“ * age ( 4° > Alea 
, ; ‘ain + 
188 ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
balla he. 
and the Pelicanide. No great stress, after all, _ ; 
laid upon the rigid tail of the latter, because we fine 
precisely the same character in the genus Chetura, which 
is one of the most obvious fissirostral types. We w 
finally convinced, however, of the analogy of the 
Pelicanide to the Fissirostres, by a circumstance appa- 
rently trivial in itself, but which, when viewed in 
reference to this intricate question, becomes one of high 
importance. According to some observations which have 
been recently communicated to us*, the cormorant, after 
catching a fish, is frequently, if not always, in the habit — 
of throwing it up in the air and catching it in its fall! — 
just in the manner of the toucans and the hornbills. 
This unlooked-for and extraordinary demonstration of the 
fissirostral type appears to us perfectly conclusive, and — 
supersedes all necessity for prosecuting this inquiry 
further. "a 
(208.) The Anatipa, or ducks, constitute the first 
family of the natatorial circle, after quitting that of the — 
waders. It includes a very natural, and for the most 
part a very strongly marked, group; wherein we have 
the freshwater and marine ducks, the geese and swans, — 
the mergansers, and finally the flamingos. All these 
are easily distinguished by their short, thick, and gene-— 
rally broad bills, the sides of which are furnished with — 
flexible, lamellar, transverse plates or ridges, which appear 
analogous to teeth, while the tongue is very large and 
fleshy. As it is unnecessary to dwell upon the general 
characters of birds so well known to ordinary observers, — 
we may at once proceed to a slight glance at the ge 
divisions above intimated, viz. —1. The Anatine, 0 
river ducks; 2. The Fuliguline, or sea ducks ; 3. The 
Merganine, or mergansers ; 4. The Phenicoptine, or 
flamingos; and, 5. The Anserine, or geese. Each of 
these appear to hold the rank of subfamilies, for although 
some contain but few forms, others —especially the two 
: 
‘ + 
=> 
* This has been repeatedly witnessed by one of my sisters, who, at a 
marine cottage we have at Hoylake, on the Cheshire coast, was very fond = 
looking through a telescope at the cormorants, as they fished on the rocks 
of Hilbury Island. . 
