THE FAUNA OF 



SOUTH AFRICA. 



AYES. 



Order VI. STEGANOPODES. 



THE members of this Order may be easily diagnosed by a very 

 obvious external character, recognisable at a glance ; the feet 

 are totipalmate, that is, all the toes, including the first, or hallux, 

 which is turned forwards more or less parallel to the other toes, 

 are fully webbed. , 



Other anatomical characters are skull desmognathous ; nasals 

 holorhinal ; mandible not produced and recurved behind its articu- 

 lation with the quadrate ; basipterygoid processes absent, or at 

 any rate rudimentary ; oil-gland tufted ; caeca small ; leg-muscles 

 varying. The young are hatched blind, either naked or downy, 

 and pass through a long helpless stage, during which they are 

 dependent on their parents. 



There are five well-marked families constituting this Order, 

 which contains the birds generally known as Cormorants, Darters, 

 Gannets, Pelicans, Frigate- and Tropic-Birds. Each family consists 

 of only one genus, except the first, to which the Cormorants 

 and Darters are assigned. The relationship of this Order to the 

 others is rather obscure ; most authors connect these birds with 

 the Birds of Prey, which they here follow ; but Garrod and 

 Beddard consider that the Tubinares are more closely allied to 

 them. 



Key of the Genera. 



A. Tail rounded or wedge-shaped ; toes fully 



webbed. 

 a. Middle tail-feathers not produced ; nostrils 



more or less rudimentary. 

 1 VOL. IV. 



