46 



The diagnosis of tlie Passeriforraes is vitiated by the genus Menura, 

 whichj although said to belong to the Passeri formes, has a downy nestling 

 like that of a Petrel ; and as Mr. Seebohm bravely stands or falls by his 

 diagnosis, this portion of his scheme at least will require reconsideration. 



As a matter of fact he soon returns to his first scheme, for in the 

 ' Birds of the Japanese Empire ' he admits six Subclasses, but the order 

 is somewhat modified : — 



1. PASSERIFORMES. 



2. CORACIIFORMES. 



3. FALCONIFORMES. 



4. ANSERIFORMES. 



5. GALLIFORMES. 



6. STRUTHIONIFORMES. 



The Trogones are raised from a suborder to the rank of an order. 

 The subclass Coraciiformes is placed between the Passeriformes and 

 the Falconiformes , which brings the Hahyones after the Coccyges, the 

 Mimogypes, however, still coming next to the Bucerotes and being 

 followed by the Psittaci in the Falconiformes. 



The chief objections to Mr. Seebohm's classification appear to be 

 the placing of the ColumhcB among the Passeriformes, the separation of 

 the Upupce from the Bucerotes, and the location of the Mimogypes in 

 the Coraciiformes. 



The Columhce may not have downy young like those of a Hawk or a 

 Game-bird, but they certainly have a very different nestling from that 

 of an ordinary Passerine bird ; and I am sure that this character alone, 

 if properly examined, will separate the Columbce from all the suborders 

 with which Mr. Seebohm has allied them. Further than this, Mr. 

 Ogilvie Grant, who is studying Game-birds, has drawn my attention to 

 Gould's ' Handbook,' where the nestlings of Geophaps are distinctly 

 stated to be Dasypsedic. 



Mr. Seebohm places the Upupce in the Passeriformes because they have 

 the plantars Passerine ; but he does not attach equal importance to the 

 Galline character of the perforation of the episternal process, though they 

 share this character in common with the Meropes and the Bucerotes. 

 The Desmognathous palate is also a. character of the two last-named 

 groups. The Hoopoes have a tufted oil-gland, but the forked spinal 

 feather-tract is shared by the Hornbills and not by the Bee-eaters. 



The Hoopoe lays whitish, unspotted eggs, and its nesting-place is 

 in a hole, either of a tree, a wall, or a bank. The Hornbill has a white 

 egg, which is laid in the hole of a tree. The male fastens up his mate 

 and feeds her during the time of incubation^ bearing the burden of the 

 support of his wife, his nestling, and himself ! But the habits of the 

 Hoopoe during the nesting-season are somewhat Bucerotine (c/. Scott, 

 Ibis, 1866, p. 222). 



