418 



PASSEEINE BIRDS. 



Second Order. Passerine Birds. 

 Passerin.e* 



This Order includes all birds that are neither 

 swimmers, waders, climbers, rapacious, nor yet 

 gallinaceous ; that is, it contains all birds that are not 

 assignable to any of the other orders. Its characteris- 

 tics, therefore, are purely negative ; yet, although w^e 

 cannot unite all the species that belong to it under 

 a common description, they nevertheless, resemble 

 each other in the totality or aggregate of their 

 structure. The Passerine tribes have neither the 

 violence of the birds of prey nor the fixed regimen 

 of the gallinaceous or aquatic birds. They live 

 upon insects, fruits, and grain ; but those with strong- 

 beaks live more exclusively upon grain, those with 

 slender beaks upon insects. The proportional length 

 of their wings and the extent of their flight are as 

 variable as their habits. They have four toes, gene- 

 rally three in front and one behind ; sometimes all four 

 are in front ; hut there are never two hefore and two 

 behind, as in the order of climbing birds (Scansores). 



The order Passerinte is divided into five families, 

 as in the followins: Table : — 



^ The external toe [ Notched on both sides near ) 



shorter than the j its point j 



middle one, and ! 

 fi-eeforthegi-eat- [ 

 er part of its -j 



len2;th 



Upper mandible 



Without 

 a notch 



Short, wide, andj 

 flattened hori-l 

 zontally;mouth| 

 very open . . j 



Strong and coni- 

 Cill . . . . 



DENTIROSTRES 



FISSIROSTRES. 



CONIROSTRES. 



Slender and elon-| TENUIROSTRES. 

 orated . . .1 



The external toe almost as long as the middle! 



one to which it is united as far as to the last SYNDACTYLJE. 

 joint but one ) 



* Passer, a sparrow. 



