234 THE STORY OF BIRD-LIFE. 



have curious spine-like processes projecting back- 

 wards from the ribs called uncinate processes. 



The vertebral column of young birds closely 

 resembles that of reptiles ; later in life it takes 

 on the characters which are the special peculi- 

 arities of birds, and are found nowhere else. 



We might enumerate other connecting links 

 between the two groups; but enough has pro- 

 bably been detailed to serve the purpose of this 

 chapter, which was to show that birds and rep- 

 tiles are closely akin, however much they may 

 appear on the sarface to differ. 



In the previous chapter we followed the 

 gradual unfolding and development of the 

 various groups of birds, starting with archse- 

 opteryx, and discussed, as nearly as we could 

 guess, the ancestral forms of each. In the 

 present we have endeavoured to pierce the veil 

 of thick darkness that enshrouds the birth of 

 the earliest bird -like forms. A certain measure 

 of success has attended this attempt, it must be 

 admitted ; but much yet remains to be done 

 before we are in possession of sufficient evidence 

 to speak with that certainty which will make 

 converts of the most sceptical. 



The most that we can say at present is that 

 the "Founder of the House" was of a reptilian 

 nature, and probably sj^rang from the same stock 

 as that which ended in the gigantic dinosaurs 

 long since extinct. Possibly from this same 

 stock came the flying pterodactyle. In this 

 way we could account for certain strong points 

 of resemblance between the skull of this ancient 

 lizard and that of the bird. 



