GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS 



They are, we may say, quite a different family altogether, 

 and we give them a different family name, the Lories 

 (Lorudce). This, of course, means the family of Lorius, 

 the native name Lori turned into Latin as the Romans 

 would have done it, if they had ever seen a Lory. 



But still the Lories are obviously Parrots of a sort, 

 and so we group their family, and the other family of 

 Psittacidce, together, and call the whole collection the 

 order of Parrots (Psittaci). 



Thus, a collection of similar individuals make a 

 species ; collections of species, having a great deal in com- 

 mon but differing in details, make a genus ; collections 

 of genera bearing a certain resemblance, make a family ; 

 and collections of families also agreeing in certain im- 

 portant points, make an order. 



The various orders in conjunction with each other make 

 up the class of birds, which may be at once defined as 

 feathered animals, no other creature living or extinct 

 possessing feathers. A bony skeleton is shared by birds 

 with beasts, reptiles, and fishes, and in their general ana- 

 tomy they approach reptiles more closely than any other 

 class of backboned animals ; it will be remembered also 

 that reptiles, on their part, lay eggs like birds. 



I shall conclude this chapter with a list of works of 

 reference for those who may wish to go further into 

 the subject than I am here taking them. 



For the general subject of classification, anatomy, 

 c., the best books are Professor A. Newton's Dic- 

 tionary of Birds, and Mr. F. E. Beddard's Structure 

 and Classification of Birds 



