OSTEOLOGY OF BIRDS 99 



of the heads of the os furcula are drawn out into more decided 

 pointed processes ; the outer process of the hypotarsial apophysis 

 of the tarsometatarsals is better developed ; and, returning to the 

 shoulder girdle, I should have said that the foramen that. pierces the 

 scapular process of the coracoid is so near the shaft's edge that it 



Fig. 49 



Fjg. 49 Left coracoid of the White-headed eagle (H. leucocephalus); seen 

 from in front, and drawn natural size 



Fig. so Os furcula of the same hird, natural size and anterior aspect 



may be occasionally converted into a notch. It is always a foramen 

 in Haliaetus. Beyond these points the skeletons of these two birds 

 are essentially much alike, and any remaining differences are of a 

 very trivial nature. 1 Dr R. Bowdler Sharpe in his Hand-List of 

 Birds [1:266] places the African eagle Helotarsus ecau- 



1 There is one interesting point to be noted in the skeleton of the foot of 

 Haliaetus leucocephalus. In this eagle it is of very frequent occur- 

 rence that the short basal joint of the second toe fuses with the phalangeal joint 

 next beyond it. This fusion is very complete, and the sutural line is only seen on 

 the upper surface between the bones, and to a lesser extent upon the sides. On 

 the palmar aspect the united bones have the appearance of being one long joint 

 or phalanx. 



