ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 231 



ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 



TOES 3, — 2 IN FEONT, 1 BEHIND PICIDjE 47T 



TOES 3, — 3 IN FKONT. (Go to II.) 



TOISS 4, — 2 IN FKONT, 2 BEHIND. (Go tO III.) 



TOES 4, — 3 IN FBONT, 1 BEHIND. (Go to IV.) 



II. [Toes 3, — 3 in fkoxt.] 



Toes — completely webbed. Nostrils — tubular (Albatrosses) Peocellaeiid.e 773 



— not tubular (Auks, &c.) Alcid^ 797 



— incompletely or not webbed. Legs — about as long as wings. Bill subulate ^StiU) Recuevirostkid^ 609 



— much shorter than wings (go to a). 



(a) Tarsus — soutellate in front, about as long as bill (Sanderling) SCOLOPACID.E 614 



— reticulate in front — shorter tban red cbisel-like bill (Oyster-catclier) . HjEMATOPODiDiE 606 



— longer than bill (Plovers) Chaeadeiid.e 597 



III. [Toes 4, — 2 in feont, 2 behind.] 



Bill — cared and strongly booked. Tarsus granulated (Parrot) Psittacid^ 496 



not cored ; inner hind toe — 3-joJnted; Plumage iridescent (Trogon) TKOGONiDiE 468 



— 2-jointed ; — tail of — 8 or 10 soft feathers (Cuckoos, &c. ) . . Cuculid.e 470 

 — 12 (apparently only 10) rigid acuminate feathers 



(Woodpeckers) Picidje 477 



IV. [Toes 4, — 3 in feont, 1 behind.] 



Hind toe — inseeted above the level of the best (and always shoetee than the shoktest 



FRONT TOE). (GotoA.) 

 — NOT INSEETED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE EEST (AND GENEEALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS NOT 

 SHOETEE THAN THE SHOETEST FRONT TOE). (Go to B.) 



A. \The hind toe elevaled.\ 



Feet — TOTiPALMATE {atl 4 toes webbed ; hind toe semi-lateral and barely elevated). (Go to A.) 



— PALMATE {3/ront toes full-webbed , hind toe well up, simple or lobed or connected by slight toebbing to 



base only of inner toe). (Go to B.) 



— LOBATE (3 front toes partly webbed or not, and conspicuously bordered with plain or scalloped mem- 



branes ; hind toe free, and simple or lobed). (Go to C.) 



— SEMIPALMATE (2, or 3, front toes webbed at base only by small yet evident membrane ; hind toe well up, 



simple). (GotoD.) 



— SIMPLE (front toes with no evident membranes ; hind toe well up, simple). (Go to E.) 



(A.) Tarsus — feathered, partly ; tail deeply forked; bill epignatbous (Frigate-bird) . . . . TaohypetiDjE 730 

 — naked; bill — > tail, hooked at tip, furnished with enormous pouch (Pelicans) Pelecanidj?: 721 

 — < tail; throat — feathered; middle t.ail feathers filamentous (Tropic-birds) 



PhaethontiDjE 731 

 — naked ; tail — pointed, soft ; tomia subserrate (Gannets) Sulid^ 720 

 — rounded, stilf ; bill — paragnathous (Anhinga) 



Plotid^ 729 

 — epignatbous (Cormorants) 



PHALACROCOEACIDiE 723 



