85 



Order XXXIV. PASSERIFORMES *. (Cosmopolitan.) 

 Section A. Oscines. 



Fam. 1. CoRViD.E f. 



{Cf. Sliarpe, Cat. B. iii. pp. 1-152.) 



2. Paradiseid^ \. 



{Cf. Sharps, Cat. Birds, iii. pp. 153-186.) 



3. Ptilonobhynchid.te. 



{(Jf. Sharpe, Cat. B. vi. pp. 380-390.) 



4. Stuknid^e §. 



(Cy. Sharpe, Cat. B. xiii. pp. 1-92.) 



5. EULABETID.^ II . 



{Cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. xiii. pp. 93-157.) 



6. EUHYCEEOTID.?;. 



(C/. Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 32G.) 



7. DlCRURID^ ^. 



{Cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. pp. 229-209.) 



8. OniOLiDiE. 



{Cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. pp. 188-226.) 



9. ICTEEID^. 



{Cf. Sclater, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xi. pp. 308-405.) 



10. Ploceid^. 



{Cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. xiii. pp. 198-511.) 



11. Tanageid^. 



{Cf. Sclater, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xi. pp. 49-307.) 



* Palate segithognathous ; cervical vertebrse not exceeding 15 in number; ambiens 

 and accessory femoro-caudal muscles absent; deep plantar tendons free; hallux always 

 present, and connected with \\\^jiexor longus hallucis and not with thejlexor perforatis 

 dif/itonan ; spinal feather-tract well defined on neck ; spinal feather-tract not forked on 

 the upper -back ; oil-gland present, but nude, 



t Dr Shufeldt thought that the presence of a bony siphonium was peculiar to the 

 Coi-vidce, but recent dissections made by Professor Stewart prove that this character 

 is found in all the higher Oscines. 



X The difference in the proportion of the toes, adopted from Sundevall's ' Tentamen ' 

 (p. ), to separate the Birds of Paradise from the Crows, will probably be found to 

 break down when carefully examined. Mr. Goodchild's character of the absence of 

 median wing-coverts may be useful in the diagnosis, but the limits of the family are at 

 present badly defined, and it is diiHcult to draw a line of distinction between some of 

 the Bower-birds and the Birds of Paradise (e. g. Xanthomelus and Amblyornis), and 

 it is certain that some forms of Paradiseidce, like Parotia for instance, have " playino^- 

 grounds" like Tectonornis and other " Bower " builders. 



§ Ambulatorial. Mandible with the angular much prolonged. First primary feebly 

 developed. Eggs uniform, bluiah. 



§ Arboreal. Eggs spotted. {Cf. Oates, Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 509.) 



Tl As before mentioned, a more minute comparison of the osteology of this family is 

 necessary before determining its proper place in the natural system. 



