John Hogg, Esq., on the Classification of Birds. 57 



that singular wax- like membrane, situate at the base of the 

 bill, is concealed by feathers. 



Instead of resuming for the owls the two subdivisions of 

 Linnaeus, Auriculalm and Inauriculatce, I have arranged them 

 into two families. — 1. Strigidas, corresponding with the 

 latter, or without carets; and, 2. Bubonidw, that agrees 

 with the former, and comprises those owls which are fur- 

 nished with carets ; or, as our old writers named them, ears 

 and horns. Both of these families will have to be divided 

 into operculati and inoperculati^ with reference to the pre- 

 sence and absence of opercula, in the ears. The diurnal 

 birds of prey approach the owls by the genera Circus and 

 Strigiceps ; the latter, or the owl-harrier, in the form of the 

 head and the facial disc, comes most nearly to an owl. So, 

 the family of Strigidae approximates to the hawks or falcons, 

 by the genus Surnia, of which the species called the hawk- 

 owl (Surnia funereaj, ought to be placed, ihQ first in the dis- 

 tribution of the nocturnal raptores. 



Order II. Prehensores : — This, with the preceding, and the 

 following orders, constitute six in all, in my general classifi- 

 cation of birds. I was indeed desirous of retaining only 

 five orders, according to the system mostly used in England ; 

 but, on mature consideration, I found that I could not do so, 

 if I attempted to follow an arrangement in accordance with 

 nature : I have, therefore, been unwillingly compelled to 

 place the parrot groups in a separate order, and which I have 

 termed " Prehensores," after M. Blainville and the Prince 

 of Canino. But I have ventured to differ from some of the 

 views of the last-named admirable ornithologist, and of M. 

 Illiger, in making it my second order ; and, in fact, the link 

 which connects the Raptores, or birds of prey, with the true 

 Insessores or perching birds ; whereas they have placed the 

 Psittacidw i\\Q first in their systems. 



The arranging of the parrots with the Scansores appears 

 to me highly artificial, and, as it were, forcing them into a 

 place in a system, where they have little except the forma- 

 tion (zygodactylisrri) of the toes, and perhaps the colours in 

 some degree of the plumage, to warrant such a step. If we 

 compare their structure with that of the Baptores, we shall 



