350 
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OP BIRDS. 
short. Tail long, rounded. Tarsus much length- 
ened. Head with an elevated compressed crest. 
P. coronatus. Ois. d’Af. pi. 280. 
Chionis, Forster.* Bill short, strong, 
compressed, entire. Nostrils tubular, 
protected by hard, elevated, and com- 
plicated folds, which envelope the 
base. Front of the head, and part of 
the face, naked. Wings very long. 
Feet very short, strong. Tarsal 
scales small, rough. Outer and inner 
toe slightly connected ; the inner 
shortest, and eleft at the base : hin- 
der toe short, not elevated, and placed 
on one side, as in the genus Colius : middle toe 
lengthened. Claws moderate ; much worn by walking. 
C. vaginalis. PI. Col. 509. 
Family MEGAP0DIN.®.+ Greatfoots. 
Size large. Feet remarkably developed, very large. 
The hinder toe lengthened, and on the same plane with 
the others. 
Men ora, Shaw. Bill moderate, depressed at the base, 
straight; the tip ohsoletely notched. Nostrils naked, 
and placed near the mid- 
dle of the bill. Feet very 
large, strong, and robust. 
Nearly all the anterior 
toes equal. The claws 
enormous for the size of 
the bird, obtuse, and slightly curved. Wings short. 
Tail very long, lyre-shaped; the feathers singularly 
* As some explanation of the station 1 have now assigned to this remark- 
able type, it must be remembered, that as the Colurnbiifoi are the most 
aberrant of therasorlal order, so is Chtonts the most aberrant of the Colum- 
hida. The experienced ornithologist will discover many beautiful analogies 
resulting from this arrangement. The above generic characters have b^n 
drawn up from a carefXil examination of a specimen in the British Museum. 
t As I have every reason to believe, from an attentive study of this family, 
that Crax is an aberrant genus, I have thought it belter at once to correct 
my former error, and to name the whole from tliat group which is one of 
the chief types. 
