SKULL OF THE ^GITHOGIfATHOUS BIEDS. 289 



in this specimen, from its being a captive. The maxillo-palatines have been injured ; 

 their pedicle is straight (nw.p) ; that contiguous part of the maxillary is broader than 

 in Panurus, but runs on into the rostrum in a similar manner. The hinge, above, 

 does not even show the notch in the outer edge of the nasal, as in Panurus. The 

 prajmaxillary has a better median process; but the palatine processes are indistinct. 

 Altogether, we lack here the strong cultrate dentary edges to the prsemaxUlary, and 

 the rostrum is very much like that of Muscicapa grisola, although neither so long nor 

 so wide and gaping. 



The whole nasal labyrinth, in front, is soft ; and I miss the large aim {tr, s. n) to the 

 base of the septum ; they are much less developed. Palate for palate, this is most like 

 that of the Australian Sittella (Plate XLVII. fig. 6), a form in which I find the syrinx 

 imperfect, and which zoologists class with the Paridse. If Sittella belongs to the 

 Paridse, Liothrix must be related to them ; it has at any rate a vomer in their style ; 

 whereas Sittella has a,, four-banded vomer, like that of the Mniotiltidae and their allies 

 in Central America, the Musdcapine Petroicm of Australia, and our native Bushchat 

 {Pratincola). The ecto-ethmoid of Liothix difi'ers from that of Panurus in that the 

 outer emargination is shallower and the nerve-chink smaller ; there is here also neither 

 08 uncinatum nor lacrymal. 



My observations lead me to think that the position of Sittella is more doubtful 

 than that of Panurus or Liothrix. It is easy to exclude these latter types from the 

 Paridse ; but it is not so easy to include the former. Cyclorhis and, still more, Suthora 

 have reason to hold with the Paridse. 



Example 62. Skull of Whinchat [Pratincola ruhetra). Family Saxicolidse. 



Group Oscines. 



Habitat. Great Britain. 



Amongst the modifications shown amongst our native soft-bills, this is one, to me, 

 of the most interesting; for in no other is the vomer so manifestly " tetramerous" — an 

 evident sulcus dividing oif the sides, that are helved downwards gently from the ascending 

 moieties of the subcarinate median part (Plate LII. fig. 11, v, s.nix). I have just men- 

 tioned this structure as occurring in the Central-American and Australian tenuirostral 

 Passerines, and have already striven to show its great morphological importance. In 

 all other things this bird approves itself to be typical, its palate and skull showing no 

 important modification of what is seen in numbers of native soft-bills. 



Example 63. Skull of Pied Wagtail {Motacilla yarrelli). Family Motacillidse. 



Group Oscines. 

 Habitat. Great Britain. 



The extremely delicate and elegant skull of this little bird well deserves a lengthened 

 description ; but its facial region is introduced here because of certain exceptionally 



