THE CHARACTERS OF GENERA. 131 
differs from ordinary Lions and Tigers in having 
its claws so constructed that it cannot draw them 
back over the paws, though in every other re- 
spect they are like the claws of all the Cats. 
But while it has the Cat-like claw, its paws are 
like those of the Dog, and this singular combina- 
tion of features is in direct relation to its habits, 
for it does not lie in wait and spring upon its 
prey like the Cat, but hunts it like the Dog. 
While Genera themselves are, like Families, 
easily distinguished, the characters on which 
they are founded, like those of Families, are 
difficult to trace. There are often features be- 
longing to these groups which attract the atten- 
tion and suggest their association, though they 
are not those which may be truly considered 
generic characters. It is easy to distinguish the 
Foxes, for instance, by their bushy tail; and 
yet that is no true generic character; the collar 
of feathers round the neck of the Vultures leads 
us at once to separate them from the Eagles, but 
it is not the collar that truly marks the Genus, 
but rather the peculiar structure of the feathers 
which form it. No Bird has a more striking 
plumage than the Peacock, but it is not the ap- 
pearance merely of its crest and spreading fan 
that constitutes the Genus, but the peculiar struc- 
ture of the feathers. Thousands of examples 
might be quoted to show how easily Genera may 
