76 DICTIONARY OF BIRDS 
produced uncertain results, especially when they have neglected its 
anterior for its posterior part; for in truth every bone of the skeleton 
ought to be studied in all its details. Yet this distinguished zoologist 
selects the sternum as furnishing the key to his primary groups or 
“Orders” of the Class, adopting, as Merrem had done long before, the 
same two divisions Carinate and Ratitz, naming, however, the former 
Tropidosternti and the latter Homalosternii.1 Some unkind fate has 
hitherto hindered him from making known to the world the rest of his 
researches in regard to the other bones of the skeleton till he reached the 
head, and in the memoir cited he treats of the sternum of only a-portion 
of his first ‘‘ Order.” This is the more to be regretted by all ornithologists 
since he intended to conclude with what to them would have been a very 
great boon—the shewing in what way external characters coincided with 
those presented by Osteology. It was also within the scope of his plan 
to have continued on a more extended scale the researches on ossification 
begun by L’Herminier, and thus M. Blanchard’s investigations, if com- 
pleted, would obviously have taken extraordinarily high rank among the 
highest contributions to ornithology. As it is, the 32 pages we have of 
them are of considerable importance ; for, in this unfortunately unfinished 
memoir, he describes in some detail the several differences which the 
sternum in.a great many different groups of his Tropidosterni presents, 
and to some extent makes a methodical disposition of them accordingly. 
Thus he separates the Birds-of-Prey into three great groups—(1) the 
ordinary Diurnal forms, including the Falconide and Vulturide of the 
systematist of his time, but distinguishing the American VuLrures from 
those of the Old World ; (2) Gypogeranus (SECRETARY-BIRD) ; and (3) the 
Ow1s. Next he places the Parrots, and then the vast assemblage of 
“‘ Passereaux ”—which he declares to be all of one type, even genera like 
Pipra (Manakin) and Pirra—and concludes with the somewhat hetero- 
geneous conglomeration of forms, beginning with Oypselus (Swrrr), that 
so many systematists have been accustomed to call Picariz, though to 
them as a group he assigns no name.” 
Important as are the characters afforded by the sternum, that bone 
even with the whole sternal apparatus should obviously not be considered 
alone. To aid ornithologists in their studies in this respect, Eyton, who 
for many years had been forming a collection of Bird’s skeletons, began 
the publication of a series of plates representing them. The first part of 
this work, Osteologia Avium, appeared early in 1859, and a volume was 
completed in 1867. A supplement was issued in 1869, and a Second 
Supplement, in three parts, between 1873 and 1875. The whole work 
contains a great number of figures of Birds’ skeletons and detached bones ; 
but they are not so drawn as to be of much practical use, and the 
1 These terms were explained in his great work L’ Organisation du Régne Animal, 
Oiseaux (p. 16), begun in 1855, and unhappily unfinished, to mean exactly the same 
as those applied by Merrem to his two primary divisions. 
2 M. Blauchard’s animadversions on the employment of external characters, and 
on trusting to observations on the habits of Birds, called forth a rejoinder from Mr. 
Wallace (bis, 1864, pp. 86-41), who successfully shewed that they are not altogether 
to be despised. 
