52 A HISTORY OF BIRDS 



this most puzzling bird has been associated during recent years 

 with the Gain, the Rails, the Pigeons, the Musophagi (Plantain- 

 eaters) and Cuculi, while earlier writers have made yet other 

 attempts to indicate its place in the system. 



The more remarkable characteristics of this bird are else- 

 where discussed in this work, so that here it will be necessary 

 to say but little. Osteologically it appears to stand near to 

 the Galli, but Dr. Mitchell, on the evidence of the intestinal 

 convolutions, considers it more nearly akin to the Pigeons. 

 Into the bearing of other anatomical characters we do not 

 propose to enter, since they have not been made to reveal any 

 material evidence either one way or another. 



The many-sided character of this bird is plain evidence of 

 its isolated position, and we shall probably be near the truth if 

 we regard it as an offshoot from the very base of the Alectoro- 

 morphine stem : hence the many resemblances between these 

 now more or less sharply differentiated forms — the Cuculi, 

 Galli and Pigeons, for all must be regarded as descendants of 

 the same common stock. 



The undifferentiated or " generalised " stock which gave rise 

 to the Galliformes, developing along other lines, gave rise also 

 on the one hand to the Gruiformes and on the other to the 

 Charadriiformes. 



The Gruiformes — Rails and Cranes — contain many aber- 

 rant and extremely interesting types. The Rails must be 

 regarded as the more ancient of the two ; thereof we may cite 

 as examples the familiar Water-rail, Land-rail, Moor-hen and 

 Coot, while besides these there are a number of flightless forms, 

 as the Weka-rail {Ocydromus) and the extinct Aphanapteryx 

 and Aptornis, and Gypsornis, not to mention others. The 

 curious South American "Courlans" {Aratnus) appear to 

 represent the half-way house between the Rails and Cranes, 

 though on this border line we must probably also reckon such 

 archaic forms as the South American Trumpeters {Psopkia), 

 the Kagu {Rhinockcetus) of New Caledonia, the Sun-bitterns 

 {Eurypyga) of Central and South America, and the " Fin-foots " 

 {Heliornis and Podica) of South America, West Africa and 

 India (Assam to Sumatra). More remarkable in this connec- 

 tion is the Cariama or " Seriema " {Dicholophus), inasmuch as 

 this bird by most of the older systematistg wag regarded as 



