Miscellaneous. 499 



This same arrangement occurs again in the embryo of these moUusks 

 before they issue from the egg ; the otolithe, smaller than in the 

 adult, presents, like it, very active oscillatory movements. — Wieg- 

 manns Archiv, 1845, p. 217. 



Comparative Anatomy of the Vocal Organs of Birds. By Prof. Muller. 



The merit of the first examination of the vocal apparatus of birds 

 belongs to Cuvier, to whom is also due the greatest part of the facts 

 relative to its organization. More recently, M. Nitzsch has sought 

 to derive advantage from the examination of the inferior larynx for 

 the classification of birds, which has always been, as is well-known, 

 one of the most embarrassing problems of the natural methods. 

 M. Miiller has recently made a long series of observations on the 

 vocal organ of the Passerines ; the results of his labours are as yet 

 only partly known ; a detailed description will soon be published in 

 the Memoires de 1' Academic of Berlin. Meanwhile we shall here 

 point out some general conclusions of this investigation, which is 

 impatiently looked for, as is everything from the pen of the illustrious 

 Berlin professor. 



M. Muller concludes from the facts which he has observed, that 

 the singing Passerince cannot form a natural division, and, in opposi- 

 tion to the opinion of M. Nitzsch, he affirms that the Picidce cannot 

 be separated from them. The most natural groups of the order of 

 Passerines contain types which differ in the organization of their la- 

 rynx, and the variabilities of that apparatus render it little suitable 

 to serve for classification. It is the less so, as the song may be pro- 

 duced by apparatus of very different structure. The order Passerince 

 must probably be preserved in its most extended limits, comprising 

 even the Syndactyles and the Climbers, and it must include, both 

 those birds which have the most perfect vocal apparatus, and others 

 in which it seems to be reduced to its greatest simplicity. 



The two most common forms of vocal organ among birds are : — 

 1st, the muscular vocalizing apparatus, formed on the type of that of 

 our European singing-birds ; 2nd, the form with a single muscle, thick 

 or thin. It is to be remarked, that the first form prevails in Europe and 

 in Africa, and that the second is more common in America. In con- 

 sequence, the forests of the old world contain more real singing- 

 birds ; those of the new world chiefly abound in birds with a loud 

 but little-varied voice, and resound much oftener with shrieks than 

 with songs. Beside these two widely distributed forms, there are 

 many other more special laryngian organizations : the most compli- 

 cated is that of the Parrots. 



M. Muller 's memoir will contain numerous facts in detail, and 

 engravings of all the forms described. — Proc. Berlin Academy, June 

 1845. 



