No. 49.— 1898.] CEYLON BIRDS. 



157 



Class Aves. — Birds, whether living or extinct, stand out 

 sharply defined from the rest of the animal kingdom by the 

 possession of feathers. They are descended from some group 

 of reptiles to which in many respects they are closely 

 allied. So far, the leading authorities seem to be agreed. 

 Another point that seems at present tolerably certain, is 

 that the extinct Archceopteryx with its toothed jaws and 

 long bony tail forms a group by itself. According to Huxley, 

 1867, this bird constituted an order, to which two others 

 were to be added, the birds with a keeless breast bone and 

 those with a keeled. 



Thus we get three orders : the Saururce represented by the 

 Archceopteryx, the Ratitce by the Ostriches and their allies, 

 and the Garinatce, which include all our other existing birds. 



In 1880 Professor Marsh published the results of his 

 famous discoveries in fossil birds, and gave it as his opinion 

 that the Ratitce are survivors of the original stem which 

 branched off from the Reptilian type. 



In 1888 Professor Feurbringer proposed two sub-classes = 

 the first Saururce containing the Archceopteryx, the second 

 Ornithurm all other birds, the Ratitce being regarded as 

 descendants of Carinate birds that have lost their powers of 

 flight. 



Mr. Oates in the Fauna will have nothing to do with the 

 Carinatos, and divides existing birds simply into orders. 



We are here confronted with fundamental differences of 

 opinion so profound that all the student can do is to wait 

 further developments. 



Order I. : Passer es. — This order contains as many species 

 as all the rest of the class put together. According to 

 Professor Feurbringer they are a group of Cretaceous age 

 which arose in the Oriental region, where the least modified 

 forms, the Eurylcemidce, still exist. He considers them 

 equivalent to a family with four sub-families. 



The definition of the order, as will be seen by the key, 

 is purely anatomical ; but if we include the Eurylwmi, 

 which are very closely allied, the following external 



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