BIRDS OF NEW YORK 



Class AVES 



Subclass CARINATAE 



Order I>YOOF»ODES 



Diving Birds 



The Pygopodes (Trvyrj rump; •n-ou?, ttoSo? foot) as their name signi- 

 fies are characterized by the posterior position of the legs, the crura, 

 or "drumsticks," being buried in the general body integument and the heel 

 joint close to the tail. These birds therefore stand, or sit, with the body 

 in a nearly perpendicular position and walk with great difficulty and awk- 

 wardness. Palate schizognathous, vomer cleft, maxillo-palatines lamellate, 

 biceps slip present, plumage aftershafted, oil gland large and tufted; sexes 

 alike; the neck and body are elongated, the tarsi compressed, the feet 

 webbed or broadly lobed, the plumage dense, and the body almost entirely 

 incased in a layer of fat. The numerous, long jointed ribs and long sternum 

 form extensive body walls which mostly inclose the internal organs. Hence 

 they are highly adapted to an aquatic life. In fact they pass the greater 

 part of their time in the water and are surpassed by no birds as divers and 

 by none, or few, as swimmers. Wings short, scarcely reaching the base of 

 the tail. The latter short, or rudimentary. Bill homy, with no lamellae 

 and no pouch. Gape large. 



The members of this order, comprising the three following families, are 

 famous for their diving powers, poor flight, helplessness on land, and coarse 

 and unpalatable flesh. They are the most aquatic of all our birds and sub- 

 sist on a diet of fish and other water animals. They nest on the ground or 

 rocks, and the young are ptilopaedic, or covered with down. 



Family COLYMBIDA.Ei 



Grebes 

 Order Podicipedidiformes in Sharpe's Hand-List 



The grebes are a cosmopolitan family of about 30 species characterized 

 by semipalmated and broadly lobed feet; hallux free and broadly lobed; 



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