6o 



THE ORDERS. 



vomer in expanded extremities, which do not become united by bone 

 either with one another or with the vomer. The anterior part of the 

 nasal septum, in front of the vomer, is frequently ossified, and the 

 interval between it and the pre-maxilla filled up with spongy bone ; 

 but no union takes place between this ossification and the vomer." 



Dealing next with the group in which the maxillo-palatines are 

 united, we find that a large number of birds have the vomer " either 

 abortive or so small that it disappears from the skeleton. When it 

 exists it is always slender, and tapers to a point anteriorly. The 

 maxillo-palatines are united across the middle line, either directly or 

 by the intermediation of ossifications in the nasal septum." And the 

 posterior ends of the palatines, and the anterior ends of the pterygoids 

 articulate directly with the rostrum, as they do in the Schizognathse. 

 Under such circumstances the skull is " Desmognathous.'' 

 Of such a skull we have an example in that here given of the 



Goose. We need not repeat the 

 references. The differences in the 

 structure of the palate, and con- 

 sequently of the whole skull are 

 ^ clear enough. This type of skull 



is represented in the Birds of 

 Prey, the Cuckoos, Kingfishers, 

 Swans and Ducks, Storks and 

 Cormorants, and others. To this 

 group has since been given the 

 name of Saurognathas, and then 

 ^ it includes the Woodpeckers, the 



Picidas, in whom the vomerine 

 halves are permanently distinct and 

 the maxillo-palatines arrested. 

 ■"** Huxley's grouping has not, 



however, been accepted without 

 *■"""•- modifi-cations, vifhich. the student 

 who takes any interest in the 

 matter should investigate for 

 BRv^o.o himself. On the opposite page 

 is given one of the most recent 

 arrangements, that adopted at 

 the Natural History Museum. 

 It is abbreviated to include only 

 those families we have been 

 endeavouring to identify, being 

 quite British and no more — 

 in other words, out of the 39 orders of the world's avifauna 

 it deals only with 23, which is not a bad proportion consider- 

 ing the size of these islands. The 16 orders exclusively 

 foreign, are the 7 of the Ratitae (I. Struthioniformes, the 

 ostriches ; 11. Rheiformes, the rheas ; III. Dinornithiformes, 

 the moas ; TV. .lEpyornithiformes, the Madagascar moas ; V. 

 Casuariiformes, the emus and cassowaries ; VI. Apterygiformes, the 

 kiwis ; and VII. Tinamiformes, the tinamous) : the 9 Carinate 

 orders being VIII. Sphenisciformes, the penguins ; XIII. Opistho- 

 comiformes, the hoatzins ; XVIII. Palamedeiformes, the 



