A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3

Taxon´omy, n. Classification; rational arrangement according to some scientific principle. Biotaxy.

Tec´trices, n. pl. Coverts; the smaller feathers, either of wing or tail, but especially of the former; tail-coverts being calypteria. (72, 73, 83.)

Tec´trices Alæ, n. pl. Wing-coverts.

Tec´trices Caudæ, n. pl. Tail-coverts.

Tec´trices Inferio´res, n. pl. Under coverts. (73.)

Tec´trices Perver´sæ, n. pl. Median upper wing-coverts, of the secondary set.

Tec´trices Superio´res, n. pl. Upper coverts. (72.)

Teg´mina, n. pl. Same as tectrices.

Teg´ument, n. Same as integument.

Teleolog´ical, a. Relating to teleology.

Teleol´ogy, n. Doctrine of final causes; science of adaptation of means to ends.

Tem´ples, n. pl. (44.) See Tempora.

Tem´pora, n. pl. Temples; portion of sides of head between eyes and ears. (Scarcely used.)

Ten´do or Ten´don, n. Fibrous cord or band of attachment of muscle to bone or other parts; a “leader.” Tendo achillis, hamstring.

Tenuiros´tral, a. Slender-billed.

Teratol´ogy, n. Science of monsters.

Te´res or Te´rete, a. Cylindrical and tapering; fusiform. Also, name of a muscle.

Ter´gum, n. Lower back, between interscapilium and uropygium. (Not well distinguished, and little used.) (59.)

Ter´minal, a. At the end.

Terminolog´ical, a. Relating to terminology.

Terminol´ogy, n. Science of calling things by their right names according to some determined principle. Nomenclature.

Ter´tials, Ter´tiaries, n. pl. Large inner quills of wing growing from humerus or elbow. The two or three longer inner true secondaries (which see) are often incorrectly called tertials, especially when distinguished by size, shape or color from the rest of the secondaries. (76.)

Tes´tis, n.; pl. testes. Testicles; male organs secreting spermatozoa.

Tetradac´tyle, a. Four-toed.

Thal´amus, n. A certain tract of the brain.

The´ca, n. Sheath.

The´nar, a. Palmar; plantar.

The´ory, n. Scientific speculation. Philosophical explanation. Result of inference from established principles.

Thermog´enous, a. Heat-producing, as all vital processes are.

Thigh, n. Segment of leg between hip and knee. (97.)

Thorac´ic, a. Pertaining to the chest.

Tho´rax, n. The chest; segment of the body enclosed by ribs, sternum, and certain vertebræ, containing heart and lungs.

Throat, n. See Gula. (52.)

Thumb, n. In birds, the so-called thumb, upon which the alula, or bastard wing, grows, is homologically the index-finger. Penguins lack this segment.

Thyrohy´al, n. An element of the hyoid bone.

Thy´roid, a. Shield-shaped. Name of principal laryngeal cartilage.

Thy´roid Car´tilage. One of those forming the larynx.

Tib´ia, n. Principal and inner bone of leg between knee and heel; the shin-bone.

Tib´ial, a. Pertaining to the tibia.

Toe, Toes, n. (116.)

Tomium, n.; pl. tomia. The cutting edge of the bill. There is a superior or maxillary tomium, and an inferior or mandibular tomium; each is double (i.e. right and left); together they are the tomia, mutually apposed when the mouth is shut.

Top of Toes. (117.) See Acrodactylum.

Tor´quate, a. Ringed; collared.

Tor´ques, n. Ring or collar of color or of feathers otherwise distinguished. Lewis’s woodpecker has a cervical torques both in color and texture of the feathers.

Totipal´mate, a. Having all four toes webbed. Same as steganopodous.

Trach´ea, n. Windpipe.

Transverse´, a. Crosswise; in direction at right angle with longitudinal axis of the body.

Tread (of the cock), n. Cicatriculum; molecule. See Yolk.

Tri- (in composition). Thrice; treble.

Tri´ceps, n. A certain extensor muscle of wing and leg.

Tridac´tyle, a. Three-toed.

Trigem´imus, a. for n. A certain cranial nerve.

Trihe´dral, a. Three-sided.

Triv´ial, a. Said of a specific name. Opposed to generic.

Trochan´ter, n. Prominence at top of femur.

Troch´lea, n. A pulley; smooth bony surface over which a tendon plays.

