CRAClDiE. 



315 



teen inches long, the outer eleven ; all the feathers 

 are perfectly webbed as in birds in general : the 

 colour of the plumage is deep brown ; belly inclining 

 to ash-colour ; but the quills and tail are darker than 

 the rest : the quills reach about two inches on the 

 base of the tail." Latham. 



GENUS CCCXVIII.— MEGAPODIUS, Temminck. 



Rostrum gracile, debile, rec- 

 tum, versus apicem sub- 

 inflexum: mandibula in- 

 ferior rectum, apice mar- 

 ginibus superiorum obte- 

 gente. 



Nares ad apicem rostri po- 

 sitae, apertae, ovatae. 



Orbitce nudae. 



Alas mediocres : remiges 

 prima et secunda breviores 

 quam tertia et quarta, 

 quae longissimae. 



Pedes grandes, validi : tarsi 

 duplo longiores quam di- 

 gito medio : digiti elon- 

 gati ; antici aequales : hal- 

 lux a basi terram insis- 

 tente: ungues longissimi, 

 subcurvati, trigonales, de- 

 pressi. 



Beak slender, weak, slight ; 

 rather inflexed towards the 

 tip: the lozver mandible 

 straight, covering the edge 

 of the upper at the tip. 



Nostrils placed towards the 

 tip of the beak, open, 

 ovate. 



Orbits naked. 



Wings moderate : the first 

 and second quills shorter 

 than the third and fourth, 

 which are the longest. 



Legs large, stout ; tarsi twice 

 as long as the middle toe : 

 toes elongated, the an- 

 terior equal: the hinder 

 resting on the ground at 

 the base : claws very long, 

 rather curved, trigonal, de- 

 pressed. 



Sp. 1 . Me. Freycineti. Gaimard. Temnu PI. Col. 220. 



Me. ardosiaco-pluinbeusy alis cauddque saturaiioribus ; corpore 

 infra pallidiore ; rostro corneo ; pedibus et uiiguibus aterrimus. 



