24 USE OF THE TABLES. 



BY way of showing the utility of the preceding Tables, 

 a few instances, explaining the manner of applying them, 

 may be acceptable. 



Suppose, then, that a person entirely ignorant of Or- 

 nithology, finds a bird, and wishes to know its name or 

 character. He will first turn to Table I., where the 

 number of hind-toes appear as the distinguishing guide 

 for further observation. His specimen, for instance, has 

 only one hind-toe ; he is then directed to the character 

 of the anterior, or fore-toes, the two exterior or outer of 

 which, in this case, he finds to be very slightly connected, 

 and for a moment, without further rules to guide him, 

 he might be at a loss whether to consider his specimen 

 as belonging to the orders Rapaces, Grallse, or Passeres : 

 the character, however, of the claws and beak will at 

 once point out the propriety of considering it as of the 

 Rapacious Order, marked as No. 1. For further infor- 

 mation, he is then referred to Table II., where the eyes 

 are to be his guide. He finds them on the side of the 

 head, and pursuing his line of direction, sees that it is 

 feathered about the neck, and he accordingly turns to 

 Table IV., where the lower jaw, or mandible, as it is 

 called, of the beak, is the distinguishing feature. This 

 lower mandible, in his bird, is not furnished with either 

 bristles or tufts like a beard, neither is the tail consider- 

 ably lengthened out by feathers projecting one beyond 

 the other, like the Snake-eaters, or Magpies, for example. 



Having proceeded thus far, his attention is turned to 

 the first feather of the wing, which he finds to be shorter 

 than the second. He next looks to the beak, which is 

 not lengthened, and straight from its base, but is bent 

 throughout, and hooked at the point. His bird must, 

 therefore, be of the Buteo or Astur genus. But the 

 wings do not extend beyond two-thirds of the tail; it 

 therefore belongs to the Astur genus ; and he has then 

 only to ascertain the species, which he will easily do by 

 consulting museums, or books with minute descriptions 

 and plates. 



