252 Mr. Vicors’s and Dr. HonsrrErp's Description of the 
M. Cuvier's genus, it seems calculated to embrace all the spe- 
cies of the family which do not belong to the European form ; 
in fact, merely to draw a geographical line of demarcation 
between the European and extra-European species. To those 
who have had an opportunity of observing the mode in which 
the characters of the Muscicapide vary in the numberless foreign 
species which we already possess, and which are daily increasing 
our collections, it must be evident that such a wide latitude in- 
cludes in the genus Muscipeta a vast variety of forms: while at 
the same time it affords but little relief to the student in lessening 
the number of species detached from the original Muscicapa. 
It appears to us, however, that some advance will be made to 
the more luminous arrangement of this family, by restricting the 
species of Muscipeta to those which exhibit the characters ori- 
- ginally laid down by M. Cuvier for the group, and which accord 
with the birds enumerated by him as its types. From these we 
may perhaps select the Muscicapa Paradisi of Linnæus as the 
most conspicuous, and best fitted to point out the characters 
which that eminent naturalist designed to particularize. We 
here perceive a somewhat elongated bill, which appears inter- 
mediate with respect to its breadth between the narrower bills 
of the European Muscicape, and the widely-dilated bill of 
Platyrhynchus. ‘The tail also is graduated. The group, thus 
restricted, will contain a number of well-defined species, whicli 
at present appear to us proper to Africa and India, and which 
more or less accord with this type. In addition to this group, 
we have ourselves already pointed out two other forms among 
our New Holland species, which, besides the modifications of 
their bills, exhibit by the structure of the tail, and the use to 
Which it is applied, some natural grounds for separation. We 
venture in addition to propose another group, characterized 
above, which we have reason to hope will still further serve to 
afford 
