Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/748

Rh 730 BIRDS [FOSSIL FORMS. FIT;. 42. Remains of head of Oaontopteryx, seen from behind. too, were long ago detected portions of a Kingfisher (Halcyon), and a bird allied to the Gulls or Terns (Laridce), while a continuation of the same formation at Highgate has supplied a sternum which has been referred to the Herons (Ardeidce). Thefreshwalor beds at Hempstead, in the Isle of Wight, have furnished remains called by Mr Seeley (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 3, xviii. p. 109) Ptenornis a form of doubt ful affinity ; and that palaeonto logist has described from those of Hordwell a tibia, apparently Struthious, under the name of Macrornix. In the schist of Plattenberg at Glarus a nearly complete skeleton, perhaps belonging to the Passercs, was discovered, and called by Von Meyer Protornis (since renamed by Pro fessor Gervais Osfeornis), and other undetermined frag ments of birds bones, with impressions of their feathers, have been found in several beds of about the same age in France. The fossils of the Paris Basin and its coeval deposits deserve, however, fuller notice. First brought to light at Montmartre towards the end of the last century, many of the remains fell under the notice of Cuvier, and were by him determined in a manner more or less exact. Following his investigations, the labours of MM. Gervais, Blanchard, and Desnoyers considerably added to our knowledge of these ornitholites, till finally M. Alphonse Milne- Ed wards, having carefully gone over all the specimens discovered, refers them to the genera Agnopterus, Cormoranus (i.e., Phalacrocorax), Coturnix (2 spp.), Falco, Gypsornis, Lepto- somus (a form now only known from Madagascar), Limosa, Palaeocircus,Palceortyx,Pdidna,Rallus, Sitta, and Tringa(?). Of these are extinct the first, which seems to have been in some measure allied to the Flamingoes (Phaenicopteridce] ; the fifth, a Ralline form ; and the eighth and ninth, belong ing to the diurnal Birds-of-prey and the Gallince respec tively. The footprints of at least seven more species of birds have also been recognised in the same beds, so famed for the remains of Anoplotlierium, Pcdceotherium, and their contemporaries, which were resuscitated by the great Cuvier. The marl-beds of Aix in Provence, belonging to this epoch, have yielded fossil eggs and feathers, but as yet no bones of Birds ; and to the same period must probably also be assigned the lacustrine calcareous deposits of Armissan, in Languedoc, whence M. Gervais has recovered the remains of a Tetrao. Near Apt, also in Provence, some traces of birds seem to have been found, but their bad condition has hin dered their determination. In the marls of Eonzon, in Auvergne, several ornitholites have been found by M. Aymard, who refers them to the genera Camascehis, Doli- thopterus, Elornis (3 spp.), and Teracus. Of these the first was declared to be allied to the Plovers (Charadriithe), the second to the Gulls, the third to the Flamingoes, and the fourth to be a Falconine ; but M. A. Milne-Edwards considers the first and second to be probably identical. From the same beds M. Gervais has eggs and imprints of feathers, as well as a pelvis, referred by him to Mergus, but regarded by M. A. Milne-Edwards as a Sula ; while Dr Fraas has found remains of a Harrier and a Cormorant on the top of the Swabian Alp. Finally, in North America Professor Marsh has described the remains of no less than five species of birds, varying in size from a Flamingo to a small Woodcock, but all referred by him to a genus Alet- ornis, from the Eocene deposits of Wyoming (Am. Journ. Sc. ser. 3, iv. p. 256). The Miocene formation has yielded by far the greatest number of ornitholites, especially in France, and for want .Miocec of space they can be barely named here. From lacustrine deposits in Bourbonnais and Auvergne, the remains of nearly fifty species of birds have been distinguished. Be sides Palceortyx, already mentioned (3 spp.), Paloelodus (5 spp.), Pelargopsis, Ibidopodia, Elornis, Hydrornis, -and Colymboides are extinct genera to which these fossils are referred. Paloelodus is perhaps the most remarkable of them a generalized form, unquestionably allied to the Fla mingoes, but presenting some characters of the Limicoke, and at least one feature now only found in Podiceps and Colymbus. Pelargopsis and Ibidopodia were Stork-like, while Elornis seems to have been Scolopacine ; Hydrornis must be placed near the Gulls, and Colymboides among the Divers. The rest can be referred to the existing genera Aquila, Milvus, Bubo, Psittacus (a very noteworthy fact, since no Parrots are now to be found in the Palcearctic Region) Picus, Motacilla, Passer, Columba, Rallus, Phosni- copterus, Grus, Ibis, Totanus, Tringa, Larus, Phalacro corax, Sula, Pelecanus, and Anas. A very considerable number of forms identical with these have been recovered from the neighbourhood of Mentz, while many ornitholites, whether fossil bones, foot- prints, or impressions of feathers, are supplied by freshwater formations near Berne, and in Provence and Languedoc, belonging to this epoch. The bone-beds of Sanson, in Gascony, are also very productive. Here we have as extinct forms Homolopus, allied to the Picidce, Necrornis, which seems to belong to the Muso- phagidce a family now limited to Africa and Palazopcr- dix (3 spp.), a Gallinacean ; while among existing genera we have represented Aquila, Haliaetus, Strix, Corvus, Phasianus (2 spp.) a genus generally supposed to have been introduced into Europe in historic times Rallus, Numenius, Ardea, and Anas. Passing thence to Greece, the remains of birds have been found at Pikermi in Attica a Phasianus, a Gallus somewhat larger- than G. son- nerati (the presumed ancestor of our Barndoor-fowl), and a large Grus. In the Tertiary deposits of the lower ranges of the Himalaya, the interesting discovery of an apparently true Struthio (Ostrich) has been made, with an Argala, and possibly a large species of Phaeton. From Steinheim, also, but perhaps of a somewhat later period, the remains of eight species of birds (belonging to the genera Ibis, Ardea, Paldilodus, Anas, and Pelecanus) have been determined by Dr Fraas, 1 three of which seem to be specifically iden-i tical with those first discovered in France. In the Miocene/ of North America, Professor Marsh has detected bones of; Mcleagris, Sula, Puffimis, and Uria, all existing genera, but the first is especially suggestive, since it is now one of the most characteristic forms of the New World. From the Lower Tertiary of the same continent he has also described a Bubo and an extinct genus Uintornis, probably related to the Picidai (Am. Journ. Sc. ser. 3, iv. p. 259). The Pliocene epoch is far less rich than the preceding Pliocen in ornitholites, and what have been found are less well determined. In France, the existence of a Bird-of-prey and several Water-birds has been indicated, but a species of Gallus from Auvergne seems to be the only form estab lished. At (Ehningen, in Baden, remains have been found, and referred to Scolopax and Anas (probably also to Anser), while from Radoboj, in Croatia, the almost entire foot of a bird has been assigned to Fringilla by Hermann von Meyer, who has further detected in Ger many a fossil humerus, on which he founds a genus Ardeacites, allied to the Herons. From the Pliocene of North America Professor Marsh has described remains of an Aquila, a Grus, and a Phalacrocorax. The Postpliocene of the same continent has rewarded J Die Fauna von Steinheim, Stuttgart, 1571.