ANCESTRY OF SCREAMERS 



The horn on the head must therefore be either a sexual 

 adornment or a relic from the past. In the latter 

 case it may perhaps be looked upon as an inheritance 

 from those long since defunct and bird-like reptiles, 

 the Dinosaurs ; and like an armorial bearing of a military 

 kind, be rather a mark of aristocracy than an indication 

 of a pugnacious and offensive character. We have 



SCREAMER. 



intimated that the screamers are of ancient lineage. 

 That conclusion is accepted on account of the fact that 

 they cannot be definitely referred to any existing group 

 of birds, coupled with certain traces of reptilian con- 

 ditions in their organization. The most noteworthy of 

 these is the character of the ribs, which have not, as 

 have all other existing birds without exception, certain 



