PASSEROIDEJ:. 483 



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

 ' low ' indeed, and it may even be questioned if it can be called laminiplantar. I sub- 

 mit Fig. 234, drawn by myself from a fresh specimen of an old raven (Corvus behrlny- 

 H(/nts), 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 scutellae. 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 

 groups might claim the same with equal 

 propriety. But then it is urged that the 

 crows, in regard to the relative size and 



weight Of the brain as Compared with the FIG. 234. - Right tarsus of Cormu; inner (above) and 



body, take a high and exceptional position, 



and that the "likeness between young and old is, so far as is known, common to every 

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

 a small portion," of the other groups in Avhich a similar likeness occurs. I will assert, 

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

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

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

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

 the corvine plumage is not so exceptionless as Professor Newton thinks, for the young 

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

 nut-crackers (Nucifraga) are much more speckled than the adults. 



In my search for the most specialized Passeres, I have fallen back on SundevalPs 

 original idea of placing the Conirostres, or finch-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 up to the standard above alluded to. This 

 will be easier demonstrated by taking one example, for which we select one of the spe- 

 cies to be placed at the end, namely, our evening grosbeak (Hesperiphona vesperti/f). 

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

 developed, and the palatine and facial part of the skull is highly specialized, and so is 

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

 of the 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 Newton, 

 the proportion which the brain bears to the body in the European goldfinch ( Cqrduelis 

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

 /i t</h' condition of the palatal structure is clearly demonstrated by the fact that in 

 the typical Fringillidae the moieties 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 Passeroidea? are usually subdivided. The arrangements 



