Hes per ornis

a remarkable extinct form of bird, the remains of which. have been met with in the American cretaceous deposits. As described by Profe or Marsh, it po e ed small pointed reptilian teeth, which were implanted in a deep continuous groove, somewhat like thgse of the ichthyosaurus. Its brain was small and more reptilian in type than that of any adult bird as yet examined. It appears to have been a large diving bird, measuring over five feet from the point of the bill to the end of the toes. Its wings were rudimentary, its legs powerful, and its feet well adapted for rapid progre ion in water. ‘The tail was broad, could move up and down, and was probably used as a rudder or swimming paddle. The long slender jaws were united in front only by cartilage, as in serpents, and had on each side a joint which admitted of some motion, so that the power of swallowing was doubtle equal to almost any emergency.