2 



ALTRICTAL ORALLATORES — IlEUODIONES. 



this coimcction is the circuinstiiiii'c thiit, bt'siilcs bciii},' altricial, thoy are, witli 

 very few cxcoptions, also dccidi'dly arboreal, most of them evi'U jdaciiij,' their 

 nests on trees. Tliey an- all s-^vimmevs, however, instead of being strietly or in 

 l)art waders. 



Withont disenssing further the characters which distinguish this ''order," wi- 

 jiroceed to d 'tiue the families into which it seems nu)st naturally divisible. 



ii'li: 



Synopsis of the American Herodionine Families. 



A. Ptcrvlie very iiiiitdw, iiitiTsiKTsucl willi "iiowiler-dDWii '' traits. Hallux porfirtly iiicuiiihenl ; 



iuui'r L'dgt' of middle claw distinctly iicctiiiatcd. {Hcrodiunta ardcifurmts, z= Ilerodii, 

 Sl'NDKV. Meth. Nat. Av. Disp. Tent. 1H7:2, U-2.) 



1. Caucromidee. I'nur jiairs nl' iiowder-down tiacts. Bill ^ircatly deiirc^sed ae.d excessively 



dilated laterally, the lateral (mtlines much bowed ; gony.s excessively short, not lonjjtr 

 than the wiiltli of the mandilmlar rami. 



2. Ardeidae. Two to three pairs of jiowder-down tracts. l>ill compressed, elongnte-eonical, 



the lateial oatliues slraij^'ht or even a little concave ; the vertical outlines nearly straiylil, 

 sbghlly conv x terminally ; gonys lengthened, several times longer than the width of the 

 manitihular rauii. 



B. I'teryhe liroad, without powder-down tracts. Hallux elevated at the lia-sc above the base 



of the anterior toes ; inner edj^e of middle (daw not pectinated ; claws restliiy vpon a 

 honnj, cnscviitic '■nlwc" {Hcrodiimus cicuiiii/niiius, = I'danji, SfXUEV. Meth. Nat. Av. 

 Disp. Tent. 187-', 1:2.$.) 

 a. Sides of the maxilla witlnuit any trace of lateral groove. Skull holorhinal. Angle of the 

 maniliblu truncau'd. I'ectundis nuijar nuiscle in two easily .sei)aralde layers, l^o acccss<inj 

 femoro-caudid muscle ; scmitemUnosus nuiscle tembnous for its distal half ; hiccpa cuhili 

 and teiicor pdtitijii Ioikjus muscles unconnectcMl. ((J.vruoi), P. Z. S. 187r), 801.) 



3. Cicouiidae. ]>ill elongate-conical, either straight or curved a little up or down at the end. 

 6. Sides of the maxilla with a deep, narrow groove, extending uninterruptedly from the na.sal 



fossiu to the extreme tip of the bill. Skull schizorliiual. Anglo of the mandilile jim- 

 duced and decurved. I'edomlis mnjor nuiscle simiile (not separable into distinct layers) ; 

 accessonj femoro-candid muscle well developed ; semitendinogus muscle muscular tliroiij,'li- 

 out ; biceps cuhiti and tcnsnr patafjii hmgus luuscle.s connected by a small muscular " belly." 



((bvHROD.) 



4. Ibldidae. Bill slender, atteuuateil terminally, nearly cylindrical or somewhat compressed, 



conspicuously decurved, or arched above. 



5. Flataleidae. Bill very broad, excessivcdy deju'essed and greatly expanded terminally, inucli 



narrowed across the middle iiortion, the extreme tip only much decurved. 



A. 



In addition to the above well-defined families, all of Avhich have American 

 rejiresentatives, while one (Cunrromnhr) is jieculiarly i'nerican, there are sev- 

 ei'al others which probably belong to the I/owl ioncs, but which, excepting the 

 Kiiri/p>/(/!(I(r (Sun Bitterns), are peculiar to the Old World, and may therefore 

 be passed by withont further notice. 



Family ARDEID.E. — The Herons. 



Char. Altricial waders havino; the bill compressed, pointed, all the outliiu's 

 nearly straight ; the lores and orbits naked ; the rest of the head (except, some- 

 times, the malar region, or part of the throat) feathered, the occiput frequently 

 with ornamental plumes. Lower part of the neck, back, or scapnlars, fr(^- 



