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Show 7.] ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE WINGS OF BIRDS. 343 2. On some Points in the Morphology of the Wings of Birds. By RICHARD S. W R A Y , B.Sc. Lond. (Communicated by Professor FLOWER, P.Z.S.) [Received March 7, 1887.] (Plates XXIX.-XXXII.) Since the publication of Sundevall's paper "On the Wings of Birds in 1843 but little advance seems to have been made in our knowledge of the disposition and modification of the feathers of the bird's wing, although his original Swedish paper was twice translated into German. In fact the paper, though forty years old, contains much information not to be found in modern descriptions, a great deal of it having apparently been overlooked. I have had occasion to go into the subject somewhat fully in preparing specimens to illustrate the structure of the bird's wing in the Index Museum of the British Museum (Natural History). While doing this I found the ordinary descriptions unsatisfactory, and at times could not reconcile what I saw with them. This occasioned me to examine a great many birds' wings of different groups, and led to the results described in the following paper. The wings were all examined with a view to make out the mode of insertion of the feathers, their relations one to another and to the bones, and dried skins were used only when fresh specimens were unavailable. Through the kindness of Professor Flower I had great facilities afforded me in the way of obtaining specimens, and I take this opportunity of expressing my great thanks to him for his encouragement and assistance throughout the work. While Sundevall's paper gives the correct relations of the parts, especially of the coverts, yet many points with regard to the remiges and greater coverts he seems to have overlooked, and of others his interpretation is erroneous. The relation of the remiges to the bones of the manus is not fully described nor accurately figured. That the primaries form two groups, metacarpals and digitals, is recognized, but the absolute constancy of the most proximal digital resting upon the phalanx of digit in. has never been insisted upon ; Sundevall's figure shows it as having no connection with the phalanx. The presence of one or two more dorsal greater coverts than remiges on examination turns out to be erroneous, since every one may be accounted for. The presence of a small accessory remex (remicle) which I have made out renders the interpretation of the relations of the coverts to the remiges more intelligible. These and some other important points are discussed in the present paper. References to Sundevall's paper are to the English translation which appeared in 'The Ibis'1 for October 1886, and are indicated thus (S. p. 396). The nomenclature adopted is founded upon that most in use 1 " On the Wings of Birds," by C. J. Sundevall. Translated from the nr.a-inal Swedish of the ' Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad. Handlingar,' 1843, by W . S. Dallas, F.L.S. (Ibis, 1886, p. 389.) |
