. Basipterygoid processes absent. D. Spinal feather-tract not defined on the neck. 













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It is possible that characters of sufficient importance may be found to separate the Ibidide 
from the Plataleidie. 
Garrod and Forbes placed Platalea and Jbis amongst the Charadriiformes and not amongst 
the Anseriformes, because they regarded the schizorhinal bifurcation of the nasals as of 
greater taxonomic value than the desmognathous character of the palate. The discovery of 
some small genera of schizorhinal birds amongst the otherwise holorhinal Passeres did not 
alter their opinion. I should much have preferred to degrade the Platalew to a family of 
the Herodiones, but the necessity of diagnosing the groups prevented me from following my 
wishes. It is very easy to diagnose the Herodiones, and still easier to diagnose the Platalez, 
but all my attempts to diagnose the group which combined the two proved failures. 
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