230 MR. W. K. PARKER ON THE OSTEOLOGY 



I have already spoken of the affinities of the Hemipodius, and of the nearness of 

 that type to the Tinamou : I do not despair of finding some connecting link between 

 the two. It is of importance to note that not only is the Hemipodius related to the 

 Quails and Colins {Coturnix and Ortyx), but the Dendrortyx or Tree-Partridge seems 

 to lie on the Tinamou-side of the typical Gallinacese : the comparative slenderness of 

 the Tinamou's bones, as compared with those of the Fowl (when, if it were a direct 

 intermedium between the Apteryx and that bird, they ought to be very heavy), is a 

 fact quite in favour of the relationship of the Tinamou to the Dendrortyx. 



The bones of the Tinamou's legs are also in favour of a relationship, or at least a 

 leaning towards the same group of typical Gallinse as those with which the Turnix or 

 Hemipodius is most closely connected. These are the Quails and Colins ; and I have 

 been peculiarly fortunate in receiving from the Gardens of the Society the body of the 

 Dendrortyx — one of the best of the unspurred dwarf Fowls for comparison with the 

 Tinamou. We have seen how in the Dendrortyx the superorbital chain was, as it were, 

 just dying out, — and also the peculiar lightness and delicacy of its bones generally, 

 especially the sternum. 



The bones of the leg, when due allowance is made for the inferior size of the bird, 

 come very near to those of the Tinamou (PI. XXXIX.), this latter bird not having such 

 massive limbs as our typical walking bird the Fowl. This lightness or slenderness of 

 the bones of the Tinamou's leg is a correlate of the cursorial character of the bird ; but 

 its running-powers are not backed by intelligence, such as is found in the birds belonging 

 to the more specialized groups above it. The os femoris (/.) is a very elegant bone, 

 although in nowise departing from the form common to Struthious and Gallinaceous 

 birds ; the trochanteric part of the upper articular surface is very large and highly 

 scooped, the curve of the shaft is very considerable, and the patellar groove narrow : 

 the patella itself does not ossify, but is a fibro-cartilaginous pad. The tibia (th.) has its 

 muscular ridges small and blunted, its shaft rather long, the inferior head of moderate 

 size and well formed : there is a great diiFerence in the character of this lower articu- 

 lation from what is seen in the Fowl, in which there is in front a very large tendon- 

 bridge stretching obliquely across above the trochlear ridges, and below this bridge a 

 small articular fossa for the mid knob in front of the head of the tarso-metatarse. 



Now, that is the tibio-calcaneal joint of the best of the walkers ; but in cursorial 

 birds there is another structure. In the Tinamou, as in the Adjutant (Leptoptihis) , the 

 tendon-bridge is small, oblique, and pushed to the inner side ; whilst below, between 

 the widely separated trochlear eminences, the tibia has a large, suboval, shallow 

 articular cup for the corresponding cartilage-capped eminence in the front of the head 

 of the compound shank-bone. This structure permits the tibia and metatarse to be 

 flexed to the utmost on each other, besides giving the utmost safety and accuracy to 

 the marvellous gymnastic movements of these peculiar and, as it respects the pelvic 

 movements, highly gifted birds, the " Grallse." Still this structure is not carried to 



