Squatarola, where very small, and in Aphriza). Bill short, straight,—not exceeding the head (generally shorter),—shaped like a pigeon’s, with short, broad, soft nasal fossæ separated by a constriction from the enlarged, obtuse, horny terminal part. Head large, globose, contracting suddenly to the bill. Neck short … Charadriidæ.
Legs moderate. Tarsus shorter than tail, scutellate. Hind toe present. Bill long,—equalling, or oftener exceeding, frequently several times longer than, the head; softish and membranous to the very tip, without constriction in its continuity; straight or variously curved … Scolopacidæ.
Toes lobate. Tarsi notably compressed.
General characters of Scolopacidæ. Body depressed; the under plumage thickened, duck-like. Habits natatorial … Phalaropodidæ.
Hallux lengthened, perfectly incumbent, with large claw. Tarsi scutellate. Middle claw pectinate. Bill perfectly straight, tapering, acute. Loral region definitely naked, continuous with covering of the bill. Head narrow, elongate, tapering … Ardeidæ.
Hallux somewhat reduced, less perfectly incumbent. Tarsi commonly reticulate. Middle claw not pectinate. Lores, gular space and usually more of the head, naked. Bill variously curved or with expanded tip. (Genera Tantalus, Ibis, Mycteria, and Platalea.) … Tantalidæ.
Of great stature, with extremely long neck and legs. Part or all of the head bare. Toes much shorter than the tarsi; with basal webbing, but without lobation; hallux very short, highly elevated. Bill equalling or exceeding the head, compressed, perfectly straight, contracted about the middle, with enlarged acute terminal portion; nasal fossæ wide and deep, with large perforate nostrils … Gruidæ.
Size moderate and small; neck and legs comparatively short. Head completely feathered, excepting, in the Coots and Gallinules, a broad horny frontal plate. Toes equalling or exceeding the tarsi, simple or lobate. Bill not constricted in the middle, rather shorter than the head, straight and quite stout; or much longer, regularly slender and decurved, with long nasal fossæ. Nostrils incompletely or not perforate … Rallidæ.
Of great stature, with extraordinarily lengthened neck and legs. Bill of unique shape, bent abruptly down from the middle. Tibiæ naked below. Hind toe minute or absent. Wings rounded. Red the chief color … Phœnicopteridæ.
Of moderate size; the neck short, or, when lengthened, not accompanied by co-ordinately lengthened legs, these being always shorter than the wing. Bill straight. Tibiæ feathered below. Hind toe present; well developed and functional, though short … Anatidæ.
Bill rather longer than head, cleft to eyes, very stout at base, tapering to the decurved, but not hooked, tip. Nostrils abortive. Gular sac moderate, naked. Wings rather long, pointed. Tail long, stiff, cuneate, twelve to fourteen feathered. Feet nearly beneath centre of equilibrium. General configuration goose-like … Sulidæ.
Bill several times longer than head, slender but strong, depressed, perfectly straight, with small distinct hooked nail at end. Nostrils very small. Gular sac enormous. Mandibular rami meeting only at tip. Wings extremely long, with upward of forty remiges. Tail short, rounded, of twenty or more feathers. Legs beneath centre of equilibrium, extremely short and stout … Pelicanidæ.
Bill about as long as head, stout, straight, scarcely tapering, strongly hooked. Nostrils abortive. Gular sac moderate, but evident; mostly naked. Wings short. Tail large, fan-shaped, scansorial, of twelve to fourteen broad stiff feathers, exposed to the base. Legs inserted far behind centre of equilibrium … Graculidæ.
Bill rather longer than head, slender, perfectly straight, tapering to an acute tip. Gular sac small. Nostrils minute. Wings and tail, and general configuration, as in the last … Plotidæ.
Bill much longer than head, straight, stout, strongly hooked. Nostrils very small. Gular sac well developed. Wings exceedingly long, strong, and pointed. Tail exceedingly long, deeply forked. Feet extraordinarily short; tarsi partly feathered … Tachypetidæ.
Bill about as long as head, straight, stout, tapering to an acute tip. Nostrils small. Gular sac rudimentary, feathered. Wings moderate, pointed. Tail short, but with two central feathers extraordinarily prolonged and filamentous. Feet small, beneath centre of equilibrium … Phæthontidæ.
Nostrils not tubular, lateral, perforate. Bill with continuous covering, or only broken by a sort of cere, hooked or straight to the end. Hallux small and elevated, but always present … Laridæ.
Nostrils tubular, disjoined and lateral, or oftenest superior and united in one double-barrelled tube. Covering of bill in several pieces; bill always hooked. Hallux minute, rudimentary, or absent … Procellariidæ.
Feet four-toed, palmate. Hallux lobate, connected at base with base of inner toe. Tail perfect. Head closely and completely feathered. Nostrils with a depending lobe or flap. Bill straight, compressed, acute … Colymbidæ.
Feet four-toed, lobate. Hallux lobate, free. Tail rudimentary. Head with a naked loral strip and bristly or variously lengthened feathers. Nostrils simple. Bill straight or decurved at end, compressed, acute … Podicipidæ.
Feet three-toed, palmate. Hallux absent. Tail perfect. Head closely feathered or variously crested. Nostrils simple. Bill of indeterminate shape … Alcidæ.
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
Family TURDIDÆ.—The Thrushes
The Turdidæ, with the Saxicolidæ and Cinclidæ, form a group closely related, by common characters, and appreciably different from the other Oscines with slender bills and specially insectivorous habits, having, like them, ten primaries (the first much shorter than the second, but nearly always appreciable), and the nostrils uncovered. The great family of Sylvicolidæ, with similar characters of the bill, never present more than nine primaries. The most striking of these common characters is seen in the deeply cleft toes, of which the outer is united by the basal joint alone to the middle toe, while the inner is separated almost to the very base of its first joint.21 The frontal feathers extend, with rare exceptions, to the very nostrils. The bill is elongated and subulate, moderately slender, and usually notched at tip; the culmen moderately curved from the base, and the mouth well provided with bristles, except in a few cases. Usually the scutellæ covering the front and sides of the tarsus are fused into one continuous plate, or else scarcely appreciable, except on the inner edge only; in the Mocking Thrushes they are, however, distinctly marked. The lateral toes are nearly equal, the outer rather the longer. With these as some of the principal characteristics, they may be distinguished from each other as follows:—
Note.—In the present work the length of the tail is measured from the coccyx, inside of the skin, and not, as usually the case, from the base of the quills at their insertion. The wings are measured from the carpal joint, with dividers.
A. Nostrils oval. Loral and frontal feathers with bristly points, or interspersed with bristles; rictus with longer or shorter bristles.
Saxicolidæ. Wings very long and much pointed, reaching beyond the middle of the short square or emarginated tail, and one and a half times
In a perfectly fresh specimen of
When the toes are all extended in line with the tarsus, the hind claw stretches a little beyond the lateral and scarcely reaches the base of the middle claw.
The plates at the upper surface of the basal joints of the toes are quadrangular and opposite each other.
