British Fossil Birds. 397 



group ; and the writer is accordingly inclined to think that 

 it may belong to the imperfectly known genus Agnopterus, 

 from the corresponding beds of the Paris basin, which appears 

 to be more or less closely allied to the Flamingoes, although 

 not improbably indicating a distinct family. The upper part 

 of a large femur from Hordwell, preserved in the Museum of 

 Practical Geology, and remarkable for the great length of its 

 neck, agrees in relative size with the coracoid, and may 

 therefore have belonged to the same bird, which the author 

 has designated Agnopterus (?) hantoniensis. 



Alectorides. — Two very characteristic features occur in the 

 osteology of the Cranes. The first is the presence of an 

 enormous pneumatic foramen on the inner surface of the 

 lower end of the coracoid. The second is the great width 

 of the gorge separating the two condyles on the anterior face 

 of the lower end of the long tibia, and also the sunken posi- 

 tion of the bony bridge over the extensor groove, which 

 carries a small tubercle ; moreover, the inner condyle of the 

 tibia is placed considerably to the inner side of the corre- 

 sponding border of the shaft, while on the opposite border of 

 the anterior surface of the lower end there is a distinct 

 groove for the tendon of the external peroneus muscle. All 

 the characters above mentioned are displayed in the lower 

 part of a tibia in the British Museum from Hordwell, indi- 

 cating a Crane somewhat smaller than Grus virgo, which the 

 writer has proposed to call G. hordwelliensis. A coracoid of a 

 much smaller bird in the same collection shows the enormous 

 pneumatic foramen characteristic of the Cranes, and in the 

 opinion of the writer clearly indicates a small member of 

 the family, which may be known as Geranopsis hastingsice. 



Pygopodes. — A small coracoid from Hordwell in the 

 British Museum shows the peculiar crotchet-like process 

 projecting from the upper part of the hinder border of the 

 lower extremity characteristic of the Colymbidae; and the 

 writer has accordingly referred the owner of this bone to the 

 genus Colymboides, founded upon the evidence of other 

 remains from the Lower Miocene of France, with the affix of 

 C. anglicus. 



SER. VI. VOL. III. 2e 



