STUDIES OE THE AIACROCHIRES. 
387 
in this nestling tlmn it is in the parent bird (to be of any use, it 
could scarcely be of a relative size), and in the present case 
was crammed full of insects. 
Conclusions. 
Before touching upon the real object of the present memoir 
as stated in its title, in these my final conclusions, I will briefly 
allude to what may be gathered from my investigations as set 
forth in the earlier sections of this paper, touching the morpho- 
logy of representatives of certain outlying groups to the Macro- 
chires. At the outset, believing it would be an advantage to 
pass in review the structure of a suitable and average Oscinine 
bird, I chose Ampelis cedrorum for reasons already fully stated ; 
and, in addition to the advantage of having its structural charac- 
ters before us in the present connection, my brief account of 
its anatomy, it is to be hoped, wall prove useful in other par- 
ticulars, more especially in throwing some light upon its own 
probable relations to the Clamatorial birds and the Hirun- 
dines. 
It is believed that the account tends to show that struc- 
turally Ampelis presents no special affinity with the Swallows, 
while in some respects it links the Mesomyodian birds with 
the Oscines, though nearly all its entire organization points to 
its more intimate relations with the latter group. 
Judging from osteological premisses alone, it is very evident 
that such forms as Trogon puella and T. mexicanus can claim 
no special relationship with the Trochili , while, on the other 
hand, I consider that their affinity with the Caprimulgi is also 
very remote. Further than this their kinship at present con- 
cerns us not, as it does not especially bear upon the work in 
hand ; nor, even were I so disposed, would I hazard an opinion 
in any such direction, until I had fully investigated the struc- 
'ture of other birds specimens of which, up to the present time, 
it has not been my good fortune to possess, nor, in many 
instances, even to see. How much Cuckoo stock they possess 
in their economy is another point which can only be settled, 
if ever, by exhaustive researches into the anatomy of the more 
aberrant Cuculine types ; it is more probable that they, the 
Trogons, came up through some such tribe as the latter, than 
through any other with which I am acquainted. 
Still, and to hold this end of the thread for a moment 
longer, it is difficult to see any near relationship between such 
