_Summary on the Points of Difference between the several Domestic
Races, and between the individual Birds._—The beak, together with the
bones of the face, differ remarkably in length, breadth, shape, and
curvature. The skull differs in shape, and greatly in the angle formed
by the union of the pre-maxillary, nasal, and maxillo-jugal bones. The
curvature of the lower jaw and the reflection of its upper margin, as
well as the gape of the mouth, differ in a highly remarkable manner.
The tongue varies much in length, both independently and in correlation
with the length of the beak. The development of the naked, wattled skin
over the nostrils and round the eyes varies in an extreme degree. The
eyelids and the external orifices of the nostrils vary in length, and
are to a certain extent correlated with the degree of development of
the wattle. The size and form of the œsophagus and crop, and their
capacity for inflation, differ immensely. The length of the neck
varies. With the varying shape of the body, the breadth and number of
the ribs, the presence of processes, the number of the sacral vertebræ,
and the length of the sternum, all vary. The number and size of the
coccygeal vertebræ vary, apparently in correlation with the increased
size of the tail. The size and shape of the perforations in the
sternum, and the size and divergence of the arms of the furculum,
differ. The oil-gland varies in development, and is sometimes quite
aborted. The direction and length of certain feathers have been much
modified, as in the hood of the Jacobin and the frill of the Turbit.
The wing and tail-feathers generally vary in length together, but
sometimes independently of each other and of the size of the body. The
number and position of the tail-feather vary to an unparalleled degree.
The primary and secondary wing-feathers occasionally vary in number,
apparently in correlation with the length of the wing. The length of
the leg and the size of the feet, and, in connection with the latter,
the number of the scutellæ, all vary. A web of skin sometimes connects
the bases of the two inner toes, and almost invariably the two outer
toes when the feet are feathered.
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