274 Dr. J. Murie 07i the Genus Colius. 



pret these correctly), by the brevity of the orbital limb of the 

 quadrate, and relative diminution of the articular knuckles, it 

 cannot be classed with them. If these reasons apply to one 

 division of the Passeres, it equally holds good with Phytotoma 

 and the Orioles. 



The Passerine tongue, vocal apparatus, and feathering are 

 sensibly modified in Colius. 



From the Psittacidse our genus is as much distinguished — 

 the Parrots having two sternal foramina instead of clefts, and cla- 

 vicles either absent or disunited and always without hypo- 

 cleidium. They again excel in the proportion of all the seg- 

 ments of the bones of the wing, but possess a humerus dimin- 

 ished in comparison with the wing's length. In contrast, the 

 Coly far exceeds the Parrots in the proportion of each leg-bone 

 to the femur, but shows inferiority when the entire length of 

 the leg is the standard, save its long tarso-nietatarse. In 

 Parrots the outer lower articulation of the latter has two facets, 

 and the fourth toe is permanently turned backwards. The 

 Psittacine inferior mandible differs in several respects. Their 

 lachrymal bone has a long inferior backward limb ; they have a 

 single laterally compressed inferior articulo-quadrate facet ; their 

 pterygoids are more elongate, their maxillo-palatines more ex- 

 tensive ; prsemaxillffi greatly curved over lower mandible, and 

 other specialities (pterylosis and inferior laryngeal muscles), — 

 all in contrast to Colius. 



As to the Musophagidse (supposed allies of our form in ques- 

 tion), their characters break down when compared with Colius 

 in detail. Although their sterna have two pairs of notches and 

 processes, yet each of these is relatively short, the latter thick, 

 not pedatc, and the middle xiphoid terminally wide and abruj)tly 

 truncate: the breast-plates are quadriform and deeper; rostrum 

 abbreviate ; five, not four, costal facets ; furcula narrow above, 

 and without hypocleidium ; a supracoracoid foramen, not a 

 simple groove ; coracoids relatively shorter and stouter ; epi- 

 coracoids unusually wide, and, in some cases, overlapping ; sca- 

 pula nearly straight. 