Trun´cate, a. Cut squarely off.

Trun´cus, n. Trunk; body without its members. (56.)

Tuber´culum, n. Tubercle; a little lump or elevation.

Tu´nic, n. Enveloping membrane of various organs.

Tu´nica Albugin´ea, n. Dense whitish membranous investment of the testicles.

Tur´binal, a. Scroll-like; name of certain bones of nasal passages.

Tylar´i, n. pl. Pads under the toes. (123.)

Tym´panic (bone), a. for n. Same as Os Quadratum (which see).

Tym´panum, n. Ear-drum. Also, the naked inflatable air-sacs on the sides of the neck of grouse, an enlargement of the ordinary cervical reservoirs of air which communicate with the bronchi.

Type, n. Way; plan; mode. Also, sign or symbol. The type, or typical form, of a group is that which exhibits a given set of characters most perfectly. But the type of a genus is usually the species, if any, from which the generic characters were especially drawn up, without reference to such qualification; while, furthermore, the type of a species, in current acceptation, is merely the specimen from which the species was originally described, even though it may very inadequately represent such species.

Typ´ical, a. Of most usual structure; adhering strictly to a given plan of structure. (But compare Type.)

U

Ul´na, n. Inner or posterior bone of forearm.

Ul´nar, a. Pertaining to the ulna.

Umbil´ical, a. Relating to the umbilicus.

Umbil´icate, a. Pitted, as if with an umbilicus.

Umbili´cus, n. Navel. Pitted scar, indicating point of entrance of placental vessels into the fœtus. Also, any similar pit or depression, as that on the scape of a feather at junction of rhachis and calamus.

Unarmed Toe. Toe bearing no claw. See Digitus Muticus. (133.)

Un´ciform, a. Hooked.

Under Jaw. See Mandibulum.

Under Parts. See Gastræum.

Under Tail-coverts. (13.) See Crissum.

Under Wing-coverts. (84.) See Tectrices.

Undula´tion, n. Wavy color-marks.

Unguic´ulate, a. Clawed.

Unguis, n.; pl. ungues. Claw.

Unip´arous, a. Producing but one young. Same as monotokous.

Upper Back. (58.) See Interscapilium.

Upper Jaw. (10.) See Maxilla.

Upper Parts. (5.) See Notæum.

Upper Tail-coverts. (72.) See Calypteria.

Upper Wing-coverts. (84.) See Tectrices.

Uræ´um, n. Hinder half of a bird. (8.) (Little used.)

Ure´a, n. A certain component of urine.

Ure´ter, n. Tube conveying urine from kidney to cloaca.

Ure´thra, n. Groove in penis for direction of the discharge.

U´rinary Bladder, n. A certain compartment of the cloaca, in some birds, is so named.

U´rine, n. Liquid excretion of the kidneys, in birds voided more or less mixed with the fæces.

Uro-gen´ital or Gen´ito-u´rinary, a. Said of organs common to the two offices implied in the words, or of such organs regarded as associate parts.

Urohy´al, n. Median backward process of the hyoid bone.

Uropyg´ium, n. Rump. (60.)

U´terus, n. Womb. Wanting in birds; but a lower tract of the oviduct where the eggshell is formed has been loosely so called.

V

Vacu´ity, n. Deficiency in a part; as, a vacuity in the bony palate.

Vagi´na, n. Any sheath, in general. Particularly, the female sexual passage. In birds the lowermost tract of the oviduct is sometimes loosely so called.

Vane, n. (151.) See Vexillum.

Variety, n. A nascent species. Practically, the term designates a set of objects incompletely distinguished from others of the same species, by reason of slightness of the difference, or presence of connecting links.

Vas´cular, a. Permeated with blood vessels. Also equivalent to circulatory; as, the vascular system.

Vas Def´erens, n. Tube conveying semen from testes to cloaca.

Vas´tus, a. for n. A certain muscle of the thigh.

Vein, n. Vessel conveying blood from the capillaries to the heart. Artery carries blood from the heart.

Ve´næ Ca´væ, n. pl. Large veins pouring blood from the system into the heart.

Ve´nous, a. Pertaining to a vein; as, venous blood, the venous system.

Ven´ter, n. Lower belly. (Not well distinguished from abdomen, and little used.) (65.)

Ven´trad, a. Towards the belly.

Ven´tral, a. Pertaining to the belly.

