108 ANSERIFORMES 



CHAP. 



promiscuously by the hen. The young run from the shell, and 

 even when fully grown can be driven in flocks by intending captors. 

 Of extinct forms the allied Agnopterus occurs in the Upper 

 Eocene of France and possibly of England ; Helornis, with some- 

 what shorter bones, in the Lower Miocene of France and the transi- 

 tion beds of the two formations, as well as the Middle Miocene of 

 Germany ; and several species of Phoenicopterus, in the French 

 Lower Miocene, the Pliocene of Oregon, and the Mare aux Songes 

 in Mauritius. Lastly, there are five species of Palaelodus, con- 

 stituting the family Palaelodidae, 1 in which the bill was probably 

 straight, and the tibia and metatarsus were much shorter than in 

 Phoenicopterus, but the toes longer. They are found in lacustrine 

 deposits of the French Lower Miocene and the German Middle 

 Miocene, while remains resembling them, to which the name Scani- 

 ornis has been given, are met with in the Chalk of South Sweden. 2 



Order VI. ANSERIFORMES. 



The Order Anseriformes consists of the Sub-Orders PALAMEDEAE 

 and ANSERES, each containing a single Family, Palamedeidae and 

 Anatidae respectively. Lying between the Ciconiiformes and 

 the Falconiform.es, the connexion of this group with the former 

 is much the most easily recognised, as it shows decided affinities 

 to the PHOENICOPTERI, while between the ANSERES and the Birds 

 of Prey there occurs one of those gaps common to every linear 

 system of classification. All the members agree in having the 

 furcula U-shaped and the nostrils pervious. The large spiral 

 penis is unique among the Carinatae, though comparable with 

 that of the Eatitae. The down is uniformly distributed in both 

 adults and nestlings, the aftershaft is rudimentary or absent, the 

 tongue is thick and fleshy, and has bristly sides in the Anatidae ; 

 while the possession of two pairs of sterno-tracheal muscles is a 

 marked point of distinction amongst Carinate Birds. All the 

 species are aquatic, and live almost entirely on vegetable matter. 

 The young leave the nest within a few days, or even hours. 



Fam. I. Palamedeidae. In this group the head is small and 

 the neck long, while the ribs have no uncinate processes, an archaic 

 feature only found elsewhere among Birds in Archaeopteryx. The 



1 Milne-Edwards, Oiseaux Fossilcs de la France, ii. 1868, p. 58. 

 2 Dames, Svensk. Ak. Handl. Bihang, xvi. 1890, Part IV. No. 1, pp. 4-11. 



