Xvi NUliTll AMEIUCAN BIUD6. 



a. Cypseli. I'alute ;i\irithogiiuthoiis. Wiriffs Iciijrthened in their ter- 

 luiiKii jxiiiions, .-ildtreviuUMl Itasally, with the lirst priinary not re(hn-c«l. 

 Tail of ten reetrices. Dill (issi rostral or tenuirostral. Feet never /ygo- 

 daetvlc no'' svn<laetvle, sniall, weak, seareelv titled for locomotion; 

 hallux often elevate«l or lateral or rev«'rse«l; front toes usually wehhed 

 at i>ase, or with aluiornial ratio of j)halantre.s in length ami ninnl»er. or 

 both. Sterninn deep-keeU'd, usually entin; or else doubly notched or 

 perforati'. Syrinirt'al niuseles not more than one })air. 

 h. Cuculi. Palate desmognatluMK. Wing-= not peculiar in brevity of 

 proximal or length of distal portions, and witli lirst primary not reduced. 

 Tail of eight to twelve reetrices. ]Jill of indeterminate form, never 

 cered ; tongue not extensile. Feet variously modilied by versatility 

 c>r reversion of either first, second, or f >urih toes, or l>y cohesion foi" a 

 great distance of third and fourth, or by absence or rudimentaiy condi- 

 tioTi of first oi- secontl ; often highly scansorial. rarely ambulatorial. 

 Syringeal muscles two pairs at most. 



r. PicL Palate *" exhibitimr a siiui)lilication and tlegradatiou of the 

 a'githo<rnathous structure" (lluxlev): wimrs bearing out this i>asserine 

 alfmity in the eonmion reduction of the lirst primary and tin restriction 

 of the greater coverts. Tail of ten perfect re(!triees and usually a sup- 

 plementary pair. Itostrum hard, straight, narrow, sube([ual to head, 

 with commonlv extensile and verrnilltrm but not furcate tongue. Feet 

 highly scansorial. Fourth toe permanently reversed ; basal phalanges 

 of toes abbreviatetl. Sternum doubly notched. Salivary glands highly 

 developed. Ilyoidean apparatus peculiai-. 



C. PSITTACL I»ill enormously thick, short, high, much arche«l from the 

 biise, the upper mantlible strongly hooked at the end, cered at base, and 

 freely movable by com})lete articulation with the ft)reliead, the under man- 

 dible with short, broad, truncate svmphvsis. Feet i>ermanentlv zvirodactvie 

 l>y reversion of the fourth toe, which articulates by a double facet. Tarsi 

 reticulate. Syrinx peculiarly constructed of three pairs of intrinsic nmsdes. 

 Tongue short, thick, tleshy. Sternum entire or ienestrate. Clavicles weak, 

 defective, or wanting. Orl>it more or less completed by approach or union 

 of postorbital piocess and lachrymal. Altricial; psilopanlic. 



D. RAPTORES. Bill usually powerful, adapted for tearing ilesh, strongly 

 decurved and hooked at the end, fiirnished with a cere in which the nostrils 

 open. Feet strongly tlexible, with large, sharp, nuich curveil claws gradually 

 narrowed from base to tip, convex on the sides, that of the second toe larger 

 than that of the fourth toe, and the hinder not smaller than the second one. 

 FVet never permanently zygodactyle, though fourth toe often versatile ; an- 

 terior toes connnonly with one basal wel>: hallux considerable and com- 

 pletely incumbent (except Cathftrtklce). Legs feathered to the suflrago or 

 beyond. Reetrices twelve (with rare exceptions) ; primaries sinuate or 

 emarginate (with rare exce[)tions). Sternum singly or douldy notched or 

 fenestrate. Palate desmognathous. Carotids double. Syrinx wanting or 

 developed with only one pair of muscles. Altricial ; the young being weak 

 and helpless, yet ptilopjedic, being doAvny at birth. 



E. COLUMBJES. Bill straight, compressed, horny at the vaulted tip, which 

 is separated by a constriction from the soft memliranous basal portion. Xos- 



cf Pkaricc correspond respectively to the Cifpselonwrpha', Cot'qignmorphfc, and Cclcomorphai of 

 Huxley, from whom many of the charaotens are borrowed. 