Ven´tricle, n. Chamber of the heart, right or left, whence issue the pulmonary arteries and the aorta. Compare Auricle. Also, a cavity of the cerebrum.

Ven´tricous, a. Swollen; bulbous.

Ventric´ulus Bulbo´sus, n. Same as gigerium.

Ventric´ulus Succenturia´tus, n. Same as proventriculus.

Vermicula´tion, n. Very fine crosswise marking.

Ver´miform, a. Shaped like a worm; as, a woodpecker’s tongue. Lumbriciform is the same.

Ver´nal, a. Relating to the spring.

Verru´cous, a. Warty.

Ver´satile, n. Reversible; susceptible of turning either way.

Vertebra, n.; pl. vertebræ. Any bone of the spine; any one of the backbones.

Ver´tebral, a. Pertaining to the backbone.

Vertebrarte´rial (canal), a. for n. Passage for an artery through several cervical vertebræ.

Ver´tebrate, a. Having a backbone; also, used substantively for an animal with a backbone.

Ver´tex, n. Crown; highest central portion of pileus.

Vescic´ula Semina´lis, n. A structure, imperfect or wanting in birds, for storage of semen.

Vesti´tus, a. or n. Clothed, i.e. feathered. Clothing, i.e. plumage; as, vestitus nuptialis, breeding plumage.

Vexil´lum, n. Rhachis and web of a feather taken together; all of a feather excepting calamus.

Vibris´sa, n.; pl. vibrissæ. Bristly or bristle-tipped feather about the mouth of a bird.

Vic´tus, n. Food; diet.

Vil´li, n. pl. Soft papulous projections of membrane.

Vis´ceral, a. Pertaining to the viscera.

Vis´cus, n.; pl. viscera. Any interior organ of the body, but especially of the digestive system. The stomach is a viscus; the intestines are viscera.

Vi´sus, n. Vision; eyesight.

Vi´telline, a. Pertaining to the vitellus.

Vi´telline Mem´brane, n. An envelope of the vitellus.

Vitel´lus, n. Yolk (which see).

Vit´reous, a. Glassy; said of the humor in the back chamber of the eye.

Vit´ta, n. Broad band of color.

Vo´mer, n. A bone of the skull, lying at the base, in the median line, in advance of the sphenoid. Also, the peculiarly shaped and enlarged last bone of the tail, or pygostyle.

W

Washed, a. As if overlaid with a thin layer of different color.

Wat´tle, n. A naked, fleshy, and usually wrinkled and highly colored skin hanging from the chin or throat, as in the cock and turkey.

Web, n. The vane of a feather, on either side of the rhachis.

Wedge-shaped, a. See Cuneate.

Whis´kered, a. Having lengthened or bristly feathers on the cheeks.

Wing, n. (73.) See Ala.

Wing, Bend of. (77.) See Flexura.

Wing-coverts, n. pl. (83.) See Tectrices.

Wolff´ian Bodies, n. Certain organs of the embryo associated with the uro-genitals.

X

Xi´phoid, a. or n. Sword-shaped. Posterior prolongation of the sternum.

Y

Yolk or Yelk, n. “Yellow” of an egg; a soft, opaque, yellow globular mass, enveloped in a proper membrane (the vitelline) and suspended in the white by the chalazæ. It has a central cavity full of a clear substance, furnished with a duct leading to a mass of cells termed proligerous disc; adhering to its surface is the cicatriculum, or “tread,” which becomes the embryo.

Z

Zo´na Pellu´cida, n. Consolidated membranous envelope of the primitive ovum.

Zoölogy, n. Natural history of animals, of which ornithology is one department.

Zygapoph´ysis, a. Articular process of a vertebra.

Zygodac´tyle, a. Yoke-toed; having the toes in pairs, two before and two behind.

Zygo´ma, n. Malar bone and its connections.

Zygomat´ic, a. Pertaining to the malar bone.

1

The whole of the systematic portion of the article on the Raptores, has been prepared by Mr. Ridgway; the biographies, however, are furnished by Dr. Brewer, as usual. The outlines of the skulls and sterna of the Strigidæ, the skulls, sterna, and heads of the Cathartidæ, and the generic outlines of the Falconidæ and Cathartidæ, were drawn by Mr. Ridgway.—S. F. Baird.

2

By Thomas H. Huxley, F. R. S., V. P. Z. S.; Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society of London, 1867, pp. 415–473.

