OSTEOLOGY OF BIRDS 249 



OSTEOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANSERES 



Formerly there were not a few systematic ornithologists who 

 entertained the opinion that the present • group should contain not 

 only all the anserine fowls proper (Anatidae etc.), but also the 

 flamingoes and perhaps the screamers (Palamedeidae) as well; 

 as has already been shown, however, the present writer dissents 

 from this view, to the extent of placing the flamingoes in a sub- 

 order by themselves, and proposes to restrict to the suborder here 

 to be osteologically considered, the swans, geese, ducks and mer- 

 gansers. From this it will be seen that the screamers, as well as 

 the flamingoes, are kept without the typical anserine assemblage, 

 an arrangement that I take to be quite in keeping with a natural 

 taxonomy. For, in so far as the osteology of the Palamedeidae 

 seems to indicate, they are separated from the Anatidae by a gap 

 fully as wide as the one that separates the Phoenicopteridae from 

 them. And, if we admitted the screamers into the present sub- 

 order, then there would be no valid reason for excluding the flam- 

 ingoes. Consequently to fulfil the ends of a natural classification, 

 the Palamedeidae are here considered to occupy a suborder apart, 

 to be designated as the Palamedeae. As a group they stand next 

 to the true Anseres. 



In the Check-List of North American Birds [A. 0., U. 1895] 

 the " order" Anseres is made to contain the single family Anatidae. 

 This latter is divided into four subfamilies, viz : the Merginae ; the 

 Anatinae ; the Anserinae; and the Cygninae. Of these the first 

 named contains the mergansers, two species of the genus Mer- 

 gus, and one of the genus Lophodytes. The subfamily Anatinae 

 contains the " River ducks," 1 with ten species and subspecies in the 

 genus Anas ; one each in Spatula. Dafila, Aix, and Netta ; five in 

 the genus -Mania, two in Clangula, one each in Charitonetta, 

 Histrionicus, Camptorhynchus (doubtless extinct), Eniconetta and 

 Arctonetta ; three and a subspecies in Somateria and four in 

 Oidemia ; and finally, one each in the genera Erismatura and 

 Xomonyx. Numerous species of geese are placed in the subfamily 

 Anserinae, as three and a subspecies in the genus Chen; two 

 and two subspecies in Anser ; four and four subspecies in Branta ; 

 one in Philacte, and two in Dendrocygna. We have three species 



1 In this edition of the A. 0. U. Check-List all of the ducks in North America were 

 considered "River ducks," (even including the eiders! p. 114), but in the 2d edition 

 of that work the subfamily " Fuligulinae, Sea ducks " is introduced, the line being 

 drawn between Aix s p o n s a and Netta rufina. There exist no constant 

 osteological characters by which any such division as " River ducks " and " Sea ducks " 

 can be established, and, in reality, nothing of the kind occurs in nature, in so far 

 as these birds are concerned. 



