614 



CHORD ATA. 



spur, a process of the tarso-metatarsus, covered with horn. The margins 

 of the upper jaw overlap the lower; the beak is bent downward at the tip 

 and is about as long as the head. Naked, richly vascular lobes form comb 

 and wattles which are specially large in the more elegantly plumaged 

 males. 



The PHASIANID^E are polygamous; Phasianus, with many species of 

 pheasants; Gallus bankiva of the Sunda Islands, the ancestors of domestic 



FIG. 643. Foot forms. (From Schmarda.) a, semi-palmate, wading of Ciconia ; ^perch- 

 ing of Turdus ; c, rasorial of Pliasiu-uua ; d, raptorial of Falco ; e, adherent of 

 Cypselus ; /, cursorial of strut hio ; 0, zygodactyl (scansorial) of Pious ; h, lobate of 

 Pnrticcps ; i, lobate and scalloped of Fulica ; fc, palmate of Anas ; I, totipalmate of 

 Phaethon. 



fowl. Meleagris* the turkeys. The TETRAONID^E are partly polygamous, 

 partly monogamous. Coturnix,* quail ; Perdix* partridge ; Bonasa,* 

 grouse. The incubation of the Megapodes has been referred to (p. 611). 



Sub Order II. COLUMBINE. The pigeons are distinguished from 

 the Gallinacese by the more slender bodies, shorter legs, the toes free, and 

 the longer wings capable of prolonged flight. They are altrical ; the crop 

 produces a milky secretion used in feeding the young. The COLUMBID^E 

 are the most widely distributed and are represented in the tropics by 

 numerous beautifully colored species. Columba.* According to Darwin 

 the domestic pigeons come from C. Uvia, the blue rock pigeon ; Ectopistes 

 migratorius* passenger pigeon, practically exterminated. Allied was the 

 dodo, Didus ineptus, of Madagascar, exterminated in the eighteenth 

 century. 



Sub Order III. NATATORES. A number of families, while differing 

 much in structure, are united by their inclination for an aquatic life. 

 They are called swimming birds (Natatores) because, thanks to their 



