STERNUM OF THE HOOPOE. 349 



that there are very marked differences in particular 

 places ; the keel is lower, but the anterior part of the 

 sternum is better developed ; the lateral processes are 

 much larger, and there is a process in front which 

 approaches the furcal bone. The posterior angles 

 are weakened or rendered flexible by two deep 

 notches, and there are only four ribs on each side. 



Hoopoe. 



Thus the body of the bird is much more yielding 

 than that of the humming-bird, and bears nearly the 

 same relation to it as that of the swift bears to that 

 of the goat-sucker. The anterior part of the keel is 

 much rounded, and the furcal bone is much bent 

 toward the coracoids, though it does not proceed so 

 straight backward as in the parrot tribe. There is, 

 however, a considerable resemblance in the anterior 

 part of the sternum to that of the parrots, while in 

 the posterior part there is a slight approach to the 

 character of the ground birds. The style of their 



