﻿266 



SHUFELDT. 



than the)' are in that species, the reverse being the case in regard to the 

 bones of the leg. For example, in both of these birds the keel of the 

 sternum has an extreme length of 3.4 centimeters while the proportionate 

 length of some of the long bones is as follows: 





Hume- 

 rus. 



Ulna. 



Femur. 



Tibio 

 tarsus. 



Meta- 

 tarsus. 



Sarcops calvus . 



Cm. 



3.2 

 3.5 



' Cm. 

 4 

 4.6 



Cm. 

 3.3 

 3 



Cm. 



5.1 

 4.5 



Cm. 

 3.2 



2.7 



Oriolus ehinensis 





In Sarcops the humerus is highly pneumatic, and the ulna, to a degree, 

 probably so. I am also inclined to believe that the femur and the 

 proximal four-fifths of the tibio-tarsus is likewise so, while the other 

 bones are not — certainly not the metatarsus and the bones of manus 

 and pes. 



The humerus has a straight shaft and short, radial crest. The pneu- 

 matic fossa is deep; completely surrounded by a raised rim, while the 

 pneumatic foramen at the base is large, single, and leads directly into the 

 hollow shaft. Both Oriolus and Sarcops have a fair sized free sesamoid 

 at the elbow, an ossicle that is probably present in other species named 

 above. In Sarcops the papillae that usually are found down the shaft 

 of the ulna are practically absent, while they are quite conspicuous in 

 Oriolus. The bones of the carpus and pinion present nothing peculiar 

 in either species. 



The shaft of the femur is slightly bowed to the front in Sarcops 

 and straight in Oriolus, while both possess a well-developed patella. Be- 

 low the thigh bone the shafts of the tibio-tarsus and metatarsus are 

 quite straight, especially in Sarcops, and the fibula extends only for a 

 short distance below the articular ridge on the side of the shaft of the 

 former. This ridge is more elevated in Sarcops than in Oriolus, thus 

 causing the leg bones to stand farther apart in the former species. 



Osteologicalty, the metatarsus and the pedal digits are normally pas- 

 serine, and offer no salient characters b} r means of which they may be 

 distinguished from the corresponding bones of the nearest allies of 

 Sarcops — that is, beyond the matter of proportional size and lengths. 

 The osseous claw or ungual phalanx of the hallux is very large in Sarcops, 

 while the shaft of the proximal joint of this toe is comparatively slender. 

 Beyond these few characters, there is nothing worthy of record, other 

 than we would expect to find in the normal foot of a passerine bird of 

 this size. 8 



8 Forbes, W. A. : On the variations from the normal structure of the foot in 

 birds. Ibis. (1882), 6, 386-390, fig. 1. 



