KEY TO FAMILIES 



125 



II. THE LAND BIRDS 



Order X. Gallinge. TURKEYS, GROUSS, BOB-WHITES, etc. 

 Terrestrial, scratching birds of henlike form; 

 bill stout and short, its culmen rounded (Fig. 

 44); wings short and rounded, the primaries 

 stiffened and producing a whirring sound in 

 flight; tail variable, feet strong, hind-toe short, 

 elevated. 



A. Smaller than a Turkey. 



a. Tarsus unfeathered. . . . Family Odon- 



tophoridce: BOB - WHITES and NEW -p TO 44 



WORLD QUAILS, p. 269. 



6. Tarsus more or less feathered . . . Family Tetraonidce: GROUSE. 

 PTARMIGANS, etc., p. 272. 



B. Size of a Turkey. . . . Family Meleagrida: TURKEYS, p. 278. 



Order XI. Columbse. PIGEONS and DOVES. 



Toes four, all on the same level ; the hind-toe about 

 as long as the shortest front one; bill (Fig. 

 slender, deeply grooved, the nostrils opening in a 

 soft, fleshy membrane. 



Characters those of the Order. . . . Family 

 Columbidos: PIGEONS and DOVES, p. 281 



FIG. 46. 



Order XII. Raptores. VULTURES, HAWKS, and OWLS. 



Generally large birds with hooked bill; feet strong with long curved 

 nails. (Fig. 46.) 



A. Eyes set in a feathered disk (Figs. 47, 48), tarsus generally 



feathered ; plumage soft and fluffy. 



a. Middle-toe with a comblike edge. . . . Family Aluconidce. 

 BARN OWLS, p. 308. 





FIG. 48. 