3

By Charles Ludwig Nitzsch. English edition, translated from the German by Dr. Philip Lutley Sclater, and published by the Ray Society of London, 1867.

4

By William McGillivray, A. M.; London, 1840.

5

See Jardine’s Contributions to Ornithology, London, 1849, p. 68; 1850, p. 51; 1851, p. 119; 1852, p. 103; and Transactions of the Zoölogical Society of London, 1862, p. 201.

6

Hand List of Genera and Species of Birds, distinguishing those contained in the British Museum. By George Robert Gray, F. R. S., etc. Part I. Accipitres, Fisserostres, Tenuirostres, and Dentirostres. London, 1869.

7

I have, however, examined the sterna only of Nyctea, Bubo, Otus, Brachyotus, Syrnium, Nyctale, and Glaucidium.

8

My unpublished determinations of the North American species were furnished, by request, to Dr. Coues, for introduction into his “Key of North American Birds”; consequently the names used in these pages are essentially the same as those there employed.

9

This case of the restriction of the American representative of a European or Western Palæarctic species to the western half of the continent has parallel instances among other birds. The American form of Falcolanarius (var. polyagrus), of Corvus corax (var. carnivorus), Pica caudata (var. hudsonica and var. nuttalli) and of Ægialitis cantianus (var. nivosus), are either entirely restricted to the western portion, or else are much more abundant there than in the east. The European genera Cinclus, Coccothraustes, Nucifraga, and Columba have representatives only in the western portion of North America.

Instances of a similar relation between the plants of the Western Province of North America and those of Europe, and more striking likeness between the flora of the Eastern Region and that of Eastern Asia, are beautifully explained in Professor Gray’s interesting and instructive paper entitled “Sequoia, and its History,” an address delivered at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at Dubuque, Iowa, August, 1872. The poverty in the species of tortoises, and richness in lizards, and the peculiarities of the ichthyological fauna, as well as absence of forms of Western North America and Europe, compared with Eastern North America and Eastern Asia, afford other examples of parallelism in other classes of the Animal Kingdom.

10

See Baird, Am. Journ. Arts and Sciences, Vol. XLI, Jan. and March, 1866; Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. Cambridge, Vol. II, No. 3; and Ridgway, Am. Journ. Arts and Sciences, Vols. IV and V, Dec., 1872, and Jan., 1873.

11

For diagnoses of these geographical races of Strix flammea, see pp. 1339 and 1340.

12

See Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, Vol. II, No. 3, pp. 338, 339, where these plumages are discussed at length.

13

Strix flammea, var. flammea. Strix flammea, Linn. S. N. I, 133, 1766, et Auct.-Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 178. Strix alba, Scop. Ann. 1st, p. 21, 1768.—Gmel. S. N. 293.—Lath.—Daud.—Lep. and Shaw. Strix guttata, Brehm, Vög. Deutschl. p. 106, 1831. Hab. Europe and Africa.

14

Strix flammea, var. guatemalæ, Ridgway. Central American specimens differ very appreciably from Mexican and North American examples, in being considerably darker-colored in the extreme phases of plumage. Eight of eleven specimens convey an impression of decided difference in this respect at a mere casual glance. The extremes of plumage in this series are as follows:—Darkest (No. 40,961, Chimandega, Nicaragua; F. Hicks): The dusky mottling of the upper parts is altogether darker than in any example from Mexico or northward, and prevails, with great uniformity, over the entire surface; the white specks are linear, instead of roundish. On the primaries and tail, the blackish and ochraceous are about equal in extent, the latter color forming five bands on the quills, and four on the tail. The facial circle is bright dark orange above the ears, and the portion below the ears continuous black; the face is reddish-white, strongly tinged with wine-brown, while the spot in front of the eye is deep black. The whole lower parts are deep orange-ochraceous, with numerous irregular specks of dusky, which posteriorly become broken or confused into ragged zigzag transverse mottlings, while on the lower tail-coverts they form irregular transverse bars. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Wing, 13.00; tail, 5.90; culmen, .85; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.50. Lightest (No. 41,252, ♂, San José, Costa Rica, Aug. 23, 1865; José C. Zeledon): The dark tint above, though prevalent, is a continuous wash of grayish, instead of a fine mottling of blackish and white; the white specks are nearly obsolete. The wings are superficially plain grayish, this overlaying the ground-color of ochraceous-orange; and have visible spots only on the primaries, near their shafts. The tail has four rather distinct grayish bands. The facial circle is ochraceous, somewhat darker across the foreneck; the face white, with the ante-orbital spot claret-brown. Entire lower parts immaculate pure white. Wing-formula, 2, 1=3. Wing, 12.30; tail, 5.30; culmen, .70; tarsus, 2.75; middle toe, 1.45.

