Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME V.
GENUS III.--LOBIPES, Cuv. LOBEFOOT.
Bill at least as long as the head, extremely slender, straight, nearly
cylindrical, towards the end tapering; upper mandible with the dorsal line
straight, unless at the end, where it is a little decurved, the ridge broad and
depressed, the sides slightly sloping, the edges rounded, and inflected towards
the narrow acute tip; nasal groove long, linear; lower mandible with the angle
very long and narrow, the sides convex, the tip narrowed. Head small, with the
fore part high and rounded; neck of moderate length; body rather slender. Feet
moderate, slender; tibia bare at the lower part; tarsus extremely compressed,
narrowed before and behind, covered anteriorly with numerous scutella; toes
slender, first extremely small, free, with a slight membrane beneath, second
slightly shorter than fourth; toes all scutellate above, the anterior webbed at
the base, and margined on both sides with a lobed or sinuated membrane. Claws
very small, arched, compressed, acute. Plumage soft, and blended. Wings long
and pointed, the first quill longest; inner secondaries very long and tapering;
tail of twelve feathers, rounded or nearly even. Tongue extremely slender,
grooved above, tapering to a horny point; oesophagus narrow, uniform; stomach
rounded, muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudinally rugous;
intestine of moderate length and width; coeca rather long. Trachea much
flattened, with a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles.