112 MR. W. K. PARKER ON THE STRUCTURE 



that of the " Falconidae," also that the vomer is not small in the " Ardeidae " and 

 Spoonbill, but very large ; it is primarily double in them, but mostly single in the " Coc- 

 cygomorphse " (when present) and in the " Chenomorphse." In the gallinaceous " Schizo- 

 gnathse " the vomer is azygous ; in the charadrians it is double. 

 The varieties of the Desmognathous palate are four, namely : — 



a. Direct, as in Falcons and Geese, when the maxillo-palatines meet below at the 

 mid line, as in the mammal. Two subvarieties of this form occur — in the Falcon, where 

 the nasal septum is ankylosed to the hard palate, and in the Goose, where it remains 

 free. 



b. Indirect. This is very common, and is best seen in Eagles, Vultures, and Owls ; 

 the maxillo-palatines are ankylosed to the nasal septum by their inner margin, but are 

 separated from each other by a chink. This is well seen also in the fledgling of the 

 Falcon, which is indirectly desmognathous at that early stage. 



c. Imperfectly direct. This is where the maxillo-palatine plates are united by har- 

 mony-sutures, and not by coalescence. Example, Dicholophus cristatus. 



d. Imperfectly indirect. Here the maxillo-palatine plates are closely articulated with 

 and separated by the median septo-maxillary, but there is no ankylosis. Example, 

 Megalcema asiatica. 



e. Double desmognathism. A fifth variety may be added in such a case as Podargus, 

 where the palatines as well as the maxillaries largely coalesce below ; to a less extent this 

 is seen in the gigantic species of the Hornbills, e. g. Buceros birostris (see Huxley, op. 

 cit. p. 446, fig. 28, PI). 



Having thus analyzed their morphological characters, we shall be better able to deter- 

 mine their zoological value. Although my proper business in this paper is the deter- 

 mination of purely morphological meanings, yet I venture to offer these to the zoologist 

 embarrassed with the dazzling variety of types. 



On the Structure and Development of the Face in Cuculine Birds. 



After the many hundreds of the " Coracomorphse " have been set aside, there yet 

 remains a large residuum of high-class " Arboreal birds." 



Some of these are easy to cull from the rest, as they "pass under the hands of him 

 that telleth them," without any confusion. Such are the Pigeons; such also are the 

 Parrots; and the two " Families " of the Woodpeckers stand apart. A legion, however, 

 of other forms follow ; these, for convenience' sake, may take their group-name from the 

 Cuckoo, e. g. " Coccygomorphee." 



Professor Huxley's " Cypselomorphse " (op. cit. p. 468) is his worst group ; and he 

 has evidently tied its subdivisions together under some degree of misconception of their 

 palatal morphology. Trochilus has not " a true Passerine vomer " (op. cit. p. 454), and 

 neither this bird nor the Goatsucker is iEgithognathous : Cypsehts is, however ; and yet, 

 lying close by the true Swallows (" Hirundinidse "), it differs in many most important 

 particulars from them, having no singing-muscles, no cseca coli, and is possessed of 

 organs of flight very similar to those of the Humming-bird. 



In fundamental cranio-facial morphology the Swifts are most Coracomorphous, and 