No. 24,283, Nicaragua, (Captain J. M. Dow,) is like the specimen just described, in the uniform dark wash of the upper parts, but this is deeper; the lower parts, however, are quite different, being ochraceous-orange, instead of pure white.

The remaining five specimens (from San Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua) are alike, and differ from northern birds in the deeper dark mottling of the upper parts; the white specks very conspicuous, and usually sagittate. The facial circle deep black where it crosses the foreneck. The lower parts vary in color from nearly pure white to deep orange-rufous; the dark markings of the lower surface are larger, more angular, and more transverse than in true pratincola. The wing measures 11.30–13.00; tarsus, 2.55–2.95. The northern form varies from 12.50–13.00 (wing) and 2.50–2.85 (tarsus). It is thus seen that while these southern birds average smaller in general dimensions, they have actually larger feet, the average length of the tarsus being 2.80 in the Central American series, and only 2.60 in the northern series. This exactly coincides with the case of Sturnella, the S. magna var. mexicana of the same region being smaller bodied and shorter winged than var. magna of the United States, but with much larger feet, see p.

15

Strix flammea, var. perlata. Strix perlata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 59, 1823.—Tschudi, Av. Consp. Wiegm. Archiv. 267, 1844.—Hartt. Syst. Ind. Azara. p. 3.—Max. Beitr. III, 263 (excl. syn.).—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 180 (excl. syn.). Strix flammea, Darwin, Zool. Beag. 34.—Schomb. Verz. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 732.—Spix, Av. Bras. I, 21.

This is a still further differentiated or more appreciably modified race. It differs in smaller size (wing, 11.70–12.50; tail, 4.80–5.20; tarsus, 2.40–2.75) and more square tail, while the colors also present constant differences. The tail is much lighter compared with the wings, the bands narrower and more sharply defined, though the same in number.

16

Strix flammea, var. furcata. Strix furcata, Temm. Pl. Col. 432, 1838.—D’Orb. Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 34. Hab. West Indies (Cuba and Jamaica).

This form is the most distinctly characterized of all the races of S. flammea which we have examined. It has the general plumage decidedly lighter and less rufous, while the secondaries and tail are abruptly lighter than the adjacent parts, and usually free from bands, though there are sometimes traces of them.

All the American races of Strix flammea differ very decidedly from the European form (var. flammea) in much larger size. The differences in color are not so appreciable, and there is hardly any certain difference in this respect. The extreme phases, however, appear to be darker in the var. flammea than in the var. pratincola. The supposed differences in the character of the feathers fringing the operculum, insisted on by MacGillivray (History of British Birds, III, 1840, p. 473), I am unable to appreciate, for I cannot find that they differ in the least in the two races. That excellent ornithologist states that in the American “species” the feathers of the operculum are reduced to a simple tube, having neither filaments nor shaft, while in the European bird they are perfect feathers, with all their parts complete. Though this may have been the case with the one or more specimens of pratincola examined by Mr. MacGillivray, I have yet to see an American specimen which has not the feathers of the operculum just as perfectly developed as in European examples.

17

Strix flammea, var. delicatula. Strix delicatula, Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, 140.—Ib. B. Australia, I, pl. xxxi.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. 1855, 180. Hab. Australia.

18

Strix flammea, var. javanica. Strix javanica, Gmel. S. N. I, 295, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 64, and Gen. Hist. I, 357.—Horsf. L. Trans. XIII, 139.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 5, pl. xv.—Sykes, P. Comm. Zoöl. Soc. pl. ii, 81.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 180. Phodilus javanicus, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. XIX, 513. Strix flammea, Pears. & Blyth. Hab. Java and Southern India, and Eastern Africa.

I have been unable to find any description of this form, and believe it to be unnamed. It is certainly not the S. dominicensis, Gmel. (S. N. 296, S. domingensis, Müll. Gray’s Hand List, 43, No. 438), not S. fusca, Vieill. (Gray’s Hand List, No. 439). The type is in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, and belongs to the Lafresnaye collection (No. 787).