Osteological Studies of the Sub-Family Ardeince , 
7 
such is the conformation of the skull, 
that one could predict with no little 
certainty, where their original sites 
were. Coues states that the “ nasal 
bones are typically holorhinal,” (Key. 
2d, Kd. p. 647) in the Herons, and so 
they are, according to the rule laid 
down by Garrod, for deciding that 
question, that is, where “ a transverse 
straight line drawn on the skull from 
the most backward point of the ex¬ 
ternal narial aperture of one side to 
that of the other, always passes in 
front of the posterior terminations of 
the nasal processes of the premaxillae. ’ ’ 
(P. Z. S., 1873, p. 35.) This rule, 
perhaps, will hold better as a guide, 
than the form the nasal bone assumes, 
for in this Heron there is an evident 
tendency on the part of its nasal 
towards schizorhinalism, its posterior 
narial margin being distinctly angular, 
at least ; more so even than Daption 
capensis, a skull of which Garrod fig¬ 
ured, and one that seems to have a 
similar tendency. So far as form is 
concerned, I see the typical holorhinal 
skull in the Fowl or the Gallince gen¬ 
erally— where the above quoted rule 
also holds equally good. 
Such single characters are of great 
service sometimes, to assist merely in 
determining a bird’s position in the 
system, but it is hard for me to see 
how one could think of basing a class¬ 
ification upon such a trivial condition 
any more than we could upon the 
shape of the beak itself. Moreover, it 
would be of little use in such forms 
FrG. 2 
Fig 2 Basil view of the same skull ishown in Fig. 1. mxp. maxillo-palatine ; cth, 
ethnoid ; 7 , lacrymal. Mandible removed. 
