TURNICIDAE 



187 



BUnochetus ; but Dr. Gadow, as may be seen from above, i^laces 

 it in the Galliformes, considering it to be a connecting link 

 between that Order, the Tinamiformes, and the Gruiformest 



In this curious form the l)ill is long and slender ; the legs 

 are rather weak, with the uniformly scutellated metatarsus 

 shorter than the partially bare tibia ; while the toes, which are 

 without webs, are on the same level. The keel of the sternum 

 is short, the anterior extremity hardly reaching beyond the 

 middle of the breast-bone, and the clavicles are quite rudi- 

 mentary. The wing is rounded, and has ten primaries and six 

 secondaries ; the tail is strong and well-developed, with fourteen 

 (or sixteen) rectrices. Mr. E. Bartlett tells us that the quills 

 of the soft feathers of the back and rump are so delicate 

 that the plumage curls forward immediately upon the bird's 

 death.^ The after-shaft is absent, the pervious nostrils are long 

 and linear, the lores and bluish orbits are naked. Xo less than 

 five pairs of powder -down patches have been ascertained to 

 exist, of which two couples are dorsal, one adjoins the upper 

 pectoral muscles, and two are ventral. 3L variegatus is cinnamon, 

 with black and tawny markings, the lower parts being white witli 

 black spots and reddish flanks. The female is mostly rufous below. 

 M. unicolor is not distinct. Hardly anything is known of the 

 habits, but the nest is said to be upon the ground. 



Sub-Order Tuexices. This consists of the two Families, Turni- 

 cidae and Fedionomidae, each with one genus, Turnix or Hemi- 

 podius, and Pedionomus respectively ; the last-named, moreover, 

 has but one species. Ortyxclus meiffrcni (p. 295), may belong here. 



Fam. II. Turnicidae. In tliis group the bill is short, but 

 commonly less stout than that of the Phasianidae, which it other- 

 wise resembles ; the metatarsus is long, slender, and scutellated, the 

 hallux is absent, the claws are small, curved, and sharp. The wings 

 are broad and rather short, with ten primaries and about fifteen 

 secondaries; the abbreviated tail contains twelve soft rectrices, 

 which are not so long as the upper coverts in Turnix ocellata, while 

 in T. sylvcUica and several nearly-allied species the median feathers 

 are somewhat elongated and acute. The furcula is U-shaped, 

 and the crop is almost absent, but an after-shaft is present ; 

 the pointed tongue, the impervious nostrils, and the tracheo- 

 bronchial syrinx calling for no special remark. Where the sexes 



^ P.Z.S. 1877, p. 29'2. 



