GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TEEMS. 93 
Mu ricate, ) murica'tus), a. Clothed with sharp points, or prickles. 
Mu'ricated, J v ; ' r r > r 
Myr'motherine (L. myr mother i'nus), a. Applied to birds which feed 
upon ants. 
Myr'tle Green, n. A dark bluish green color, like the upper surface of 
leaves of the myrtle (Myrtus communis). (Schoenfeld's " dark zinnober 
green/' or Winsor & Newton's "Prussian green.") (Plate X. fig. 2.) 
N. 
Nape (L. nu'cha), n. The upper portion of the hind-neck, or cervix. 
Na'ples Yel'low, n. A very pale ochrey yellow, varying in shade from 
a very pale buff (as in the pigment called French Naples-yellow) to a 
deep yellowish buff or straw-yellow tint (as in the English pigment). 
(Plate VI. fig. 18.) 
Na'ris (L. ; pi. na'res), n. The nostril. The external nares open upon 
some part of the maxilla or upper mandible. In some birds (as the 
Pelicans, Cormorants, and other Steganopodes, and the Toucans, they 
are basal and more or less obsolete ; in others, as the Woodpeckers 
and members of the Crow family, they are concealed by the antrorse 
frontal tufts of feathers. The internal nares open as longitudinal 
slits in the posterior portion of the palate. 
Na'sal (L. nasa'lis), a. Pertaining to the nostrils. 
Na'sal operculum, n. The scale or hardened membrane overhanging 
the nostril in some birds. (Plate XII. fig. 9.) 
Nascent, a. Beginning to grow or exist, or in process of development. 
A nascent species is one which is yet connected with the ancestral stock 
by individuals of intermediate character. Well-known examples may 
be cited in the Colapfes auratus and C. mexicanus, which possess very 
uniform and pronounced characteristics of color, etc., but are con- 
nected by specimens of intermediate characters, formerly supposed 
to be hybrids, but which are now with good reason believed to be 
merely representatives of the ancestral stock, and tending more or 
less toward one or the other of the extremes of differentiation 
represented by the above-named nascent species. 
Nata'tion, n. Act of swimming. 
Natato'res (L.), n. Swimming birds, as geese, ducks, gulls, etc. 
Natato'rial (L. natato'rius), a. Capable of swimming; pertaining to the 
act of swimming, or to swimming birds. 
Navic'ular (L. navicula'ris), a. Boat-shaped. 
Nearc'tic (L. nearc'ticus), a. Pertaining to the northern portion of the 
New World or Western Hemisphere. The Nearctic Realm, or 
Region, is a primary zoo-geographical division of the earth's surface, 
