CHAPTER XXII 



THE CRANE-LIKE BIRDS 



(Order Gruiformes) 



speaking, the Crane-like birds, to go no further 

 afield, may be said to possess, in common with the Galliformes on 

 one side and the Charadriiformes on the other, the split (schizog- 

 nathous) or incomplete band (desmognathous) form of palate, a 

 double head to the quadrate bone, the distal ends of the ilium and ischium 

 united, and no slip to the accessory femorocaudal muscle above the sciatic 

 foramen. From the Fowl-like birds (Galliformes) the other two orders differ in 

 having the basal end of the coracoids separate instead of united and crossed, in 

 the absence of the spina interna sterni muscle, and in the bill not being decurved 

 or vaulted, while the two orders are themselves diagnosed by the heteroccelous 

 dorsal vertebrae and 2-notched or entire sternum in the Gruiformes, and opistho- 

 ccelous dorsal vertebrae and 4-notched sternum in the Charadriiformes. 



In less technical language it may be stated that a majority of the forms in- 

 eluded within the limits of this order are waders, though the Bustards, Wekas, 

 Kagu, and others are preeminently terrestrial. All appear to agree, however, 

 in the absence of a true crop, and in possessing an elevated hind toe, and always 

 incompletely webbed front toes. But even admitting these relatively important 

 points of agreement, the various groups differ quite widely in certain other 

 structural characters, and the order seems on the whole a rather heterogeneous 

 one, though it is perhaps as satisfactory a disposition as can be made at present. 

 It embraces seven families. 



(Family Rallidce) 



The members of this family form a relatively compact group of small or 

 medium-sized wading or swimming birds, distinguished among other characters 

 by the extreme narrowness or compression of the body. They have rather long 

 necks, small heads, and short, rounded, concave wings, while the legs are long and 

 strong, as are the feet. They are not strong flyers, but depend rather upon their 

 legs for escaping danger. The plumage is rather loose and " hairy, " and habitual 

 disuse of the wings has resulted in the loss of the power of flight in a number 

 of cases, and as a result several species have actually become extinct within 

 comparatively recent times, and many others seem likely to meet the same fate 

 at no distant day. The Rails spend their lives largely in marshes, their slender 



320 



