THE CHARACTERS OP GENERA. 131 



differs from ordinary Lions and Tigers in having 

 its claws so constructed that it cannot draw them 

 oack over the paws, though in every other re- 

 spect they are like the claws of all the Cats, 

 But while it has the Cat-like claw, its paws are 

 like those of the Dog, and this singular combina- 

 tion of features is in direct relation to its habits, 

 for it does not lie in wait and spring upon its 

 prey like the Cat, but hunts it like the Dog. 



While Genera themselves are, like Families, 

 easily distinguished, the characters on which 

 they are founded, like those of Families, are 

 difficult to trace. There are often features be- 

 longing to these groups which attract the atten- 

 tion and suggest their association, though they 

 are not those which may be truly considered 

 generic characters. It is easy to distinguish the 

 Foxes, for instance, by their bushy tail, and 

 yet that is no true generic character ; the collar 

 of feathers round the neck of the Vultures leads 

 us at once to separate them from the Eagles, but 

 it is not the collar that truly marks the Genus, 

 but rather the peculiar structure of the feathers 

 which form it. No Bird has a more striking 

 plumage than the Peacock, but it is not the ap- 

 pearance merely of its crest and spreading fan 

 that constitutes the Genus, but the peculiar struc- 

 ture of the feathers. Thousands of examples 

 might be quoted to show how easily Genera may 



