ORDER PALMIPEDES. 587 



(Not New Holland.) Length, sixteen inches. When 

 adult, Rhynchops Alhirostris. Licht. Black fore- 

 head ; tips of secondaries, and beneath, white ; bill 

 white ; base, blood-red. 



Ashy Skimmer. R. Cinerascens. Spix. 102, and 

 the Short-billed Skimmer. Rh. Brevirostris. Id. 

 103, appear to be only varieties of the first species. 



The Family of Totipalms. 



Is remarkable by having the thumb united with the 

 other toes in a single membrane ; and notwithstand- 

 ing this organization, which makes more perfect 

 oars of their feet, they almost alone of all the order 

 perch on trees. All of them are good flyers, with 

 short feet. Linnaeus made three genera of them, 

 the first of which should be divided. 



The Pelicans. Pelicanus, L. 



Comprehend all those in which a space at the base 

 of the bill is found denuded of feathers ; their nos- 

 trils are mere clefts, the aperture of which is scarcely 

 perceptible ; the skin of their throat is more or less 

 extensible, and their tongue is very small ; their thin 

 gizzard forms with their other stomach, a large bag ; 

 they have a moderate or small coecum. 



The Pelicans, properly so called. Onocrotalus, 



Briss. Pelicanus, II. 



Have the bill very remarkable for its great length, 



• Pelicanus and Onocrotalus are two latinized Greek names of this 

 bird 



