State of the Systema Avium. 345 
In this scheme it will be observed that the Oligomyode, 
as, in accordance with Prof. Huxley’s suggestion (P.Z.8. 
1867, p. 471), the great American group of Passeres with 
only three pairs of singing-muscles was denominated in our 
‘Nomenclator,’ are divided into two sections, and the Tra- 
cheophone are interposed between them. In consequence 
of the development of a femoral in the place of a sciatic 
artery, the Pipridee and Cotingide (with the exception of 
fupicola) are placed by themselves in a second primary divi- 
sion (Heteromeri) of non-Oscinine Passeres. But it seems 
to me that this arterial character, although no doubt of im 
portance, is not as yet sufficiently understood and investi« 
gated to allow it to rank before the well-ascertained structure 
of the lower larynx. Again, it is quite obvious that the 
Acromyodi abuormales (i.e. Menura and Atrichia), although 
they approach the true Oscines in their syringeal structure, 
are divergent from the rest of the Passeres by much more im- 
portant osteological characters. For the present, therefore, I 
am disposed to uphold the system of the division of the Pas- 
seres employed in the ‘ Nomenclator’ as still the most con- 
venient to be adopted, and to place the Acromyodi abnor- 
males of Garrod (which, being extra-American, were not in- 
cluded in the ‘ Nomenclator’) at the end of the Passerine 
series under the name Pseudoscines. The arrangement would 
then come out as follows :— 
i, Oscines, 
ii, Oligomyodee. 
il, Tracheophonee. 
a, Atrichiidee. 
iv. Pseudoscines y 
6. Menuridee. 
We thus get the advantage of having what are certainly 
the most anomalous forms of Passerine birds yet known at 
the end of the series. 
We must now approach the still more vexed question of 
the division of the Oscines into families. The difficulty here 
obviously arises from the fact that the Oscines are all very 
closely related to one another, and, in reality, form little 
more than one group, equivalent to other so-called families 
