CRIBRATRICES. 143 



by most authors, they have been comparatively neglected. 

 They may be divided into three very natural orders, namely, 

 the CRIBRATRICES, or Sifters ; URINATRICES, or Divers ; and 

 MERSATRICES, or Plungers ; each of which may be subdivided 

 into very natural groups or families. 



ORDER XVII. CRIBRATRICES. SIFTERS. 



The birds of which this order is composed are those 

 known by the familiar names of Geese, Swans, Ducks, 

 Teals, Wigeons, Pochards, Shovellers, and others, toge- 

 gether with the Flamingoes and Mergansers. They all 

 agree in having the bill covered with soft skin, the only 

 hard or horny parts being the two ungues, or nail-like 

 bodies, situate one at the tip of each mandible, and in 

 the presence of numerous transverse or oblique elevated 

 lamellae on the inner side of both mandibles, at the mar- 

 gins of which they are generally enlarged, and assume 

 various forms in the different species, of which the bill 

 may thus be described as marginally lamellate, pectinate, 

 serrate, or denticulate. The families of the Cribratrices 

 are the PHCENICOPTERIN^E, composed of the genera Phoe- 

 nicopterus and Cereopsis, neither of which have repre- 

 sentatives in Britain, ANSERINE, ANATIN^E, FULIGULIN^, 

 and MERGANSERIN^E. The birds of the first of these 

 orders resemble some of the Waders in form, and those 

 of the last approximate to the Divers. The general cha- 

 racters of the order, briefly stated, are the following : 



Body large, full, and muscular ; head oblong, com- 

 pressed. Bill never very long, sometimes short, cerate, 

 with internal or marginal lamellae. Tongue fleshy, large ; 



