2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XL 



The books mainly referred to are the " British Museum Catalogue 

 of Birds," Vol. XXVII ; Jerdon's " Birds of India ;" " Stray 

 Feathers ;" Hume and Marshall's " Game Birds ;" " Nests and 

 Eggs of Indian Birds;" Legge's "Birds of Ceylon f and this 

 journal. 



Order CHENOMORPHiE. 



The characteristics of this order, as denned by Huxley, are Palate 

 desmognathous ; young covered with down and able to run or swim 

 in a few hours after hatching. 



The order is divided into three sub-orders, but with the first of 

 these, the Palamedew or Screamers, we have nothing to do, as they are 

 confined to the neotropical region, and do not visit our part of the 

 world. 



The two remaining orders are the Phoenicopteri or Flamingoes, and 

 the Anseres or true Swans, Geese, and Ducks. There can be no 

 chance of these two being confounded by any one, as the two forms 

 are so widely different. 



Key to Sub-orders. — Tarsus, three times the 

 length of femur ; bill strongly bent down- 

 wards in the centre Phcenicopteri. 



Tarsus, about the same length as the femur ; 

 bill not bent but straight Anseres. 



The sub-order Phoenicopteri contains but one family — the Phceni- 

 copteridce — and that family, as far as we are concerned, but two 

 genera, both of which contain but a single species. 



Key to the Genera.— Upper mandible over- 

 Japping lower ; throat naked Phcenicqpterus. 



Upper mandible not overlapping ; throat 

 feathered Phceniconaias. 



Order PHCENICOPTERUS. 



Family Phcenicopterid^. 



(1). Phoanicopterus roseus. The Flamingo. 



Phcenicopterus roseus.~ a Cat. B. of B. M.," Vol. XXVII, p. 12 ; 



Jerdon's " B. of I.," Vol. Ill, p. 775 ; Hume's Cat., No. 944 ; ibid., 



" Str. Feath.," Vol. I, p. 257; Butler, ibid, Vol. IV, p. 25 ; Fairbank, 



ibid, p. 264 ; Butler, ibid, V, p. 234 ; Davids and Wend., ibid. VII, 



