186 MR. W. K. PARKER ON STEATORNIS CARIPENSIS. [Apr. 2, 



the adult. In all cases that I have examined there is, in all young 

 birds, a large remnant of the old larval palato-quadrate cartilage, 

 the cartilaginous post-palatine ; this is a correlate of the ^githo- 

 gnathous fore palate, and is seen in Swifts. 



Only in a few, just the small family of the Pteroptochidae, has the 

 sternum four notches on one side ; I long ago saw an additional 

 notch in the Blue-tit (Parus cceruleus) (' Shoulder-girdle and Ster- 

 num,' pi. xvi. fig. 1). 



The " interclavicle " is marTellously uniform in the Passerines ; it 

 nearly dies out in some few Australian forms. 



The range of size is considerable, from the Raven to the Nectar- 

 bird, but far less than in the Coccygomorphse, if the Humming-birds 

 are taken into that group. 



These are a few of the things that show themselves, either 

 throughout, or nearly throughout, the Coracomorphse. These 

 birds do breakdown as to then sijrinx; both in the Eastern and 

 in the Western Notogcea there are forms that fail to be true Oscines. 

 But these Tracheophonous and Haploophonous types form a very 

 small percentage of the whole. 



Such a syrinx as is seen in the vast majority of this huge assem- 

 blage of birds is seen nowhere else ; n.j other bird has an equally 

 complex and perfect second larynx ; the Parrots come nearest to 

 them in this respect ; and outside the Passerines the Parrots are 

 the highest and most specialized of all existing birds. 



Now if we survey the Coccygomorphse after the "Cypselomorphse," 

 *' Celeomorphee," and " Psittacomorphse " have been taken in, we 

 shall, indeed, find a contrast in these two great suborders. 



In the first place this " mixed multitude " only contains about a 

 fourth of the number of the uniform Passerines ; but they are ten 

 times as polymorphic. 



Taking the characters just mentioned in the Coracomorphse in 

 order, we find that the caca call are extremely variable ; in the 

 .^githognathous Swifts they are suppressed, also in the Rhamphas- 

 tidse and Picidae ; sometimes they are large, as in the Cuckoo and 

 Goatsucker. 



The manus shows the interosseous bridge perfect, and completely 

 ankylosed with the 2nd and 3rd digit in Picus, Rhamphastos, and 

 Alcedo ; in the Swift it is gone, in the Trochilidae it is half as large 

 as in the Passerines, and free on its outer edge. 



The pes does not show, in any case that I know of, the five 

 tendon-canals ; there is a single canal, as a rule, and this may be 

 open behind, — only covered with membrane. 



The palate in this group, instead of being uniform, shows six 

 different modifications, namely : — 



1. ^githognathous — Cypselidse. 



2. Saurognathous — Picidse. 



3. Schizognathous — Trochilidse, Trogonidse, Caprimulgidse 



(part). 



4. Indirectly Desmognathous — Coliidae. 



