. Key to North American birds. Containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary, inclusive of Greenland and Lower California, with which are incorporated general ornithology: an outline of the structure and classification of birds; and field ornithology, a manual of collecting, preparing, and preserving birds . s are strictly paludicole; the compi-ession of the body is ata maximum; the form is blunt and thick behind, with a veryshort tip-up tail, and tapers to a point in front; the whole
. Key to North American birds. Containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary, inclusive of Greenland and Lower California, with which are incorporated general ornithology: an outline of the structure and classification of birds; and field ornithology, a manual of collecting, preparing, and preserving birds . s are strictly paludicole; the compi-ession of the body is ata maximum; the form is blunt and thick behind, with a veryshort tip-up tail, and tapers to a point in front; the whole fig-ure being thus adapted to wedge through narrow places. Thewings are extremely short and rounded, and the ordinary flightappears feeble and vacillating, though the migrations of manyFig. 4647-^olina Rail. (From species are very extensive. The tail has 12 feathers. TheTenney, after Wilson.) flank-feathers are commonly enlarged and conspicuously col- ored; the thighs are very muscular; the tibije are generally if not always naked below; thetarsi scuteUate in front; the toes are long, cleft, without lobes or any obvious marginal mem-branes. The hUl occurs under two principal modifications : in Ballus proper it is longer thanthe head, slender, compressed, slightly curved, long-grooved, with linear nostrils; in Porzanaand most genera, however, it is shorter or not. longer than the head, straight, rather stout,. BALLID^ — BALLINJE: BAILS. 671 with short broad nasal fossse, and linear-obloug nostrils — altogether somewhat as in gallina-ceous birds. The oulmen more or less obviously parts antial extension of the frontal feathers,but never forms a frontal shield, as in the Coots and Gallinules. Of about 35 American speciesor varieties only 10 occur in this country, to which must be added one straggler from are some 25 Old World species. The Rails inhabit all temperate countries; they are remarkably distinguished by theextreme narrowness or compression of the body, wh
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1896
