roorAvg su 21 SECOND EDITION. Vv 
or dentate; feet webbed,” it is at once seen that this will not do; 
“¢. Cutting-edges of bill not fringed nor dentate, or else feet not 
webbed,” will do, however. It cannot belong to “d',” because the 
legs are not “inserted far behind the middle of the body,” etc., but it 
agrees all right with “d’.” The anterior toes are not webbed; there- 
fore it cannot belong to “e',’ and search must be continued under 
“er «FY will not do, for the thighs are not naked; therefore 
“gH” “hi,” and “hh,” which follow successively, must be passed 
over, and “f’ tried, which, being done, is found to agree. “g’” will 
not answer, because the bill is not hooked, etc.; therefore it must 
come under “g*.” This being determined, it is found that, “h”’ being 
inapplicable, “h”’ fits. Then, the bill being “without a swollen 
cere,” it must come under “7.” It is next found that the wings are 
“not very long and gape not very wide ... and tail-feathers 12 in 
number ;” the toes are not “only 2 in front,” etc.; therefore it must 
be beyond “#7.” “” is then tried, and found to fit; the bird is 
identified as a member of the Order PassErzs, and the reader referred 
to page 821 in order to determine the family to which it belongs. 
Turning to page 321, as directed, it is found that the tarsus is cylin- 
drical, etc. (a'), and that the inner toe has the “basal phalanx united 
to that of the middle toe” (6); therefore the bird ‘belongs to the 
Family Cotinerpz, which is further treated on page 323, where the 
genera are analyzed. Seeking here for the genus, we find that, as the 
nostrils are not “wholly exposed,” it must belong under “a’.” The 
tip of the bill being only “very slightly hooked,” it must belong to 
“G1,” and the tail being “graduated for only about half the length 
of the exposed culmen,” etc., it must belong to the Genus PLatypsaRIs, 
treated further on page 324. Comparison of the bird with the con- 
densed description of generic coloration under the heading of “common 
characters” removes all possible doubt as to its being a member of this 
genus; therefore it remains only to determine the species, for which 
the key proves quite adequate. The bird fits exactly the characters 
ascribed to “adult females and young males” under “a.” An ap- 
