Osteology of Porzana Carolina. Als 
difference is to be noticed between them upon posterior 
aspect. 
The lower, and extremely delicate end of the fibula, fuses 
with the tibio-tarsal shaft at about its middle, though we 
occasionally meet with specimens wherein it may be 
traced still lower down. Its head, above, has the usual 
form, but is notably compressed in the lateral direction. 
A fairly well developed hypo-tarsus is found at the upper 
and back part of the next lower segment of this Rail’s leg, 
—the tarso-metatarsus. It consists of a median longitudinal 
ridge, flanked on either side by a shorter, parallel, and less 
prominent one. This, of course, gives rise to two grooves, 
for the guidance of the tendons, and none of the latter per- 
forate the body of this process as we often see in many other 
birds. The sides of the shaft of this bone are more or less 
flat and slightly twisted below, from without towards the 
inner side, or median plane. A decided fossa occurs at the 
upperand anterior end of the shaft, which grows shallower 
lower down, to gradually disappear at the junction of the 
upper and lower thirds. 
Of the trochlez at the distal extremity, we find that the 
middle and lowest one is sharply separated from the outer 
and next highest one, by a deep cleft, the arterial foramen 
occurring in its groove above. The inner trochlea is turned 
considerably to the rear, while above it, suspended in the 
usual manner by ligament, is seen rather a large accessory 
metatarsal, giving support to a strong hallux, composed of 
basal joint and claw. 
The phalanges of the anterior podal digits are long and 
slender, each terminating in a well-developed ungual joint. 
These latter are laterally compressed and show some degree 
of curvature in the longitudinal direction. 
For the inner two toes the basal joints are the longest 
and largest in calibre, while they progressively decrease 
in both these respects, from joint to joint, as we go towards 
their nails. This obtains also in the inner toe, but here we 
find that counting the ungual joint as one, the penultimate 
phalanx is somewhat longer, though it is not as large in 
calibre as the joint that precedes it. 
BrigEF RECAPITULATION OF THE SKELETAL CHARACTERS OF 
PoRZANA CAROLINA.—1. External narial apertures on sides 
of superior osseous mandible very large. 
2. Lacrymal bones free, and possessed of delicate de- 
scending processes. 
3. Pars plana ample, quadrilateral in outline, supero- 
external angle fusing with underside of frontal bone. 
4. Vacuity in inter-orbital septum very large. 
