R. W. Shufeldt—Eaxtinct Bird from South Carolina. 345 
with a description of additional material collected there”.' In 
that work I figure, on pl. xxxvi, fig. 431, the left femur of Olor 
paloregonus, Cope, natural size, anterior aspect, which is as big 
as an anserine fowl when it existed, but was very little more than 
half the size of the bird the femur of which I am now describing.’ 
For example, I compared this fossil with the right femur of the 
Secretary Bird of Africa, with Pandion, with several eagles, with 
Vultur monarchus, and with various owls of large size, but very 
marked characters distinguished it from the lower end of the femora 
of any of these birds. In other words, this fossil femur did not 
belong to any genus, near or remote, of the Striges, nor to a diurnal 
representative of the Raptores. For similar reasons it could not be 
classed among the Cathartide, as a careful comparison with the femur 
of the Condor of South America and with the corresponding bone 
of the California Vulture (Gymnogyps californianus) showed very 
distinctive differences. Both the Condors and the Secretary Bird 
possess a marked excavation in the popliteal space above the condyles; 
while in Vultur the external lip of the fibular notch is, superiorly, 
drawn out into a somewhat conspicuous little process. This process 
is very well developed in several, if not in all, of the North American 
eagles. 
‘Somewhat similar differential characters demonstrated the fact that 
this fossil femur never belonged to any bird at all related to Sula, or. 
to any of the herons, or to Pelecanus, all of which have femora 
possessed of some characters, which, though not of wide difference, 
are quite sufficient to constitute discriminating ones, and to point to 
the fact that this great extinct fowl did not belong in any of those 
groups, as we now know them, osteologically. 
This fossil end of a femur possesses no marked characters that point 
to any relationship with any large gallinaceous bird—still less to any 
struthious form, as an ostrich or the like. With negative results, 
I also compared it with the femur of various species of the Phalocro- 
coracide, the Pheenicopteride, and the Colymbide and their congeners. 
alt belonged to a big bird, having no especial affinities with any of 
these, certainly not with any of the great toothed loons of the 
Cretaceous.* 
Passing to the Anseres and to certain of their allies, near and 
remote, it at once appeared that certain characters in the specimen 
under consideration presented very evident points of agreement. 
In a specimen of Olor buceinator (No. 18509) at the National Museum, 
the femur appears to be non-pneumatic. Thisisaskeleton I prepared 
myself many years ago in New Mexico, where I had no facilities for 
thorough cleaning, and it is just possible that the femur may be, to 
some extent, pneumatic. There is a skeleton of Branta canadensis 
in the same collection that appears to be to a degree pneumatic. 
This would, apparently, be contrary to certain previous statements 
1 American Museum of Natural History Bulletin, vol. xxxii, art. vi, pp. 123-78, 
New York, July 9, 1913; see pl. xxxvi, fig. 431. 
- 2 BE. D. Cope, Bull. U.S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr., iv, pp. 387-9, 1878. 
3 0. C. Marsh, Odontornithes, pl. xiii, figs. 1-4. 
