350 BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



GLOSSARY 



Adult: Fully grown; possessing the fullest development of plumage. 



Attenuate: Diminished to a sharp point, as a bill. 



Basal, Base: That portion of the bill, or of a feather, etc., next to the body. 



Belly: That part of the under surface between and behind the thighs; the abdomen. 



Bend of Wing: The front end of the folded wing, covering the carpal joint. 



Breast: The forward portion of the under surface, covering the thorax. 



Cere: A covering of naked skin over the base of the upper mandible. 



Chin: The region between the lower mandibles. 



Commissure: The line where the upper and lower mandibles meet; gape. 



Compressed: Flattened in a vertical plane. 



Crested: With lengthened feathers on the head. 



Conirostral: Having a conical bill, as a finch. 



Crepuscular: Flying at dusk; fond of twilight. 



Crissum: The region of the under tail-coverts. 



Crown: The top of the head. 



Culmen: The middle line of the top of upper mandible from base to tip. 



Decurved: Curved downward. 



Depressed: Flattened in a horizontal plane. 



Emarginate: Slightly notched. 



Extensible: Capable of being extended. 



Falcate: Curved; scimitar-shaped. 



Flanks: The sides, between the rump and the abdomen. 



Frontal Processes: Swellings on the forehead, as in some ducks. 



Gape: The opening of the mouth. 



Gonys: The middle line of the lower mandible, where the two branches are joined. 



Gular: Belonging to the throat: said of the pouches of pelicans, etc. 



Immature: Not fully plumaged: said, usually, of birds less than a year old. 



Lamellae: The plates forming the edge of a duck's bill. 



Lateral: On the side. 



Lobate: With broad membranous flaps on each side: said of toes. 



Lores, Loral Region: The part between the eyes and bill. 



Mandibles: The upper and lower halves of the bill. 



Mantle: A term applied to the wings and back of a bird, especially a gull or tern, with reference 

 to a uniform area of color. 



Measurements: The usual measurements given for birds are: Length, (L) _ measured from 

 tip of bill to tip of tail; Wing, (w) measured from the bend of the wing to the tip of the longest 

 quill; Tail, (T) measured from the base to the tip of the longest tail-quill; Tarsus, (TAR) is the 

 distance from the base of the toes to the end of the tibia; Bill, (B) measured from base of 

 feathers on forehead to tip of upper mandible, in a straight line. 



Median: Belonging to the middle. 



Nape: The back of the head, just below the occiput and above the neck. 



Nasal Groove: A groove running forward from the nostril. 



Nasal Tufts: Tufts of small feathers growing forward over the nostril. 



Obtuse: Blunt. 



Occiput: The back part of the top of the head, just above the nape. 



Orbit: Relating to a space around the eye, as the orbital ring. 



Pectinate: With teeth like a comb. 



Primaries: The longest wing-quills, those growing from the hand- and finger-bones (the 

 pinion) of the wing. 



Recurved: Curved upwards. 



Reticulate: Forming a network of small scales: said of the scales on a bird's tarsus. 



Reversible: Capable of being turned back. 



Rictal: Belonging to, or at, the gape. 



Rump: The hinder part of a bird's back just in front of the upper tail-coverts. 



Scapulars: The feathers growing from the shoulders. 



Scutellate: Having broad, band-like plates across the whole front: said of a tarsus. 



Secondaries: The smaller quils springing from the forearm. 



Semipalmate: Webbed at base only. 



Serrate: With sharp, saw-like edge. 



Sides: The part which is beneath the wings and above the breast. 



Sinuated: Irregulaily or wavily curved. 



Speculum: An oblong patch of metallic color on the secondaries, as in some ducks. 



Sub-basal: Below the base. 



Subulate: Awl-shaped. 



