Families constituting the Order Passeres. 411 



properly distinguished from the Meliphagidse by Dr. Sclater, 

 follow naturally here. The Dicseidse, consisting of the genera 

 Dicceum, Zosterops, Pardalotus, Prionochilus ?, and one or two 

 others^ has always been a subject of discord, the four genera 

 above named having been placed in the most diverse families. 

 Pardalotus, for example, has been placed in the Laniidai by 

 G. R. Gray, in the Ampelidse by Bonaparte, near the Leio- 

 trichidae and Paridse by Jerdon, and as a distinct family near 

 the Mniotiltidse by Sundevall, who, however, puts Prionochilus 

 far away among the Pycnonotidae. The wing-structure, form, 

 and habits of the three first-named genera bring them natu- 

 rally together in this place ; and Dicceum is certainly very close 

 to the Tanagrine genus Euphonia. Prionochilus is a great 

 puzzle. It possesses a minute first primary, which favours 

 Sundevall's view of its position ; but it agrees so veiy closely 

 in the peculiar form of the bill and general appearance with 

 some species of Dicceum and Pardalotus, that I cannot bring 

 myself to separate it from them, although I acknowledge it 

 to be an awkward anomaly in this series of families. I may 

 here notice that the species which I described as Prionochilus 

 aureolimbatus, from Celebes (P. Z. S. 1865, p. 477), has only 

 nine primaries, and must thus be placed in Dicautn or Pachy- 

 glossa, with which latter genus it very closely agrees. I there- 

 fore cannot follow Dr. Sclater {antea, p. 3) in making Pachy- 

 glossa a synonym of Prionochilus. The Dicaeidse are typically 

 Australian, but have spread over the Oriental and even to the 

 Ethiopian region. We next come to the Ampelidaj, which 

 have also been a soiu'ceof much confusion, having been placed 

 next the Laniida;, Pycnonotidae, or Leiotrichidse by various 

 authors. They have been generally recognized as allied to 

 Pardalotus ; and indeed that genus might perhaps come into 

 this family rather than in the last. The colouring of some 

 of the Pardaloti approximates to that of Ampelis. The Ili- 

 rundinidse arc undoubtedly very isolated ; yet they assort as 

 well in form and plumage with the Ampelidse and some genera 

 of Tanagridae as with any other families that can be named, 

 while they have the advantage of agreeing with this series in 

 the essential features of wing- structure. The next family. 



