.J 



INTRODUCTION. 



SECT. I. OUNITHOLOGY DEFINED BiKDS DEFINED BeIEF DESCRIPTION 



OF THEiK Peculiar Covering. 



§ 1. Science (Lat. scire, to know) is knowledge set in order; knowledge 

 disposed after the rational method that best shows, or tends to show, the mu- 

 tual relations of observed facts. Such orderly knowledge of any particular 

 class of facts — such methodical disposition of observations upon any par- 

 ticular set of objects — constitutes a Special Science. Thus, Ornithology 

 (Gr. ornithos, of a bird, logos, a discourse) is the Science of Birds. Or- 

 nithology consists in the rational arrangement and exposition of all that is 

 known of birds. Ornithology treats of the physical structure, phj'siological 

 processes, and mental attributes of birds ; of their habits and manners ; of 

 their geographical distribution ; of their relations to each other and to other 

 animals. The first business of Ornithology is to define its ground; to 

 answer the question 



§ 2. What is a Bird? A Bird is an air-breathing, egg-laying, warm- 

 blooded, feathered vertebrate, with two limbs (legs) for walking or swim- 

 ming, two limbs (wings) for flying or swimming, fixed lungs in a cavity 

 communicatiug with other air-cavities, and one outlet of genito-urinary and 

 digestive organs ; with {iiegative characters) no teats, no teeth, no fleshy lips, 

 no external fleshy ears, no (perfect) epiglottis nor diaphragm ; no bladder, 

 no scrotum, no corpus callosum ; and with the following collateral characters, 

 mostly shared by more or fewer other animals: — Under jaw hinged with 

 the rest of the skull by means of an interposed movable bone, that is also 

 movably jointed with two bones of the upper jaw ; head jointed with neck 

 by only one hinge ; shoulder-joints connected Avith each other by a curved 

 bone, the clavicle (with rare exceptions), and with breast-bone by a straight 

 stout bone, the coracoid ; ribs all bony, most of them jointed in the middle 

 as well as with back-bone and breast-bone, and having bony offsets ; less 

 than three separate wrist and hand-bones ; two fingers, of one or two bones ; 

 head of thigh-bone hinged in a ring, not in a cup ; one of the two leg-bones 

 not forming the ankle-joint ; no sejjarafe ankle-bones ; less than three sep- 

 arate foot-bones; two to four toes, of two to five bones, always ending in 

 claws ; both jaws horny-sheathed and nostrils in the upper one ; feet and 

 toes (when not feathered) horny-sheathed ; three eyelids ; eyeball with hard 



KEY TO N. A. BIRDS. 1. _ (1) 



