OF ORNITHOLOGY 33 



eluded also among our Terrestrial Birds). The present Order 

 5 Columb^e moreover belongs to them. It was thus, for- 

 merly, the great question of the day as to how to reconcile all 

 these inconsistencies. By rejecting entirely the old systems 

 and substituting the new this now becomes possible]. 



The young student will notice how difficult it is to charac- 

 terize, with any degree of exactness, the various divisions in 

 Ornithology ; the difficulty will increase rather than diminish 

 as he progresses. As he becomes familiar with the individu- 

 als from which the characters of these divisions are drawn, 

 however, the matter will appear to him in a new light, and his 

 difficulties will decrease with experience. 



We now come to the third Sub-class, the Aquatic or Water 

 Birds, usually called the Natatores or Swimmers. Estab- 

 lished usage still separates these into what we may call, 



Division A ANSERES and 



Division B GAVI.S! 



The latter (Division B) are called Altrices, or Birds that 

 rear their young in nests and feed them ; the former (Division 

 A) are called Pr^coces, or birds whose young run about and 

 procure their own food almost from the moment they are 

 hatched from the egg. To make these characteristics a basis 

 upon which to divide the remaining birds would be useless, 

 as our present system is so clear and well-defined on these 

 points. 



ORDER VIII LAMELLIROSTRES 



Latin lamina, "a thin plate or layer" ; and rostrum, the beak. 

 Bill with that peculiar arrangement of layers or plates along 

 its edge called lamellce, resembling somewhat " the teeth of a 

 saw," as the Latin gives it — It is recognized instantly by the 

 student. The greater portion of the bill is membranaceous* 

 Feet palmate ; hind toe elevated (sometimes absent) and free. 

 The great assemblage of Swans, Geese, and Ducks, form the 

 principal and almost entire portion of this order. 



