118 CHECK LIST OF THE 



Rectrices. Quills of the tail of a bird. 



Recurved. Curved upward. 



Remiges. Quills of the wing of a bird. 



Reticulate. Marked with a network of lines. 



Retractile. Susceptible of being drawn inward, as a cat's claw, 



Retrorse. Turned backward. 



Rachis. Shaft of a quill. 



Rectal. Pertaining to the rectus, as rectal bristles, 



Rectu3. Gape of the mouth. 



Rostral. Pertaining to the snout, as rostral plate. 



Rudimentary. Undeveloped. 



Ruff, A series of modified feathers. 



Rugose. Rough, with wrinkles. 



S. 



Sacral. Pertaining to the sacrum, or vertebrae of the'pelvic region, 



Saggitate. Shaped like an arrow head. 



Saurognathous. Having the peculiar "lizard-like" structure of the palate 

 found in Woodpeckers. 



Scansorial. Capable of climbing. 



Scansorial tail. Tail feathers sharp and stiff, as in the scansorial birds 

 (Woodpeckers). 



Scapula. Shoulder blade ; in fishes, the bone of the shoulder girdle below 

 the post-temporal. 



Scapulars. Long feathers rising from the shoulders and covering the sides 

 of the back. 



Scapular arch. Shoulder girdle. 



Schizognathous. Split palate, as in the Heron and similar birds. 



Scute. Any external bony or horny plate. 



Scutellate. Provided with scutella ; said of the tarsus when covered with 

 broad plates in a regular vertical series, and separated by regular 

 lines of impression. 



Scutellum. One of the tarsal plates or scutella. 



Secondaries. The quills growing on the forearm. 



Secondary coverts. The wing feathers which cover the bases of the sec- 

 ondary quills. 



Second dorsal. The posterior or soft part of the dorsal fin, when the two 

 parts are separated. 



Sectorial tooth. One of the premolars of carnivora, adapted for cutting. 



Semipalmate. Half-webbed ; having the anterior toes more or less con- 

 nected at base by a webbing which does not extend to the claws. 



Septum. A thin partition. 



Serrate. Notched like a saw. 



Sessile. Without a stem or peduncle. 



