C78 



GLOSSARY. 



PICIXE, a. Pertaining to the Wood- 

 pecker tribe; Woodpecker-like. 



a. Capped, or with the 

 whole pileum crested. 

 Different from crested, 

 iu that the latter is used 

 PILEATE, to designate aii elonga- 



PILEATED, ] tion of the feathers on 

 a particular part of the 

 pileum, as & frontal, 

 vertical or occipital 

 crest. 



PILEUM, n. The cap, or whole top of 



head from bill to nape, and therefore 



including the forehead, vertex (or 



crown), and occiput. 



PILOSE, a. Slightly hairy. 



a ' Havill wing-like tufts 

 of elongated feathers on 

 the side of the neck. 

 PINNIFOEM, a. Fin-like, as a Penguin's 



wing. 



PINTAILED, a. Having the central tail 

 feathers elongated and narrowly 

 acuminate, as in the male Pintail 

 Duck. 



PISCIVOROUS, a. Feeding upon fish. 

 PLAGA, n. A stripe. 

 PLANTA, n. The posterior face of the 



tarsus. 



PLANTAR, a. Pertaining to the planta. 

 PLANTIGRADE, a. Walking on the back 



of the tarsus. 

 PLASTIC, a. Capable of being moulded; 



easily modified. 

 PLUMA, n. A feather. 

 PLUMIPED, a. Having the feet feath- 

 ered. 



PLUMOSE, a. Feathered. 

 PLUMULA, n. A down feather. 

 PLTMULACEOUS, a. Downy; bearing 



down. 



PODIUM, n. The foot. 

 PODOTHECA, n. The whole envelope of 



the legs and feet. 



POGONIUM, n. The web of a feather. 

 POLLEX, n. The thumb. In birds, the 

 joint (homologous with the index fin- 

 ger of a man ) which bears the alula, 

 or bastard wing. 



POLYMORPHIC, a. Many formed; con- 

 taining or consisting of many forms, 

 or different types. In ornithology, a 

 species is polymorphic when "it pre- 

 sents several distinct phases of color- 

 ation in the same locality or within a 

 restricted geographical area. Thus, 

 some of the Hawks (e. g.,Buteosicain- 

 soni) are polymorphic in this sense. 



POLYMOD.E, n. The name of a natural; 

 group of passerine birds, character- 

 ized by highly specialized vocal or- 

 gans. (Synonymous with Oscines.) 



POLYNOMIAL, a. or n. Consisting of 

 several words, as the polynomial no- 

 menclature, by which a species was 

 designated by a descriptive phrase. 

 This system of nomenclature preceded 

 the establishment of the binomial sys- 

 tem, established by Linnaeus. A name 

 consisting of several words. 



POLYTOKOUS, a. Producing many eggs, 

 or young. (Synonymous with multi- 

 parous. ) 



POSTERIOR TOE, n. In most birds, the 

 hallux, or hind toe. In some, how- 

 ever, one of the anterior toes is di- 

 rected backward, and also becomes a 

 posterior, or hind, toe. 



(a. Back of, or poste- 

 rior to, the eye_ 

 The former is most 

 used. 



POWDEK-DOWN FEATHERS, n. Pecul- 

 iar, imperfect feathers, which grow 

 in matted patches, usually on the in- 

 terspaces between the true feather 

 tracts; characterized by a greasy 

 texture and scurfy exfoliation. They 

 are particularly characteristic of the 

 Heron tribe, but are found in other 

 groups. 



PR/ECOCES, n. A more or less artificial 

 group of birds, whose young run about 

 and feed themselves immediately 

 after emerging from the egg. The 

 group is composed of the orders Gatr 

 lince, Limicolce, Alectitrides, An&erex, 

 Pygopodes and Struthiones. 



PR^COCIAL, a. Having the nature of, 

 or pertaining to, the Prcecoces. 



PRESSIROSTRAL, a. Pertaining to the 

 Pressirostres. 



PRESSIROSTKES, n. The systematic 

 name of the Cuvierian artificial group 

 of grallatorial birds with hard, com- 

 pressed bills, comprising the Plovers, 

 Cranes, etc. 



PRIMARY, n. Any one of the quill feath- 

 ers of the "hand wing," usually uino 

 to eleven in number. Used chiefly iu 

 the plural, as distinguished from the 

 secondaries, or those of the remiges 

 which grow upon the forearm. 



PRIMARY COVEKTS, n. The series of 

 stiff feathers, usually corresponding 

 with the primaries in their graduation, 

 which overlie the basal portion of the 

 latter. 



