Dr. J. Murie on the Mot mots and their Affinities. 405 



Picarise a group, the Todidse, comprehending Coracias, Merops, 

 Prionites, Todus, and Galbula. Jardine* thought the Motmot's 

 position would ultimately be found to be that assigned by 

 Swainson, remarking, at the same time, that their analogies 

 towards the Crows are extremely strong. 



Bonapartef threw the families thus: — Trogonidse, Galbulidse, 

 Alcedinidse, Meropidse, Prionitidse, Coraciidse, Eurylaimidse, Co- 

 tingidse, and Todidse. Gray and Mitchell J well nigh reversed 

 the order, their Coraciadse containing Coracianse, Todinse, 

 Eurylaiminse, Momotinte, Trogonidse — the Alcedinidse, with 

 Bucconinse, Halcyoninse, Alcedinse, and Galbulin^e following. 

 In his commentary thereon Strickland § says : — " The Momotinae 

 are evidently only the American group of the Bee-eaters, and 

 might, I think, be included with them as a subfamily, Mero- 

 pinse, of the Halcyonidse.^^ 



The Motmots (Prionitidse) are also closely related to the 

 Trogons, and may be considered an offshoot of them, or of 

 the Bee-eaters, pai*allel to the Jacamars. Such is Wallace's || 

 opinion ; whilst Blanchard^ suggests of the group : — " Se lient 

 evidemment par beaucoup de caracteres aux Guepiers [Bee- 

 eaters] ; ils semblent jusqu'a un certain point representer dans 

 le nouveau monde ces derniers qui n'habitent que Fancien con- 

 tinent." Then follows Alcedo &c. In the Catalogue already 

 quoted, Sclater assigns six families to his sectio Brachychires, 

 ordo Fissirostres. In succession these are Momotidse, To- 

 didse, Alcedinidse, Galbulidse, Bucconidse, and Trogonidse. 



The osteological position of Momotus Eyton** makes in his 

 family Buceridse, along with the Hoopoe and Hornbills, the 

 family Alcedinidse, containing Rollers, Tody, Bee-eaters, Jaca- 

 mars and Kingfishers, going before. In Huxley's ft tabular 

 notice Meropidse, Momotidse, and Coraciidse take a place among 

 his |-toed Coccygomorphs. Neither is Alphonse Milne- 



* Paper cited. t Conspectus. J Genera of Birds. 



§ Ann. of Nat. Hist. 1841, vi. p. 417, and ''Map of the family Alcedi- 

 nidse," vol. vi. pi. 8. 



11 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1856, 2nd Ser. vol. xviii. p. 198. 

 ^ "Ost^ologie des Oiseaux," Ann. d. Sci. Nat. 1859, torn. xi. p. 117. 

 •• "Osteologia Avium." ft P- Z. S. 1867, p. 467. 



