1 91 8.] Under Wing-Coverts of Birds. 533 



done when studying these reversed coverts, which properly 

 belong to the upper surface of the wing, so that upper 

 coverts, remiges, and reversed coverts may all be viewed 

 alike. This was evidently the method of Pycraft, when he 

 calls the overlap of the major under coverts, as of the 

 remiges, " distal,^' and by Gadow when he calls the overlap 

 of both "proximal.'' But if we view the wing as 'held 

 upside down, the only way in which the reversed coverts can 

 be actually looked at, the overlap of these must be described 

 in the contrary terms to that of the remiges, though it is 

 actually the same as that of the remiges. 



In view of these manifold confusions, the terms " distal " 

 and " proximal overlap" are not used in the following obser- 

 vations; but the simple method is employed of referring 

 always to the remiges, with their invariable overlap, as a 

 standard, and saying " overlap the same as the remiges " 

 or " conforming to the remiges,'' or briefly " overlap con- 

 forming," and in the case of the other overlap " contrary to 

 the remiges," or " overlap contrary." 



A list of the publications referred to in this introductory 

 portion of my paper is given here instead of at the end, 

 since they are not referred to again ; they do not pretend to 

 constitute a full " bibliography." 



(1) SuNDEVALL, C. J. " On the Wings of Birds." (Trans- 



lated from the Swedish.) Ibis, 1886, pp. 389-457. 

 (Reversed coverts, pp. 418-421.) 



(2) Wray, R. S. " On some Points in the Morphology of 



the Wing of Birds." P. Z. S. 1887, pp. 843-357. 



(3) Pycraft, W. P. " Pterylography of Birds' Wings." 



Leicester, 1890. 



(4) GooDCHiLD, J. G. " Observations on the Disposition 



of the Cubital Coverts in Birds." P. Z. S. 1886, 

 pp. 184-203. 



(5) Same. " The Cubital Coverts of the Euornithae." 



Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 1890-91, pp. 317-333. 



(6) Gadow, II. Bronn's Klassen und Ordnungen des 



Thierreichs. Vogel. Anatomischer Theil. 1891. 



(7) Newton, A. Dictionary of Birds, 1893-96, article 



" Tectrices." 



