ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENTS. VH 



Page 

 Wings. — Relative sizes of the bones — Articulation — Pecu- 

 liarities of the wing, and of the posterior portion of the 

 spine ..... 101 — 103 



Feet. — Strength — Action — Danger of dropping from aheight 

 with the joints stiff — Remarkable instances of adaptation 

 in the falcon .... 103 — 106 



Sternum. — Form of the sternum — Of the body — Birds and 

 ships — Enumeration of the principal sternal muscles — 

 Gradual changes from the type of the falcon . 1 06 — 1 1 



CHAPTER V. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



Cuvier's Arrangement. — Reasons for preferring it — Im- 

 perfections of all arrangements of birds . 111,112 



AccipiTRES. — Characters of the order — Diurnal birds of prey 

 — Nocturnal ones . . . .112,113 



Pass E RE s . — Name — S ub~divisions — Dentirostres] — Fissiros- 

 tres — Conirostres — Omnivora and granivora — Difficulties 

 attending this order — Tenuirostres — Syndactyli — Alcyoni- 

 dse ..... 113—124 



ScANSO RE s— Character of their feet— Zygodactyli, or graspers 

 —True climbers — Difficulties in this order . 121 — 128 



Galling. — Character — Style of walking — Flight — Differ- 

 ences between pigeons and gaUinae — Flesh of the gallinae 

 — Excellent adaptations of their wings — Condition of their 

 young — Interferences of races . ' . 128 — 143 



EcHASsiERS. — Difficulty in finding an appropriate name — 

 Cursores — Grallidse — Families — Short wings — Pressiros- 

 tres — Cultrirostres — Longirostres — Macrodactyles — Rela- 

 tions of the order .... 143—149 



Palmipedes. — Great varieties in this order — Divers — Long- 

 winged birds — Entire- webbed birds — Flatbills . 150 — 154 



CHAPTER VI. 



BILLS, AS INDICATING HABITS. 



Bill and Beak. — ^Their general characters and distinctions 

 — General characters of the tomia — Forms and adaptations 

 ofbiUs — General remarks . . . 155 — 166 



Beaks of Accipitres. — Falcon's beak — Its form and pro- 

 perties — Mode of action — Gradations in the form — Falcons 

 —Hawks— Eagles— Vultm-es— Owls , 166—173 



