CHAPTER XIX 



THE GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS 



(Order Anseriformes) 



N the vast majority of cases the relatively close resemblance between 

 the Ducks, Geese, Swans, etc., is so plainly a mark of kinship that 

 there is usually no question in associating them, but it is found, as 

 already abundantly indicated in other groups, that where a more 

 intimate study is made, certain members of the group show more or less marked 

 divergences from what may be assumed to be the typical form. The question 

 of the probable origin of the group as a whole, as well as that of its various members, 

 has to be considered, and this of necessity leads to the employment of characters 

 quite apart from mere external appearance. As in the order last reviewed, it has 

 been found necessary to include birds that are very different from the central or 

 typical form on account of their agreement in anatomical structure. The Anseri- 

 formes may be defined as lamellirostral swimming birds, with short legs and the 

 front toes fully webbed, or else wading birds, with a short decurved bill and 

 enormously developed feet. They agree with the Storks in having the bridge or 

 band form of palate (desmognathous), but differ from them in having the basip- 

 terygoid processes, two pairs of tracheosternal muscles, and well-developed 

 functional caeca. The young are "precocious," that is, are able to swim or run 

 about within a few hours after they are hatched, and are entirely covered with 

 down. The combination of the last-mentioned characters with the bridged palate 

 serves to separate them from all other birds, except possibly the Flamingos. 



The order is divided into two suborders, the Palamedea, or Screamers, and the 

 Anseres, or Geese, Swans, Ducks, and their allies. Each embraces a single 

 family, although the Anseres may be conveniently grouped into a number of 

 fairly well marked subfamilies. 



THE SCREAMERS 



(Suborder Palameda, and Family Palamedeidce) 



These are birds about the size of a small domestic Turkey, with a small head 

 and a rather fowl-like bill. The legs are of moderate length, but very thick and 

 strong, and naked for a considerable distance above the ankle joint ; the toes 

 are very long, the third and fourth being connected at base by a short membrane. 



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