Sclater on the Systema Avium. 79 
quite disposed to agree, and propose to use Nitzsch’s appropriate 
term u Odontoglossse ” to designate the order. 
The family Plataleidse, I may here remark, should include the 
Spoonbills and Ibises, as Nitzsch, who first constituted the group 
under the title Hemiglottides,* has shown. It is a common but 
very obvious error, well exposed by Garrod,| to unite the Ibises 
with Tantalus. But Tantalus is a true Stork, and has nothing 
to do with Ibis. The Plataleidae differ from all the other Hero- 
diones in being u shizorhinal,”| in which respect they deviate 
towards the Limicolse. But their pterylosis is that of the Storks, 
“even to the smallest detail s.”§ 
10. Anseres. 
The Anseres, if considered as limited to the single family 
Anatidse, constitute a rather isolated group which can be very 
easily defined. Following Parker || and Huxley^f in the 4 Nomen- 
clator ’ I associated the Palamedeidse with the Anseres. But 
after the recent investigation of Prof Garrod** it would seem 
impossible to deny that the peculiarities of this group are such 
as to necessitate their recognition as a separate order, which I 
propose to call Palamedeas. Nitzsch has long ago shown that 
the pterylosis of Palamedea is abnormal in showing scarcely 
any appearances of spaces between the feather-tracts (Ptery- 
logr. pp. 1 6, 1 2 1 ) ; but in the Anatidse, also, the spaces are very 
narrow. 
The best position for the Palamedese appears to me to be just 
before the Anseres, which I commence with the genus An- 
seranus.W 
11. CoLUMByE. 
We now enter upon the great Schizognathous series of Prof. 
Huxley, which, I think it must be allowed, runs on much more 
smoothly after the removal of the five preceding groups. The 
Columbse are Passerine in many respects (especially as regards 
the state in which the young are excluded from the egg, which 
* Pterylography, p. 133 (Engl. tr.). + P. Z. S. 1875, p. 301. 
% Garrod, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 37. § Nitzsch, Pterylogr. p. 133. 
|| P. Z. S. 1863, p. 511. H P. Z. S. 1867, p. 460. 
** P. Z. S. 1876, p. 189. ft See P. Z. S. 1880, p. 497. 
i 
