INTRODUCTION. Hi 



either arched, straight, curved, or festooned, or the upper overlaps the 

 lower; the forehead (g) is the region lying close to the nostrils. The 

 body commences with or joins the breast (o) and extends the whole 

 length of the sternum or breast-bone. It is succeeded by the abdomen 

 (q) and terminated by the vent (r) and the under-tail coverts (s). 



On the upper part of the body are the wings, the interscapularies 

 or back (/), lower back (v), the rump (w), where the upper tail coverts 

 (u>2) are situated, and last the tail (x). The leg, as in quadrupeds, is 

 composed of the thigh (gg), tarsus (hh) 9 the toes (ti), and the claws. 



It is scarcely necessary to give a detailed sketch of the internal 

 anatomy of birds, since a knowledge of what is visible to the eye is 

 almost sufficient to determine or classify them generally, or even closely 

 allied groups though it would no doubt be of much service to the 

 ornithologist to know the various parts or rather the osteology of birds, 

 in order that comparisons may be made of the bones of different 

 groups and species. Professor C. J. Sundevall, in an article '' On the 

 Wings of Birds/' translated for the "Ibis" of 1886, by W. S. Dallas, 

 F.L.S., considers the feather covering of the wings of birds to be 

 of the greatest significance in their systematic arrangement. He 

 says, " It is a truth that every external part of an animal can furnish 

 equally certain indications of affinity or distinction between species 

 as an internal part of the body, and that in this respect no order of 

 precedence can be established a priori * * * *." From a physio- 

 logical point of view, indeed, the internal parts may be regarded as 

 more important than the external, but zoographically we must regard 

 the external parts as possessing an equal, if not greater value, because 

 the characters derived from them can be easily recognized and 

 examined. 



Birds have much in common with mammals, and it cannot be 

 denied that there are striking resemblances between individuals of 

 both classes, especially in their habits. The Eagle and the Owl may 

 be said to represent the feline tribe; the Vulture, the Hyaena; the 

 Hawk, the Fox ; the Parrots, the Monkeys feeding on fruit; the Ostrich, 

 the Camel ; the Cassowary, the Llama; and so on, so far as habits and 

 character are concerned. With a few exceptions, they are essentially 



