130 Mr. P. II. LoM e on the 



strong pteryke or feather-tracts, m liich are very clearly seen 

 in the acconi])aiiying; drawings. In the embryo tlie ajjteria 

 are conspicuous, but when tlie prepennal down-feathers 

 have dried after hatcliing they are apparently liidden, 

 judging only from what takes place in spirit-specimens. 

 The aptcria are conspicuously bare and smooth, with not 

 the least sign of preplumul?e. In coloration the prepennre 

 are greyish brown, lighter towards the base, darker at the 

 tips of the rami, where they end in long thread-like filo- 

 plumes devoid of radii. These prepennse have the typical 

 structure described by Mr. W. P. Pyeraf t *, but, judging 

 from the banded appearance of the radii, these seem to be 

 furnished with strong fila. The microscopic details Mill 

 be described in a forthcoming paper on Dromns. 



As regards the feather-tiacts, these are depicted so clearly 

 in the illustrations that no very detailed description seems 

 necessary. 



The Pteryla capitis is strongly marked, and evenly dis- 

 tributed over the vertex, sides of the face, and inter-ramal 

 region. 



The PL colli splits slightly more than halfway down the 

 neck into a dorsal and ventral tract, both strongly marked. 

 At about the level of the acro-coracoid the dorsal tract 

 (Pt. colli dorsalis) splits into a strongly marked fork, the 

 two ends of which terminate about the level of the tip of 

 the scapula. There is a distinct break here in what has 

 been described as the spinal tract, so that what might be 

 looked upon as the dorsi-sacral tract appears to have an 

 independent existence {cf. text-figure 1 A). This dorsi-sacral 

 tract is strong ; it is narrowly bifurcated at its proximal 

 extremity, and does not appear to be so constricted at its 

 termination at the base of the uropygium as is usual in the 

 Waders. It will be noted that laterally it extends well 

 outwards along the anterior margin of the femur. The 



* "Contributions towards our Knowledge of tlie Pterylography of the 

 Megapodii," Willey's Zoological Eesults, pt. iv. Cauib. Univ. Press : 

 April 1900. (See also Biit. Birds Mag. vol. i.) 



