234 FISSIROSTRAI, SUBORDER OF 



aerial habits, and seems here to belong to the Swallows (Hirundi- 

 nidae), who have most in common with the general body of Insesso- 

 rial birds. The Eollers (Coraeiadse) display Conirostral affinities,, 

 and as far as the essential nature of this group will admit, manifest 

 the Easorial tendency. The somewhat larger tarsi and the narrow 

 elongated beak, prove the Bleropidce (Bee-eater) to look towards th& 

 Tenuirostres, and express the Grallatorial tendency. The Capri- 

 mulgidge alone remain, which by their nocturnal habits may be known 

 as the lowest group, and are altogether an exaggeration of whatever 

 is most peculiar to the Fissirostres. 



In the course of my examination of Fissirostral birds, I have had 

 occasion to show the reasons which compel me to give up Cuvier's 

 section of Syndactjli, which, indeed, has been abandoned by raosfc- 

 recent ornithologists, and from the habits of life arising from the 

 structure being nearly similar to those ascribed to the Fissirostres, 

 could hardly lead to a truly natural grouping. We have now, then, 

 five orders ot birds, expressing their remarkable deviations in form 

 and mode of life from the general type, and one much larger order 

 of specially typical birds, in which latter we observe four sub-ordera 

 or great sections analogous with four of the other orders, but one of 

 them, the Scansores, is without a representative. It surely needs no 

 general theory on the subject to make us feel that something is want- 

 ing, and incite us to seek a fifth sub-order of Insessores, bearing a 

 similar relation to Scansores to that which the four received sub-ordera 

 do to the other four orders. We should anticipate their possessing 

 some common remarkable character in the beak or feet, or both, with 

 a habit of life imitating in a lower degree that of Scansores ; and we 

 might expect to find a series of families bound together by the com- 

 mon characters so as to form a sub-order, though now lying neglected 

 among the other orders of birds. I believe I am in a position to 

 determine this unnoticed sub-order, and point out the families which 

 should be referred to it ; and I flatter myself with the hope of thus 

 contributing something towards the improvement of ornithological 

 classification. I name this sub-order Serratirostres, They have 

 almost uniformly the margin of the beak serrated or dentated, a 

 character belonging to the Scansorial family Eamphastidae (Toucans); 

 several of the families, all, indeed, excepting the analogues of the 

 ground birds, whose feet are very peculiar, may be said to have semi- 

 scansorial feet. They all chiefly live -on trees. I will name the 

 families thus brought together, and add a very few remarks in justi- 



