Sclater o)i the Systema Avium. 83 



to ordinal rank, and should likewise stand as an independent 

 order. Their very peculiar pterylosis, apart from their marked 

 osteological differences from Struthio and Rhea, would alone 

 entitle them to this distinction. I would therefore propose to 

 designate them Casuarii, the simple Latin plural being, in my 

 opinion, a better term for the group than any name which would 

 be a fresh burden on the memory. 



Amending the "Systema" according, to the suggestions above 

 made, we shall find it come out in two subclasses and twenty-six 

 orders, somewhat as in the following table, where I have added 

 to the name of each order about the number of species known to 

 belong to it. basing my calculations mainly on the figures given 

 in the second volume of Mr. Wallace's ' Geographical Distribu- 

 tion.' • 



Orders of existing Birds. 



Subclass Carixat.*: (10,121 species). 



I. Passeres 5700 XIII. Gallinee 320 



II. Picarias 1600 XIV. Opisthocomi .... 1 



III. Psittaci 40c? XV. Hemipodii .... 24 



IV. Striges 180 XVI. Fulicariae 150 



V. Accipitres 330 XVII. Alectorides .... 60 



VI. Steganopodes .... 60 XVIII. Limicola? 250 



■VII. Herodiones 130 XIX. Gavine 130 



VIII. Odontog'ossas .... 8 XX. Tubinares 100 



IX. Palamedeae 3 XXI. Pygopodes .... 65 



X. Anseres 180 XXII. Impermes 20 



XL Columbse 355 XXIII. Crypturi 40 



XII. Pterocletes 15 



Subclass Ratit.-e (18 Species). 



XXIV. Apteryges 4 



XXV. Casuarii 10 



XXVI. Struthiones 4 



In concluding these somewhat desultory remarks I must beg 

 my fellow workers not to suppose that I claim any originality 

 for the system above given. It haying been a necessity for me to 

 employ some system in certain pieces of work (such as the ' No- 

 menclator' and the various catalogues of animals in the Zoolog- 

 ical Society's Gardens). I have endeavored to frame one that is 

 free from certain objections which are patent in the systems usually 



