GRALLAtORES 5 WADERS OR STILTED BIRDS. 149 



would be first, whilst if we adhere to the commonly adopted descend- 

 ing order, the Insessores must be first as the truest and highest 

 expression of the Bird-type. To the modern practise of making the 

 Insessores or Passeres, as they are often called, follow the Raptores, 

 interrupting the series of the more deviative forms of birds, there are 

 very strong objections, and I cannot see how it can be supposed to be 

 natural. Dr. George Gray's plan of making the Goat-suckers follow 

 the owls may seem plausible because each family being the lowest in 

 its own series, the one among Raptores, the other in the Insessorial 

 suborder Fissirostres, and both being night-flying birds, with the kind 

 of plumage belonging to that character, there is a certain analogy 

 between them, and the same might be as justly said if the Hawks 

 had been placed last amongst Raptores, and the Dentirostral 

 insessores had followed. Such relations of analogy may be found in 

 abundance and are very interesting, but they should not be allowed to 

 turn us from that true series in which groups of the same degree are 

 placed in the order of the faculties and natural characteristics specially 

 developed in each. I have on other occasions endeavored to show 

 what this true series is, and to trace it out in particular cases, at 

 present I only compare with it the methods most deserving of notice, 

 so far as to establish the proper position of the order of birds which 

 I would on this occasion specially examine. Belon's series was, after 

 the Raptores, the "Waders, then the Swimmers, and then the remain- 

 ing birds in a great miscellaneous assemblage. Had he discriminated 

 the Climbers and the Game and Poultry from the Insessores, and 

 introduced them between Raptores and Grallatores he would have 

 excelled any series since proposed. Willughby did not approach the 

 merit of Belon who had preceded him by more than a hundred years, 

 and though his work is still valuable to the student of ornithology, 

 his method requires no notice. Linnseus had six orders, which, if we 

 sent back many members of his Picae, which is an arbitrary unmean- 

 ing collection, to Passeres (Insessores of the best later authorities) and 

 made the remaining Picae represent Scansores, would give what I take 

 to be the true list of orders, but the series is decidedly unnatural, as he 

 makes Anseres (Natatores, Swimming birds), the 3rd order, followed 

 by Grallae (Grallatores), then Gallinae (Rasores, Game and Poultry). 

 Had he made this latter exchange places with the Swimmers his series 

 would have been a good one though we might wish to place Insessore* 

 first instead of last, Latham improved in some respects the Linnaean 



