Zoological Club. 281 



group of Lon'ci possess a similiar peculiarity ill their tongues; a 

 fac(, for the knowledge of which he was indebted to Sir Stamford 

 Raffles, who had frequent opportunities of observing the structure 

 of the tongue of these birds during his residence in the East. It 

 is to be observed that these two groups of Parrots, thus united by 

 this simihirity of conformation, come nest to each other in the 

 general distribution of the family, by other strong and distinguish- 

 ing characters. 



April 'iS. — The Secretary exhibited a specimen of the Accentor 

 Alpinns^ Bechst., which was communicated to him by the Rev 

 Dr. Thackeray, F.L.S. for the information of the Club. This 

 specimen, the first of the species which has been noticed in the 

 British Islands, was killed in the garden of King's College, Cam- 

 bridge, in the Autumn of 1822. 



Mr. Vigors exhibited a Diagram representing the Tribes and 

 Families into which the order of Jnsessores in Ornithology ap- 

 pears to be distributed ; and he pointed out the typical and dis- 

 tinguishing characters of each of these divisional groups, and at 

 the same time the affinities by which they are connected together. 

 He illustrated these views by a reference to the birds themselves 

 which represented the types of the different groups ; and he ex- 

 plained the causes which rendered it necessary to unite the two 

 Linnean Orders of Piece and Passeres into the present order of 

 Jnsessores or Perching Birds, in order to preserve inviolate the 

 series of affinity in which the various groups that compose these 

 orders naturally follow each other. The discussion arising from 

 this subject was postponed to a subsequent meeting. 



iV7«j/ 10. — Mr. Vigors read a continuation of the " Catalogue 

 of the New Holland Birds in the Collection of the Linnean So- 

 ciety," by Dr. Horsfield and himself. In this portion of the 

 Catalogue the Psittacidce of New Holland were described; and 

 the characters given of the new generic groups Nan.ides, Plutij- 

 cercus, Pulccornis, Trichoglossus, and Calyptorynchus. The cha- 

 racters of these groups were explained by a reference to the birds 

 themselves in the Society's Collection, which were exhibited to 

 the meeting. 



June 14.- — Mr. Vigois resumed the 3ui)jrcf5 which he had com- 



