Vv TURNICIDAE 187 
Rhinochetus ; bat Dr. Gadow, as may be seen from above, places 
it in the Galliformes, considering it to be a connecting lnk 
between that Order, the Tinamiformes, and the Gruiformes, 
In this curious form the bill is long and slender; the legs 
are rather weak, with the uniformly scutellated metatarsus 
shorter than the partially bare tibia; while the toes, which are 
without webs, are on the same level. The keel of the sternum 
is short, the anterior extremity hardly reaching beyond the 
middle of the breast-bone, and the clavicles are quite rudi- 
mentary. The wing is rounded, and has ten primaries and six 
secondaries ; the tail is strong and well-developed, with fourteen 
(or sixteen) rectrices. Mr. E. Bartlett tells us that the quills 
of the. soft feathers of the back and rump are so delicate 
that the plumage curls forward immediately upon the bird’s 
death." The after-shaft is absent, the pervious nostrils are long 
and linear, the lores and bluish orbits are naked. No less than 
five pairs of powder-down patches have been ascertained to 
exist, of which two couples are dorsal, one adjoins the upper 
pectoral muscles, and two are ventral. JZ. variegatus 1s cinnamon, 
with black and tawny markings, the lower parts being white with 
black spots and reddish flanks. The female is mostly rufous below. 
M. unicolor is not distinct. Hardly anything is known of the 
habits, but the nest is said to be upon the ground. 
Sub-Order TURNICES.—This consists of the two Families, 7urni- 
cidae and Pedionomidae, each with one genus, Turnia or Heimi- 
podius, and Pedionomus respectively ; the last-named, moreover, 
has but one species. Ortyxelus meiffrent (p. 295), may belong here. 
Fam. II. Turnicidae.—In this group the bill is short, but 
commonly less stout than that of the Phasianidae, which it other- 
wise resembles ; the metatarsus is long, slender, and scutelated, the 
hallux is absent, the claws are small, curved, and sharp. The wings 
are broad and rather short, with ten primaries and about fifteen 
secondaries; the abbreviated tail contains twelve soft rectrices, 
which are not so long as the upper coverts in 7urnix ocellata, while 
in 7. sylvatica and several nearly-allied species the median feathers 
are somewhat elongated and acute. The furcula is U-shaped, 
and the crop is almost absent, but an after-shaft is present ; 
the pointed tongue, the impervious nostrils, and the tracheo- 
bronchial syrinx calling for no special remark. Where the sexes 
1 PZ.S. 1857, p> 292: 
