310 VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 



Eleutherodactyli, in which the hallux is the strongest toe and the other 

 toes are free. 



The Desmodactyli are the broad-bills, a single unfamiliar type 

 native to oriental countries. They do not differ outwardly from the 

 general standard of passerine birds, and are of interest principally to 

 the systematists. 



The Eleutherodactyli, or free-toed Passeriformes, comprise all 

 of the remaining members of the order, and cannot receive the pro- 

 portionate amount of attention in the present volume that their im- 

 portance deserves. For particulars as to the families of passerine 

 birds and the habits of the numerous genera and species, the reader 

 is referred to the many good treatises on birds. We shall merely call 

 attention to a few of the most conspicuous types. 



The birds-of -paradise (Fig. 159, C) are without question the 

 most elaborately plumaged members of the order, and constitute a 

 striking exception to the general rule, that passerine birds have con- 

 servative plumage. The only birds of other orders that compare 

 with the birds-of-paradise in brilliancy are the long-tailed trogons or 

 quezals and the hummingbirds, and none of these types have such 

 elaborate feather structure. On the whole, then, these birds may be 

 said to cap the climax in the evolution of plumage specialization. 

 The great bird-of-paradise is perhaps the most beautiful of the numer- 

 ous species. Apart from the striking color scheme, the most remark- 

 able specializations consist of a pair of dense tufts of delicate, droop- 

 ing plumes, that vary from two to three feet in length, arching upward 

 and then falling downward in a veritable cascade of glistening light. 

 Anatomically speaking, this marvelously handsome creature is no 

 more nor less than "a glorified crow/' for when plucked he is seen to 

 be as plain and common a bird as is his black cousin. 



The lyre-birds (Fig. 159, B) of South Australia rival the birds- 

 of-paradise in elaborate structure of plumage, but are not at all bril- 

 liant. They are moderately large birds, about two and a half feet 

 long, with rather long neck, and with fowl-like head and beak. Their 

 only claim to beauty consists of the remarkable lyre-like tail; the 

 sides of the "lyre" consist of two large strong feathers, that curve 

 outward from their base, then curve inward, and again outward, at 

 the ends, in most graceful lines. Two middle feathers, almost as 

 graceful as the frame-feathers, cross each other and droop out beyond 

 the outer feathers; while the remaining feathers are long, slender and 



