OXYUBINiK 301 



Sub-family OXYUEIN.E. 



The one great distinctive feature of this sub-family is the 

 remarkable tail, of which the eighteen feathers are stiff and 

 hard, very nmch as are the feathers of a woodpecker's tail. 



The sub-family contains four genera : Thalassiornis, confined 

 to South Africa : Noinoni/.r, to Tropical America ; Biziura, which 

 is only found in Australia ; and finally, O.njuru, which is almost 

 cosmopolitan. 



The first three genera consist of but one species each ; but 

 Oxijura, the only genus in which we are interested, has no less 

 than seven, one of which, 0. leucocepliala, extends into India. 



This bird has, in addition to the remarkable tail, another feature 

 almost equally remarkable, viz., the swollen base to the bill, which 

 extends forward as far as the nostril. The nail is also very small 

 and is bent inwards; the wing very small ; and the feet very large 

 and powerful, with the lobe to the hind-toe very fully developed. 



The generic name Erismatura by which we have hitherto known 

 this duck in India is later than that of Bonaparte, Oxijura, so the 

 latter must take its place. 



