12 INTRODUCTION. 



VI. Passeres. Bill conico-acuminate. Feet formed for leap- 

 ing, tender, slit. Body delicate, fit for being eaten in the gra- 

 nivorous species, but not in the insectivorous. Food in trees, of 

 seeds or insects. Nest artfully constructed. Food put into 

 the mouth of the young. Monogamous. They have the 

 faculty of singing. Analogous to the Glires, — Hares and Mice. 



Ex. Finches, Buntings, Sw^allows, Thrushes, Larks, and 

 Pigeons. 



Any criticism applied to such a system would be useless, 

 for, notwithstanding the merits and celebrity of its author, 

 there is scarcely an unexceptionable character in the whole 

 series. " If,"'* says M. Vieillot, " we direct our attention to 

 the characters which they (Linna3us and Latham) have indi- 

 cated as referring to the bill in the Picse, Grallce, and Anseres, 

 do we not discover that they are not applicable to very many 

 of the genera of these orders ? Have all the Picas a cultrato 

 bill with a convex back I Is this the case with the Todies, 

 Creepers, Humming-Birds, Hornbills, &c. ? Have all the Grallae 

 a subcylindrical bill : — the Flamingoes, Avocettes, Spoonbills, 

 &c. 2 May not the same question be asked respecting the 

 Anseres or Palmipedes, to which these systematists have given 

 as a general character a bill covered with cuticle and enlarged 

 at the end, Avhich in fact is the case only with the Geese, 

 Swans, and Ducks ? For it cannot be said with truth that 

 such is the bill of the Auks, Guillemots, Petrels, Darters, Fri- 

 gate-Birds, Cormorants, Boobies, Divers, Gulls, and others.""* 



M. Vieillot, therefore, finding the bill inefficient, employs 

 the feet for his primary characters. His system is composed 

 of five orders, with fifty-eight fiimilies. 



I. AccipiTREs. Feet robust, short or moderate ; legs entirely 

 covered with feathers ; tarsi naked or clothed in whole or in 

 part ; toes tuberculate beneath, three before, one behind ; pol- 

 lex on the same level as the rest ; claws very strong, mobile, 

 retractile, arched, pointed, or a little blunted. Bill stout, 

 covered with a cere at the base, hooked towards the end. 

 Tribe 1. Diurnal. Eyes lateral. 



