OCR Text |
Show 1867.] PROF. HUXLEY ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 447 terminates by a sharp, free, curved edge; and in the dry skull, though probably not in the recent state, the nasal chambers of the two sides freely communicate. Lower down they are separated by the vomer, and terminate in the posterior nares. Alcedo and Dacelo repeat the structure observed in Geococcyx, with minor modifications. For example, the postero-external angles of the palatines are even more produced backwards than in Bucco (fig. 29). Fig. 29. Dacelo gigantea. Tbe palatine aspect of the skull. The letters have the same signification as before. This is still more the case in Upupa. Here the postero-external angle of the palatine is elongated into a slender, pointed process. The septum is ossified and unites with the maxillo-palatines, which form a transverse bony rafter across the palate. |