6o jOrRNAl. Ol Co.MP.\R.\TI\R NkUROLOGV. 



that the author has ever made psychological study of, and, 

 indeed, than any other thrush. The power of song is by no 

 means an index of a high order of intelligence, much less an 

 indication of a highly specialized organization."(') 



The position of the Paridae and Sylvicolidas agrees with 

 the arrangement in Coues' Key and difiers but little from the 

 arrangement in the A. O. U. Check List. After placing the 

 Paridae below the Tanagridae, Shufeldt remarks: " Indeed, 

 were it not totally out of question to introduce a family in 

 among the first five I have placed in the list, the Paridae 

 might hold a much mere exalted rank, for in my opinion the 

 group of Tits and their immediate affijies are birds of mark- 

 edly high organization. * * * They possess un- 

 usually large brains for their size and there is just a possi- 

 bility that they are connected with the Corvidce through such 

 species as Perisoreus; they show wonderful ingenuity in the 

 construction of their nests, and the plumage of the young is 

 almost identical with that of the parents, and finally, some 

 of their kin (as Chamaea) have absolute scutellate podo- 

 thecae."(-) Since the Paridcc are birds of " markedly high 

 organization" and since " there is just a possibility that they 

 are connected with the Corvidae," why not place them next 

 to the Corvidce? Judging by the type and relative size of 

 the prosencephalon, that is v^^here the group belongs. 



In giving the Fringillidas and IcteridiE a high rank this 

 arrangement agrees with that of Shufeldt. 



Placing the Hirundinidfe adjacent to the Tanagridae 

 agrees with Coues' Key and the A. O. U. Check List. Shu- 

 feldt places the swallows much lower in the scale, but 

 admits that their exact affinities are not known. ('^) 



t North American Passeres, by R. W. Shufeldt, M.P., C.M.Z.S., Joiirn.il of Mor- 

 phology, vol. iii, pp. 107, 108. 



2 Op. cit .p. io3. 



3 " For a long time 1 was at a loss to know where to place the swallows jHirundinidse) 

 and they have been crowded near the foot of the list, not that they have not a few points 

 in their economy indicative of a certain degree of rather high specialization ; still, 

 although truly passerine birds, they are birds of comparatively small brains and ih eir 



