A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 1. Robert Ridgway

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Bill tenuirostral, longer than head, nearly cylindrical. Gape constricted. Tongue filiform, extensile, bi-tubular. Wings long in terminal portion, abbreviated proximally, acute. Plumage compact, of metallic sheen. Size smallest of all birds. (Humming-Birds.) … Trochilidæ.

      Feet syndactyle by connation of outer and middle toes.

      Outer toe much longer than the inner, united for half its length with the middle, forming a broad sole. Tibiæ naked below. Bill longer than head, straight, acute, with hard cutting edges and ample rictus. Tongue rudimentary, fixed. Wings pointed, much longer than the short square tail. Tail-feathers twelve. Plumage compact, oily. (Kingfishers.) … Alcedinidæ.

      Feet zygodactyle18 by reversion of outer or fourth toe.

      Not scansorial; tail of eight or ten long soft feathers. Bill with decurved tip, not fitted for hammering; rictus ample. Tongue not extensile nor vermiform nor barbed. Salivary glands and hyoidean apparatus not peculiar. No nasal tufts of feathers. Arboreal and terrestrial. (Cuckoos.) … Cuculidæ.

      Highly scansorial; tail of twelve rigid acuminate feathers, whereof the outer pair are short and spurious, concealed between bases of next two pairs. Bill stout, straight, with the tip truncate or acute, not decurved,—an efficient chisel for hammering and boring wood. Tongue vermiform, extensile,19 and barbed. Salivary glands large; hyoidean apparatus peculiar. Nasal tufts usually present. Arboreal. (Woodpeckers.) … Picidæ.

      Feet neither syndactyle nor zygodactyle.

      Feet semipalmate, of normal ratio of phalanges. Anterior toes connected at base by movable webbing. Hind toe very small, elevated, semilateral. Middle toe produced, its large claw pectinate. Bill fissirostral, with very small, triangular, depressed horny part and immense rictus, reaching below the eyes, furnished with bristles. Rather large. Plumage soft and lax, much variegated … Caprimulgidæ.

      Feet scarcely or not semipalmate, of frequently abnormal ratio of phalanges (middle or outer toe, or both, with fewer joints than usual among birds). Hallux very small, elevated, frequently lateral or versatile. Middle toe not produced nor its claw pectinate. Bill much as in the last, but rictus unbristled. Small. Plumage compact, of few simple subdued colors … Cypselidæ.

      Physiognomy peculiar by reason of great lateral expansion and lengthwise shortening of the cranium, causing the eyes to be directed forward. Eyes surrounded by a disc of radiating bristly feathers, in front closely appressed to and hiding the base of the bill, elsewhere bounded by a rim of differently formed feathers. Tomia never toothed or lobed. Nostrils usually at the edge of the cere. Outer toe completely versatile, shorter than the inner toe. Basal phalanx of middle toe not longer than the second, and much shorter than the next. Legs commonly feathered or bristly to or on the toes. Plumage peculiarly soft and lax, without after-shafts; flight perfectly noiseless. Cranial walls widely separated by intervention of spongy diploë. Sternum commonly doubly notched. Chiefly nocturnal … Strigidæ.

      Physiognomy not peculiar in any lateral expansion of the cranium; the eyes lateral in direction. No complete facial disc; base of bill not hidden by appressed bristles. Nostrils wholly in the cere. Outer toe rarely versatile, except Pandion, etc.; not shorter than the inner. Basal phalanx of middle toe longer than the second. Legs commonly naked and scutellate or reticulate in some portion of their length; toes always bare and scaly. Plumage compact, usually with after-shafts; flight audible. Cranial walls with little diploë. Sternum commonly single-notched or fenestrate, sometimes entire. Diurnal … Falconidæ.

      Large. Tarsi, toes, and nasal fossæ naked. Head bare of feathers, sparsely bristly, with wattles and caruncles. A pectoral tuft of bristly feathers. Tarsi usually spurred in the male. Plumage iridescent … Meleagrididæ.

      Medium. Tarsi wholly or in great part, sometimes also the toes, and always the nasal fossæ, feathered. Head completely feathered, excepting a definite papillate strip over the eye. Tail-feathers sixteen or more. Sides of neck usually with lengthened feathers, or a naked distensible area, or both. No spurs. Plumage without iridescence … Tetraonidæ.

      Small. Tarsi, toes, and nasal fossæ naked. Head completely feathered. No peculiar feathers or tympanum on sides of neck. No spurs. Plumage not iridescent … Perdicidæ.

      Legs extremely long; the tarsus equalling or exceeding the tail, and feet either four-toed and palmate (Recurvirostra), or three-toed and semipalmate (Himantopus); with the bill much longer than the head, very slender, acute, and curved upward … Recurvirostridæ.

      Legs moderate, stout. Tarsus shorter than tail. Bill hard, more or less contracted at base, with short nasal fossa, gonydeal angle, and ascending gonys, the tip either compressed and truncate or depressed and acute. Feet three-toed and with basal webbing (Hæmatopus), or four-toed and cleft (Strepsilas) … Hæmatopodidæ.

      Legs СКАЧАТЬ