CHAPTER XXX. 

 DIVISIONS OF BIRDS. 



BIRDS may be variously divided, but for our present pur- 

 pose it is most convenient to regard them as divided into the 

 following- eight orders : 



I. JVatatores or Swimming Birds, characterized by having 

 the feet webbed, and the legs short and placed far back, while 

 the body is closely covered with feathers and with a thick 

 coating of down next the skin. (Me. Ducks, Geese, Pelicans.) 



II. G-rattatores or Wading Birds, characterized by having 

 very long legs, which are destitute of feathers from the lower 

 end of the tibia downward. The toes are usually long and 

 straight, and are never connected to one another by membrane. 

 (Ex. Curlews, Snipes, Herons, Storks.) 



III. Cursores or Running Birds, characterized by having 

 very short wings, which are not used in flight ; the breast- 

 bone is without a ridge or keel ; the legs are very robust ; and 

 the hind-toe is wanting or rudimentary. (Ex. Ostriches and 

 Emeus.) 



IV. Rasores or Scratching Birds, characterized by usually 

 having strong feet, with powerful blunt claws, used for scratch- 

 ing. The upper mandible of the bill is strongly curved and 

 vaulted, and the nostrils are pierced in a membranous space 

 at its base, and are covered by a cartilaginous scale. (Ex. 

 Fowls, Pheasants, Pigeons.) 



V. Scansores or Climbing Birds, characterized by having 

 a climbing foot, in which two toes are turned backward and 

 two forward. (Ex. Woodpeckers, Parrots, Cuckoos.) 



VI. Tnsessores or Perching Birds, characterized by having 

 short and slender legs, with three toes in front and one be- 

 hind, the whole foot being adapted for perching. (Ex. Larks, 

 Linnets, Swallows, Crows, Humming-birds.) 



