Order I. Birds of Prey (Raptores).—Sharp, curved beak and talons; strong legs; three toes front, one behind. Examples: vultures, falcons, secretary birds, owls.
Order II. Perching Birds (Insessores).—Short, slender, legs; three toes front, one behind. Examples: swallows, trogons, kingfishers, humming-birds, warblers, thrushes, crows, starlings, finches, hornbills, birds of paradise.
Order III. Climbing Birds (Scansores).—Toes paired; beak usually hooked. Examples: toucans, parrots, woodpeckers, cuckoos.
Order IV. Doves and Pigeons (Columbæ).—Legs weak; wings long and pointed. Examples: doves, pigeons.
Order V. Game Birds (Gallinæ).—Legs stout, short; beak stout, arched. Examples: pheasants, grouse, partridge, turkey, peacock, guinea, prairie chicken, domestic chickens.
Order VI. Ostrich Family (Cursores).—No keel or breast bone; rudimentary wings; stout legs. Examples: ostrich, cassowary, bustard.
Order VII. Wading Birds (Grallatores).—Legs and neck long; knee free from body. Examples: cranes, herons, snipes, plovers, storks, flamingo.
Order VIII. Swimming Birds (Natatores).—Web-footed. Examples: swans, ducks, geese, pelicans, petrels, auks, penguins, gulls, cormorants.
Class III. Reptilia (Lat., repo. “I creep”)—Reptiles, cold-blooded animals, protected by scales and not infrequently by hard, bony plates. They are mostly oviparous, but developed from the eggs more or less casually by the heat of the sun. “Reptile” is not an apt name, for there are many members of the class that do not creep. Examples: crocodile, lizard, tortoise and snake.
Order I. Serpents (Orphidia).—Body long, cylindrical, scaly, usually limbless; numerous vertabræ and ribs; no eyelids. Lower jaw loosely united in front. Examples: rattlesnakes, vipers, boas, pythons, cobras, copperheads, water snakes.