PASSEROIDEyE. 



483 



FlO. 234. — Right tarsus of Contis ; inner (above) and 

 outer views (below). 



morphological test above alliuled to. The character of the corvine tarsus is very 

 ' low ' iiulet'il, and it may even l)o qtiestioiuHl if it can be called laminiplantar. I sub- 

 mit Fiij. 234, drawn by myself from a fresh specimen of an old raven (Coruus be/a-i/tg- 

 iamts), from which it will be seen that the plantar covering consists of one lamina 

 on each side, separated from the other by one row, and from the anterior scuta by 

 one or more rows of scutelhv. The crows, furthermore, have ten primaries, the first 

 (tenth) one being among the longest in oscinine birds. The bill, in spite of its 

 strength and size, is not particularly spe- 

 cialized, and the symphysis of the lower 

 mandible is remarkably short throughout 

 nearly all the family. There remains the 

 color-character of the plumage, which, if 

 considered alone, would procure a high 

 rank for the crows ; but several other 

 gi-oups might claim the same with equal 

 ])roi)riety. But then it is urged that the 

 crows, in regard to the relative size and 

 weight of the brain as compared with the 

 body, take a high and exceptional position, 

 and that the ''likeness between young and old is, so far .as is knuwn, common to every 

 member of the family," while it does " not extend to more than a portion, and generally 

 a sni.all portion," of the other groups in which a similar likeness occurs. I will assert, 

 however, that this is not exactly the case, and that tlie Paridic, or tits, will be equally 

 entitled to the highest rank on the same grounds. For in all Parida> undoubtedly 

 belonging to the family, the color of the adults and young is essentially alike, and, 

 as a whole, the magnitude of their lirain is not less. Moreover, the uniformity of 

 the corvine ))hnnage is not so exceptionless as Professor Xewton thinks, for the young 

 of the Canada jays (Perisoretis) differ considerably from the adults, and the young 

 nut-crackers {Xucifraga) are much more speckled than the adults. 



In my search for the most s])ecialize<l P:isseri'S, T h.ive fallen back on Sundevall's 

 original idea of placing the Conirostres, or tinch-forms, at the end (or the head, as 

 others would say) of the series. True, their tarsi are not booted, but in all the other 

 points the most specialized genera come uj) to the stand:ird above alluded to. This 

 •will be easier demonstrated by taking one examjile, for wliieh we select one of the spe- 

 cies to be jdaced at the end, namely, our evening grosbeak {I/esperiphona vespertina). 

 The number of its primaries is reduced to nine; the mandibular symphysis is well 

 develo])ed, and the palatine and facial part of the skull is highly specia]ize<1, and so is 

 the digestive canal. Furthermore, the jilumage of the young is essentially like that 

 of tlie adults. It even seems as if the development of the brain can be no serious 

 objection against the finches, since, according to Tiedemann, as quoted by Xewton, 

 the proportion which the lu-ain l)ears to tlie bodv in the Kiirojje.an goldfinch (Citnhieh's 

 carduelis), and in the canary-bird {Serinus canarins) is as one to fourteen. The 

 ^ high'' condition of the j)alatal structure is clearly demonstrated by the fact that in 

 the typical Kriiigiliid:e the ninicties of the vomer are well coalesced as early .as the 

 middle of incubation. 



The above theory may be supported by additional reasons, but here is not the 

 place to go further into detail. There remain to be said only a few words in regard 

 to the characters by which the Passeroidew are usually subdivided. The arrangements 



