Scientific Illustration

biomedicalephemera:

Struthio camelus and Galbula fuscicapilla [now Galbula tombacea tombacea] - The Common Ostrich and White-Chinned Jacamar

The ostrich belongs to the paleognathae, while the jacamar belongs to the neognathae.

There are two superorders (a phylogenetic classification) of the the class Neornithes - the Paleognathae, or “old-jaws”, and the Neognathae, or “new-jaws”. The palates and beak structures of the paleognathae are much more closely related to reptilian jaws, and the superorder evolved significantly before the “new-jaws” came about. The flightless ratites (ostriches, kiwis, elephant birds, cassowaries, etc) and the flying tinamous of South America are all paleognathae.

All of the other extant birds (27 of the 29 orders) belong to the Neognathae. Everything from the birds of prey to the hummingbirds to the finches and sparrows falls under this classification. 

Transactions of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London. 1858, 1854.

(via dendroica)