Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Desmognathous \Des*mog"na*thous\, a. [Gr. desmo`s bond + ? jaw.]
   (Zo["o]l.)
   Having the maxillo-palatine bones united; -- applied to a
   group of carinate birds ({Desmognath[ae]}), including various
   wading and swimming birds, as the ducks and herons, and also
   raptorial and other kinds.