THE CRANIAL PECULIARITIES OF THE WOODPECKERS. 119 
Though this bone is situated rather further back than the vomer in 
most birds, yet it is found similarly placed in some, as in Megalema, 
which by the way has the anterior termination of its vomer truncated 
in front, and produced forwards at the corners, as in the Crow, 
though in the former bird these processes articulate, and do not 
anchylose with the posterior ends of the palatine plates of the maxillo- 
palatines. 
On cutting the palatine bones of Gecinus from the anterior part of Page 360. 
the skull, and disarticulating them from the pterygoids, the bone 
which I suppose to be the vomer comes away with the palatines, as 
would be expected were such the case. 
The absence of truncation in the vomer of the Woodpeckers tends 
by itself to remove them from a close relationship with the Passerine 
birds; but, as I before remarked, this peculiarity may depend on their 
special habits. There is, however, in the shape of the pterygoid 
bones a character which tends to bring them together again. 
In Passerine birds the pterygoids extend forwards for a considerable 
distance in front of the point of contact or articulation with the pala- 
tines. These anterior processes are vertically expanded and in contact 
with the rostrum, and probably sometimes with the crura of the 
vomer; they are situated above (that is, deeper than) the posterior 
_ internal angles of the palatines, and therefore are not seen while 
~ looking at the surface of the palate, but only on aside view. In the 
Woodpeckers and other birds related to them these processes are also 
present, but they are absent in most others, though the Anserine 
birds possess them. In the Woodpeckers also there is a very 
peculiar anteriorly directed process arising from the upper part of the 
middle of the body of the pterygoid bone, which is quite independent 
of the one above described. 
