65 



to wliicli I have as yet given very little close study^ I will not venture 

 to pronounce any definite opinion on the svibject ; but the various forms 

 of Ducks and Geese would require several illustrative cases^ while at 

 some distance from the true Anseres would be placed the Screamers 

 [Palamedece), Avhich every one now admits to be aberrant Geese-like 

 birds. 



Having thus followed our arrangement to the extreme end of a series, 

 we have to consider the vast mass of birds which under the general 

 names of Picariw and Passeres seem to have no connection with any of 

 the birds which we have hitherto been talking about. Of these, one 

 group at least stands apart, that of the Parrots [Psittaci), which with 

 certain Accipitrine characters combines a zygodactyle foot like so 

 many members of the Picarian assemblage. 



The Parrots, however, do not appear to have any very close allies. 

 In the character of the nestling they are not in the least Accipi- 

 trine, and the development of their feathers is carried on in true Picarian 

 fashion — that is to say, that the new feathers are enclosed in the sheath 

 till they attain almost their normal length ; and in this respect the 

 Parrots resemble Kingfishers and other Picarian birds. The mode of 

 nesting, too, is Picarian. 



All the remaining groups possess characters which distinguish them 

 one from the other; but the Picarise have one feature in common 

 which is characteristic of nearly the whole Order, and that is, that they 

 lay white eggs, which are concealed in the hole of a tree or a bank, 

 being in the latter case often tunnelled by the birds themselves. 



The principal exceptions to this rule are the Cocajges, consisting of 

 the Cuciili and Musophagi, which are either parasitic, or build open 

 nests of rough- construction, and lay eggs, sometimes of varied colours, 

 and sometimes white. These birds, however, though zygodactyle, 

 possess other characters which seem to show that at the present day, at 

 least, they have little to do with the other so-called Picarice, and in 

 many respects exhibit Galline affinities. The CaprimuJgi also are an 

 exception to the Picarian rule as regards the colour of their eggs. 



It was an old fancy that, because of a certain similarity in the style of 

 plumage and because also of theii* crepuscular habits, the Caprimulgi 

 and the Striges were nearly allied; and though this idea is now 

 scouted, it would seem that the nearest approach to the Striges among 

 the various groups which we are now considering will be found in 

 the Steatornithes ; and following on from them we should find, as 

 separate groups, the Podargi and, at a distance, the Caprimidgi, whence 

 we should pass to the Cypseli in one direction. 



The Rollers [Coracice) seem to come next to the Goatsuckers, being 

 somewhat connected with them by means of the peculiar Leptosomati of 

 Madagascar. 



