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Mearns's Birds of the Hudson Highlands

A variation of about ten per cent from the figures given may be expected.

The total length (= L.) of a bird is found by gently stretching the specimen, laying it on its back, and measuring the distance from the end of its bill to the tip of its longest tail-feather. The length of the wing (= W.) is the distance from the "bend of the wing" to the end of the longest primary. The length of the tail (=T.) is the distance from the base, or insertion of the middle feather, to the end of the longest feather. The length of the tarsus (= Tar.) is the distance from the base, or insertion of the toes, to the end of the tibia, or what in reality is the heel. The "tarsus" is therefore the true foot of the bird, while the part to which this name is generally applied consists only of the toes. The length of the bill (= B.), or "culmen," is the distance from the anterior base of the feathers on the forehead to the tip of the upper mandible. With the exception of total length these measurements are generally taken with a pair of dividers.