BIRDS OF OLD 83 
the most aquatic of recent birds, an instance of 
similarly poor covering. As all know who have 
seen this bird at home, its feathers shed the wa- 
ter very imperfectly, and after long-continued 
submersion become saturated, a fact which part- 
ly accounts for the habit the bird has of hanging 
itself out to dry, 
The restoration which Mr. Gleeson has drawn 
differs radically from any yet made, and is the 
result of a careful study of the specimen be- 
longing to the United States National Museum. 
No one can appreciate the peculiarities of Hes- 
perornis and its remarkable departures from 
other swimming birds who has not seen the 
skeleton mounted in a swimming attitude. 
The great length of the legs, their position at 
the middle of the body, the narrowness of the 
body back of the hip joint, and the dispropor- 
tionate length of the outer toe are all brought 
out in a manner which a picture of the bird 
squatting upon its haunches fails utterly to 
show. As for the tail, it is evident from the 
size and breadth of the bones that something 
of the kind was present ; it is also evident that 
it was not like that of an ordinary bird, and so 
