Order 18. HERODIONES. Herons, Storks, Ibises, Bitterns, etc. 



Wading birds, having chiefly lengthened necks and legs; the lower (distal) portion of tibiae bare; feet not webbed 

 or only slightly so; the hind toe usually well developed, its insertion on a level with the remaining toes, and the 

 entire foot adapted to perching; bill never weak, usually stout and sharply pointed or variously enlarged and mod- 

 ified; head usually more or less bare; wings well developed, not specially modified; tail short, with 12 rectrices or 

 less; plumage loose, often filamentous or variously modified, and often provided with "powder down" patches in 

 pairs. Young with scanty down, altricial. Eggs 3-7, ovate or elongate ovate; coloration of primitive type (i. e., 

 unmarked or else stained with reddish brown). Size range, killdeer to giant. Resident or migratory, chiefly fre- 

 quenting swamps and the margins of ponds. Seven families; four California!!. 



[Analysis good for Californian families only.] 



I. Bill long, straight, and sharply pointed. Fam. 1. Ardeid^e. 



II. Bill stout, abruptly decurved at tip. Fam. 2. Ciconiid^;. 



III. Bill long, slender, cylindrical, decurved. Fam. 3. Ibidid^e. 



IV. Bill enlarged, flattened, spoon-shaped. Fam. 4. Plataleid^e. 



Order 19. STEGANOPODES. Cormorants, Boobies, Pelicans, Tropic-birds, Man-o'-war- 



birds, etc. 



Water birds, chiefly pelagic; fish-eating; totipalmate, i. e., all four toes connected by continuous web, assuring 

 proficiency in swimming or diving; nostrils minute or wanting; mouth deeply cleft; bill normally hooked (not in An- 

 hinga, Phaethon, or Sula); a gular pouch at least rudimentary and sometimes enormously developed; tail normal 

 or greatly lengthened; wing development ranging from moderate to maximum, as in Fregata. Size range, crow to 

 giant. Nests chiefly in colonies; young usually naked, nidicolous. Eggs 1-5; white or bluish green, often overlaid 

 with rough calcareous layer, sometimes stained with brownish red. Chiefly a group of stolid birds of low development 

 or intelligence, but contains some highly specialized forms. Five families, Californian. 



I. Bill sharp-tipped, not hooked. 



A. Central pair of tail-feathers greatly lengthened. Fam. I. Phaethontid;e, Tropic-birds. 



B. Neck lengthened; diameter of head scarcely larger than that 



of neck. Fam. 2. Anhingid^e, Darters. 



II. Bill hooked at tip. 



A. Bill moderate; wings and tail normal. Fam. 3. Phalacrocoracid^, Shags. 



B. Bill and gular pouch greatly developed. Fam. 4. Pelecanid^e, Pelicans. 



C. Wings and tail greatly developed. Fam. 5. Fregatid^e, Man-o'-war-birds. 



Order 20. PROCELLARIIFORMES. Petrels, Fulmars, Shearwaters, Albatrosses, etc. 



Oceanic wanderers, hoverers, dabblers, or, rarely, (Pelecanoididce) divers; having tubular nostrils (whether united 

 or separated); sober plumage, chiefly gray, or black-and-white/or dingy brown; wings highly developed, pointed, 

 with 10 stiff primaries, and often with notable increase in number of secondaries; tail normal, of 12-18, usually 14, 

 feathers; lower end of tibia usually bare; tarsus often lengthened; feet short, fully webbed; hind toe elevated, rudi- 

 mentary or wanting, bill moderate to stout, hooked, its horny covering consisting of several (up to 9) separate plates. 

 Young with heavy down, nidicolous. Egg, single, pure white or lightly marked with reddish brown, often placed 

 at end of burrow. Size range, warbler to giant. Migratory or wandering, repairing to land only to breed. Three 

 families, of which two Californian. 



I. Nostrils separated, lateral; hind toe rudimentary. Fam. I. Diomediid^e, Albatrosses. 



II. Nostrils united, on culmen; hind toe evident, although small. Fam. 2. Procellariid^e, Petrels, Shear- 



waters, etc. 



Order 21. GAVIjE. Loons, Divers. 



Diving birds with flattened bodies; close-set, impervious plumage; moderately lengthened necks; acute, length- 

 ened bills, with linear, exposed nostrils near base; legs set well back, deeply concealed; the tarsus compressed; toes 4, 

 the 2nd to 4th fully webbed, the hind toe on a level with the others and slightly connected with 2nd by web; wings 

 strong, acute, with 10 developed primaries; tail shortened but fully formed, of 18-20 stiff feathers. Some seasonal 

 color changes of plumage, but no special ruffs or tufts. Young downy, nidifugous. Eggs 2, elongated; deep olive- 

 brown or greenish drab, marked with blackish. Size range, gull to goose. Migratory, wintering off-shore or on larger 

 interior waters, breeding northerly near lake or pond. One family, the Gaviidae. 



Order 22. PODICIPEDES. Grebes. 



Diving birds, with rudimentary tails (a mere tuft of down); wings shortened, rounded, deeply hollowed, with 11 

 developed primaries; legs set well back ("rump-footed"); feet and tarsi highly modified, the latter sharply com- 

 pressed; the toes flattened, webbed at base and provided with large collapsible lobes distally, the hind toe elevated, 

 lobed, and free; neck usually lengthened; plumage very compact, satiny, and highly impervious to water; head often 

 provided with tufts or ruff in nuptial season; bill lengthened, acute, nostrils placed near tip. Young downy, nidif- 

 ugous. Eggs 3-8, greenish white or yellowish. Size range, robin to brant. Migratory; found in off-shore waters 

 during migrations and in winter, but breed in fresh water lakes and ponds. One family, with characters that of the 

 order, the Podicipedida. 



2074 



