EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX. 



BEAKS AND HEADS OF BIRDS. 



1. Owl's head, showing the egrets or tufts of feathers on each side, close 



to the ears. 



2. Head of an Eagle, showing the strong curved beak of a raptorial bird. 



Order Raveners, (birds of prey.) 



3. Falcon's beak, showing the notches and teeth near the tip of each man- 



dible, for holding its prey. 



4. Recurved beak of the Avoset, Stilt Plover, &c. 



5. Merganser's bill, with serrated margins and abruptly hooked tip. 



6. Long, slender, curved bill of the Curlew, formed for penetrating the 

 mud on the sea-shore, ki search of insects, slugs and small testaceans. 



7. Bill of the Humming Bird, formed for searching out insects in flowers 



and sipping the honey dew. Order Tenuirostres, (slender bills.) 



8. Beak of the Crossbill, the crossed points of which it inserts to open the 



cones of pines and fir trees, upon the seeds of which it feeds. 



9. Beak of Parrots, Mackaws, Lories, &c., having the upper mandible 

 greatly curved over the lower, which is considerably shorter. 



10. Beak of the Petrel, so furrowed as to appear of distinct pieces. 



11. Puffin's beak, transversely furrowed on both sides, appears as though a 

 sheath had been slipped over both mandibles. 



12. Duck's bill, broad, long and soft, with plaits on each side for straining 

 insects, worms, &c., out of the mud. 



13. Beak of the Hornbill, of a light honeycomb structure ; the horn or hel- 

 met is hollow, and by some supposed to act as a sounding board. 



14. Beak of- the Whip-poor- Will, deeply cleft; the mouth fringed with 

 strong, stiff hairs, (vibrissae.) Order Fissirostres, (split bills.) 



TAILS OF BIRDS. 



15. Fan shaped or rounded tail. 



18. A forked tail, indicating a swift flyer, as in fly-catchers, (Muscicapidae.) 

 17 and 18. Lyre shaped tails, as in the Chatterers, (Ampelidae.) 



19. Doubly forked tail, as in Psalurus bifurcatus, a species of night-jar 

 found in Brazil ; very rare. 



FEET OF BIRDS. 



20. Foot of the Golden Eagle, showing its feathered tarsi, and the power- 



ful talons of a rapacious bird. 



21. Foot of a scratching bird, showing the three front toes united by a mem- 

 brane up to the first joint, the hind toe articulated upon the tarsus, and 

 the horny spur in the male bird. Order Rasores, (scratchers.) 



22. Foot of the Ptarmagin, covered with hairlike feathers as far as the claws. 



23. Woodpecker's foot, with toes in pairs, (yoke-footed, or Zygodactylus.) 

 Order Scansores, (climbers.) 



24. Webbed foot of a swimming bird. Order Natatores, (swimmers.) 



25. Foot of a Phalarope, with lobate membranes or festoons on the toes 



sufficiently broad to assist them in swimming. 



26. Grebes' foot, not webbed as in most water birds, but each toe flattened 



so as to serve as a separate paddle. 



27. Foot of the Sacred Ibis, a wading, shore, or stilt bird. Order Gralla- 



tores, (waders.) 



28. Claw of Heron, showing the comb-like divisions of its inner edge. 



