ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDER. 



ORDER V. CANTATORES. SONGSTERS. 



Bill of moderate length, straight, slender, compressed, taper- 

 ing, pointed ; upper mandible with a moderate basal sinus on 

 each side, filled by the nasal membrane, which is covered by 

 short soft feathers, its edges overlapping, with a notch or sinus 

 (sometimes obsolete) close to the narrow declinate tip. (Eso- 

 phagus rather narrow, without crop or dilatation ; proventri- 

 culus oblong, with cylindrical glandules. Stomach roundish, 

 more or less compressed, with strong lateral muscles, a promi- 

 nent inferior muscle, and dense rugous epithelium. Intestine 

 short and rather wide ; coeca reduced to very small cylindrical 

 adnate tubes. Feet of moderate length or rather short, slender ; 

 toes compressed, three before, moderately spreading ; one be- 

 hind in the same plane stronger and about equal in length to 

 the two lateral, which are much exceeded by the third, the 

 latter united at the base to the fourth ; claws rather long, arched, 

 much compressed, acute. Wings of moderate length, rather 

 pointed, with the first quill extremely short or obsolete. PL 

 XIII. 



The digestive organs of the Cantatores differ from those of 

 the Deglubitores chiefly in the oesophagus, which has no crop 

 or dilatation, and in the stomach, which is generally less mus- 

 cular than in them, but more so than in the Vagatores. These 

 three groups however are very intimately allied, and pass into 



