ME. W. K. PARKER ON THE OSTEOLOGY OF THE KA.GU. 503 



that of the Norfolk Plover ((Edicneinus) would arrest attention first, as coming nearest ; 

 and if that of the Kagu were placed between these two, it would at once be seen to be 

 a perfectly mtermediate form. 



This need excite no surprise ; for the Cranes are certainly Pluvialine birds, having no 

 little affinity for the Herons ; and, moreover, the Kagu, being a generalized type, comes 

 much nearer to the true Ai-deinae than do the typical Cranes. 



In the Psophia's skull there is a very strong resemblance, in general outline, to that 

 of a Pheasant ; but this vanishes on closer inspection, and then its exceeding nearness 

 to the Eails is at once evident : moreover it has the superorbital chain of the Tinamou. 

 The skull of the Eurypyga is seen at once to come quite as close to that of a Stilt- 

 Plover {Bmmnto^ms) as to that of a Bittern, and, mdeed, closer ; more minute observa- 

 tion shows that it is essentially the same as that of the Kagu, but feebler and having a 

 more elongated face. 



The face and skull of the Kagu are of equal length (PI. XCII. figs. 1-3) ; the orbits, 

 as in (Edicnemus, are extremely large, the postfrontal region being unusually wide and 

 overhanging. The skull is very broad behmd (PI. XCII. fig. 4) ; the only related bird 

 that makes any approach to the Kagu in this respect is the Night-Heron ; and here the 

 Kagu departs furthest from the Pluvialine, and comes nearest to the Ardeine type ; for 

 the temporal fossae are extremely large, and are bounded by strong ridges in fi-ont (the 

 coronal), at the mid line (the sagittal), and behind (the lambdoid). Compare with this 

 state of things the low, small, widely separated temporal fossae of Anthrojwides, Balea- 

 rica, Psophia, Eurypyga, Ocydromus, and (Edicnemus. In Nycticorax the postorbital 

 angle is very distinct from the postfrontal process ; in the Kagu they are coincident 

 (PL XCII. fig. 3). But the Kagu and Nycticorax are very similar in the bounding of the 

 temporal fossa below, this valley being in both very deep between the postfrontal and 

 the descending spur of the squamosal (zygomatic process of the Mammal). This spur, 

 however, is much the largest in the Kagu ; and in this respect this bird shows an affinity 

 to the Struthionidfe on one hand, and to the Cariama on the other. The foramen mag- 

 num (fig. 2) is large ; and the condyle is a little wider in the transverse than in the lon- 

 gitudinal direction. The tympanic wings of the exoccipital (figs. 2, 3, 4) are very much 

 like those of the Night-Heron, but are larger and deeper. The symmetrical bosses of 

 the basitemporal are very mammillate and distinct ; they agree with those of the Gruina; 

 proper; but the anterior lip of the basitemporal plate is deUcately thin, as in the 

 Ardeinte (PI. XCII. fig. 2). The large, trumpet-like anterior extension of the tympanic 

 cavity, on each side, is like what is seen in all the congeners of the Kagu ; they arc 

 formed in front by the posterior pterygoid processes of the basisphenoid. In front of 

 these, the " anterior pterygoid processes" are seen as small, aborted, angular projections 

 (PI. XCII. fig. 2) ; and in front of these the "rostrum" (formed by the grafting of the 

 parasphenoid on to the true basisphenoidal beam) is narrow, subcarinate, and com- 

 pletely fused with the base of the orbito-septal plate. These two parts are somewhat 



VOL. VI. PART VIII. ^ •*■ 



