16 BIRD GALLERY. 
Section B. CARINA'T A. Carinate Birps. 
All existing birds which do not belong to the Ratite are included in 
one great division—the Carinate—characterised by the fact that the 
pterygoid bone articulates with the palatine by means of a joint. The 
vomer is much reduced or absent. 
In some few birds belonging to several different subdivisions of this 
great group the keel of the breast-bone is extremely reduced in size, 
and the power of flight is almost or entirely lost, as is the case in the 
flightless Ratitie. 
The division of the Carinate into orders and families, an. the mutual 
relations of these groups to one another, are subjects of great difficulty 
upon which zoologists are by 10 means as yet agreed. The © assification 
adopted in this gallery, which represents the general result of much 
recent work, must therefore be looked upon as provisional. 
Thirty-one Orders are recognised in this scheme. 
Order I. GALLIFORMES. Gane-Birps. 
This order is composed of the great bulk of the species commonly 
known as “ Game”-Birds. Nearly 400 different kinds are known, 
forming a well-defined group. 
The bill is short and stout, the upper mandible being arched and 
overhanging the lower mandible. The body is well built and robust, 
the great development of the pectoral muscles giving these birds a well- 
fed, sturdy appearance. The legs and toes are fairly long and strong 
and well adapted for walking and running, and the latter are provided 
with stout curved claws, suitable for scratching and digging up roots, 
insects, and other food. The hind toe is always present, but varies in 
size and position. 
The feathers covering the body are provided with a well-developed 
aftershaft. 
The young when hatched are covered with soft, beautifully patterned 
down (except in the Megapodes, vide infra), and are able to rua within 
a few hours of the time they emerge from the shell. ‘The eggs. especially 
of the smaller species, are often numerous, and, when spotted, have only 
a single set of surface-marks, which are easily removed, none of the 
pale underlying spots characteristic of the Sand-Grouse, Hemipodes, 
and Wading-birds being found. 
Two Suborders are recoguised. 
