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VERTEBRATES. 



stiff feathers of the tail are the rectrices (or tail feathers), 

 oftenest called simply the tail in descriptions, though 

 they are only a part of the exoskeleton of the tail. Be- 

 neath the rectrices are the long, soft under tail coverts. 

 The small area of loose feathers just in front of the lower 

 tail coverts is the crissum. The posterior part of the 

 remaining lower surface is called the abdomen (or belly) ; 

 and the anterior, more convex part, the breast. 



pr cov 



DIAGRAM OF SPARROW: cul, culmen; I, lore; /, forehead; ee, eye; c, crown; 

 ea, ear; oc, occiput; n, nape; bk, back; r, rump; utc, upper tail coverts; 

 t, tail; Itc, lower tail coverts; crsm, crissum; 6, belly; gon, gonys; 

 ch, chin; th, throat; br, breast; bnd, bend of the wing; sc, scapulars; 

 pr, primaries ; sec, secondaries ; pr cov, primary coverts ; sec cov, secondary 

 coverts; sp, spurious quills; tb, tibia; trs, tarsus; ft, foot; 1, 2, 3, and 4, 



III. The Wings. - In a wing find parts corresponding 

 to arm, forearm, and hand. The long feathers which 

 grow on the most distal division, or hand, are the 

 primaries. Those which grow on the middle division are 

 secondaries. In some birds, but not in the sparrow, there 

 are similar feathers growing on the proximal division, 

 called tertiaries. The short, soft feathers which overlap 

 the bases of the primaries and secondaries above and be- 

 low are called upper or lower, primary or secondary coverts. 

 At the bend of the wing, and overlapping the upper pri- 

 mary coverts, is a tuft of short quills (the spurious 



