. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. . LYBE-BIED Fig. HAWFINCH. THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIRD5. PAKT II.—PASSEEINES. By F. Finn, , CONSIDERING the enormous number of species included in the Passerida, and the fact that they differ so little in anatomical characters that they are really only equivalent to one family, it is not surprising that they are difficult to subdivide. There is thus no royal road to their identification, for some of the groups merge into each other in so confusing a manner as to defy exact definition; yet, after a certain amount of
. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. . LYBE-BIED Fig. HAWFINCH. THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIRD5. PAKT II.—PASSEEINES. By F. Finn, , CONSIDERING the enormous number of species included in the Passerida, and the fact that they differ so little in anatomical characters that they are really only equivalent to one family, it is not surprising that they are difficult to subdivide. There is thus no royal road to their identification, for some of the groups merge into each other in so confusing a manner as to defy exact definition; yet, after a certain amount of practice and observation of the characters of typical examples of the various subdivisions of the family, even an unknown Passerine bird may be referred to its proper section with a fair amount of confidence, though exceptions must be expected. The great agreement in anatomical characters presented by this huge group is paralleled by their similarity in foot-structure; one has only to compare the Lyre-Bird (Fig. 1) with the Hawfinch (Fig. 2) to see how similar they are in plan, although the two birds are about as different as any two Passerines can be. The dominance, so to speak, of the hind-toe, and the small number and large size of the scales covering the whole member, strike one at once. The most important detail to notice m the way of difference is the length of the shank in the one and its shortness in the other, and the fact that in the Lyre-Bird the backs of the shanks are covered with separate scales, and not with continuous horny plates as in the Hawfinch; the uniform plating at the back being the rule. These differences of the scaling of the shanks are important in classification; and the relative lengths are also useful means of distinction, though not always constant in any given group. The bills of the two birds also mark a distinction which is very noticeable; the Lyre-Bird's being a fairly typical insect-eater's bill, slight in form and moderate in length, al
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1902
