OCR Text |
Show 10 PROF. W. LILLJEBORG ON THE CLASS OF BIRDS. [Jan. 9, Order 2. LONGIPENNES, Dumeril. The legs are not so far back ; and the hind toe, when there is one, is free. The wings long, extending more or less beyond the base of the tail. They are generally light birds, and lie, when swimming, shallow in the water, and cannot, with a few exceptions, dive, unless they dart from the air into the water, which power a great many of them possess. They generally fly remarkably well. Order 3. STEGANOPODES, Illiger. The hind toe united to the inner anterior toe by a web, and its base but slightly raised above that of the anterior toes. The wings and tail rather large, the former sometimes pointed and sometimes obtuse. Some of these birds are pelagic, fly remarkably well, and are darting divers ; some fly badly, but dive and swim well. The position of the hind toe enables some of them at times to sit on the branches of trees and to build their nests there. Group 2. LAMELLIROSTRES. The bill with laminse. Generally singly monogamous*. " Prae-coces ;" that is, do not carry food to their young. Order 4. LAMELLIROSTRES, Cuvier. The point of the upper jaw with a so-called nail of the bill; the other part of the bill covered with a soft skin. The hind toe free. The body generally more or less thick and heavy. The power of flight sometimes moderate, sometimes rather inferior. Those that fly best dive badly, or cannot dive at all; the others lie, when swimming, deep in the water, and dive exceedingly well. Some of the former are rather fast walkers, and approach in this respect the next division. Second Bivision or Subclass. CURSORES, Illiger; Sundevall. The entire crus and the lower part of the femur free. The base of the hind toe above that of the anterior toest; the hind toe sometimes missing. The anterior toes, when united by a web, are, with very few exceptions, so united only at the base. The large upper wing-coverts of the first row on the lower arm extend beyond the middle of the cubital quills. They have, with the exception of Rhea and Phoenicopterus, as far as is known, two carotides communes. Order 5. GRALL^E, Linne. The legs high, and the lower part of the crus without feathers%. The wings well adapted for flying. The pectoral bone with a crista. * The female alone cares for the young bJld^otenllr^^^" *** ** m>ep&m t0 "*'' and the8e l™ ^ X The genus Scolopax deviates from this. |