48 rNTEODTJCTION. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



" OF all the classes of animals," observes CUVIEB, " that of 

 birds is the most strongly marked, and that in which the species 

 have the greatest resemblance, and which is separated from all 

 the others by a wider interval. This fact, however, renders it 

 more difficult to subdivide them." And out of this difficulty, we 

 may add, has arisen an almost endless variety of systems, "each 

 naturalist endeavouring to establish that mode of arrangement 

 which seemed to him the most convenient and distinctive. It is not 

 our intention to enter into the particulars of these various me- 

 thods of arrangement, through the labyrinths of which the stu- 

 dent of natural history has frequently to pursue a particular 

 species, until he becomes fairly bewildered, but merely to give 

 the outlines of those which have been most generally followed 

 and adopted, on account of their obvious advantages. 



WILLOUGHBY AND BAY'S SYSTEM. 



We have placed these two.together because thev are essen- 

 tially alike ; Kay in his synopsis having followed, with but little 

 variation, the method of the older naturalist, which method is, 

 in fact, the basis of most of the systems founded on external 

 characters. By these celebrated British naturalists, birds are 

 separated into' two grand divisions, termed Land Fowl, and 

 ~V\ ater Fowl ; in the first division we have two sub-divisions, 

 the former having crooked beaks and talons, and including 

 not only the Jiagles, Hawks, Vultures, Owls, &c., but also 

 the Shrikes, Birds of Paradise, and various members of the 

 Parrot tribe : and the latter with the bill and claws not so 

 much curved ; and here are included all the rest of the land 

 birds. In the second division we find also two sub-divisions, viz. 

 such as frequent water or watery places for their food, but having 

 cloven feet, cannot swim ; and such as are web- footed, and there- 

 fore good swimmers. The birds in this system are divided into 

 numerous groups, in accordance with some peculiarity of habit, 

 conformation, or colour of plumage even ; but these we need not 

 particularize. 



THE LINN.EAN SYSTEM 



We place next, because it is that to which reference is most fre- 

 quently made by writers on natural history ; PENNANT and 

 LATHAM both adopted it with slight modifications, and on it is 

 founded that of CUVIEB. According to this system, birds are 

 distributed into six orders : 1st. Accipitres, or Hawks, including 

 all those birds commonly called rapacious, such as Eagles, Vul- 



