Diagnoses of Families and Genera 571 



tions of maxilla not showing. Nostrils in basal portion. Hind toe 

 more than one-third as long as tarsus. Plumage, bill, and feet varie- 

 gated. Two species of genus are found in the southern United States. 



Subfamily Cygninae. Swans. Size very large. Neck as long or 

 longer than body. Bill longer than head, broad and flat at base, 

 with sides nearly parallel and a small nail at tip. Lores partly naked. 

 Tarsus with small, irregular plates in front, shorter than middle 

 toe and claw. Hind toe without a lobe. Sexes alike. Wing with- 

 out metallic speculum. Tail with twenty to twenty-four feathers. 



This subfamily contains four genera and eight or ten species, of 

 which one genus, containing three species, is found in North America. 

 They are the largest of the Anatidte, measuring more than three feet 

 in length. The adults of species indigenous to the northern hemi- 

 sphere are pure white in color. Like the geese they are vegetable 

 feeders, frequenting retired localities, and seldom occur in large flocks. 

 None of them are now common in most of North America. As a rule 

 they are silent, but have a sonorous voice. 



Generic Type. Olor. Color of adults white. Tertiaries and scapulars 

 normal. Tail rounded and longer than middle toe and claw. The 

 young with downy lores, projecting in a distinct angle on the sides 

 of the bill. The distinction between this genus and Cygnus is very 

 unsatisfactory. Three species are found in North America, one occur- 

 ring only in Greenland. 



THE RAILS 



Order Paludicolae (literally translated the "marsh dwellers"). 



Family Rallidae. The Rails, Gallinules, and Coots. A large family with 

 many species, distributed over most of the world. Small or medium- 

 sized birds with usually narrow bodies and powerful thighs, living in 

 marshes and trusting to their strong legs, rather than to their short 

 and rounded wings, for safety and subsistence. Divided into sub- 

 families, — Rattina, GallinulinoB, and Fulicina. 



Family Type. Wing short, rounded, and concave, when folded not reach- 

 ing to end of tail. Head completely feathered, or with frontal shield. 

 Nostrils open. Tail soft and feeble, almost hidden by the coverts. 

 Toes long, without basal membrane. Hind toe long. First quill 

 longer than the seventh, its inner web normal. Wing less than ten 

 inches long. Bill and feet vary greatly. 



Subfamily Rallinae. The Rails. Type : Forehead feathered to base of 

 bill, no frontal shield. Toes without lobes. Body much compressed. 

 Three genera — Rallus, Pormna, and Crex — in North America, 



