305 



other hand, examined the same specimen ; and allowing his imagination 

 to strengthen his prepossessions, at the same time taking a few liberties 

 with the original figure, determined it to be the remains either of a frog 

 or toad. Cuvier has, however, since examined the same specimen, and 

 is confident of its being really the remains of a bird. Subsequent exami- 

 nations have discovered several bones of birds in the plaster quarries; 

 and in a number, indeed, so great, as to leave no doubt of a consi- 

 derable number of the fossil remains of birds being contained in these 

 quarries. 



To enable him to show satisfactorily to others the nature of the several 

 specimens which he obtained, M. Cuvier has given the characteristic 

 marks of the correspondent parts in the living animal ; and the circum- 

 stances by which these parts, in birds, are distinguishable from those which 

 approximate to them in form or appearance in other animals. Consi- 

 dering that information of this nature cannot but be highly acceptable to 

 those who are engaged in pursuits of this kind, I have here introduced a 

 sketch of the most important of these observations. 



1st. The foot of a bird differs from that of any other animal, in having 

 a single bone in the place of the tar sal and metatarsal bones. 



2dly, Birds are the only class in which the toes all differ, as to the 

 number of joints, and in which this number, and the order of the toes 

 which have them, is nevertheless fixed. The great toe has two ; the 

 first toe, reckoning on the inside, three ; the middle, five ; and the outer- 

 most, five. The crocodile has the same number of phalanges as birds ; 

 but as these have each a metatarsal and tarsal bone, they cannot be 

 mistaken. 



There exist but two kinds of exceptions to this rule: the one is, that 

 some birds have no great toes ; but in these, the other toes preserve the 

 usual order: the other is, in the ostrich and cassowars, which have three 

 joints to each toe. The crocodile, indeed, has the same number of pha- 

 langes ; but as every one of the toes is supported by a particular me- 



VOL. III. R R 



