NOMENCLATURE OF VIGORS. 43 



Normal Group. 

 Rostri pedisque structura magis ^ Dentirqstres. 

 perfect^. ( Conirostres. 



Aberrant Group. ^ « 



Rostri pedisque structure minus > /,?," -"'f'^s. 

 peifecta. i. Fissirostres. 



Mr. Vigors then divides the Fissirostres, as will be 

 seen in the last diagram, as follows: — Meropidce ; Hirun- 

 dinidce ; Caprimulgidce ; Todidce ; Halcyonidce. 



And he adds, " the families which compose this tribe are 

 distinguished from those of all the others, except the 

 Tenuirostres, by their habit of feeding on the wing. From 

 the latter, or suctorial birds, which meet them at one of the 

 extremes of the tribe, and of which the tjpical families 

 feed also on the wing, they are distinguished by their 

 animal food, which they take by their bills or in the gape 

 of their mouths ; while the Tennirostres live chiefly upon 

 vegetable juices, which they extract with their tongue. The 

 FissirostreSf depending so much on the powers of their wings, 

 exhibit a proportional deficiency in the strength of their legs.*' 



There will not be much difficulty in converting the 

 terms proposed by Mr, Vigors (whose scientific tact 

 has been, in this respect, peculiarly and very happily exem- 

 plified) into English ones; a consideration to those who are 

 concerned in the introduction of a new nomenclature of the 

 first importance. Thus, of the five CLASSES, the R^ores 

 might be Rap'tors ; Insessores, Inses'sors ; Rasores, 

 Ra'sors ; Grallatores, Gralla'fors ; Natatores, Nata'tors. 

 The Quinary subdivisions or orders composing the Raptors^ 

 may be Fal'conids, Vul'turids, Stri'gids, j the 



Insessors, Den'tirosts, Con'irosts, Fis'siROsrs, Tenu'i- 

 ROSTS, and Scan'sors ; the Rasors, Colum'bids, Pha,- 

 sian'ids, Cra'cids, Tetraon'ids, and Struthion'ids ; the 

 Grallators, Charad'riads, Gru'ids, Ar'deids, Ral'uds, 



