418 



PASSERINE BIRDS. 



SECOND ORDER. PASSERINE BIRDS, 

 PASSERINE.* 



This Order includes all birds thaf are neither 

 swimmers, waders, climbers, rapacious, nor yet 

 gallinaceous ; that is, it contains all birds that are not 

 assignable to any of the other orders. Its characteris- 

 tics, therefore, are purely negative ; yet, although we 

 cannot unite all the species that belong to it under 

 a common description, they nevertheless resemble 

 each other in the totality or aggregate of their 

 structure. The Passerine tribes have neither the 

 violence of the birds of prey nor the fixed regimen 

 of the gallinaceous or aquatic birds. They live 

 upon insects, fruits, and grain ; but those with strong 

 beaks live more exclusively upon grain, those with 

 slender beaks upon insects. The proportional length 

 of their wings and the extent of their flight are as 

 variable as their habits. They have four toes, gene- 

 rally three in front and one behind ; sometimes all four 

 are in front ; but there are never two before and two 

 behind, as in the order of climbing birds (Seansores). 



The order Passerinae is divided into five families, 

 as in the following Table : 



The external toe 

 shorter than the 

 middle one, and 

 free for the great- 

 er part of its 

 length . , . 



Upper mandible . 



DENTIROSTRES 



FISSIROSTKES. 



The external toe almost as long as the middle 

 one to which it is united as far as to the last 

 joint but one , 



CONIROSTRES, 



TENUIKOSTRES. 



SYNDACTYLjE. 



* Passer, a sparrow* 



