eurhipidura

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A primary group of birds, distinguished by the concentration of the caudal vertebræ into a coccyx terminated by a pygostyle, around which the tail-feathers are arranged like a fan, whence the name. It includes all existing birds (commonly placed in the two subclasses Ratitæ and Carinatæ), as distinguished from the Saururæ, or lizard-tailed birds of the Jurassic period.