CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



19 



Sixth Group — Petrels, or Storm Birds — {Pro cellar ice) — Three 



Families. 

 i. Giant Petrels — Pr o cellar ia-Ossifr a gus. 



2. Ice Petrels — Procellaria. 



3. Duck Petrels — Prion. 



Seventh Group — Storm Swallows — (Oceanides) — Two Families. 



1. Storm Swallows — Thalassidroma. 



2. Storm Sailors — Oceanodroma. 



Eighth Group — Storm Divers, or Puffins — (Puffini) — One Fam- 

 1. Diving Storm Birds — Puffinus. 



SIXTEENTH ORDER. 



Rudder-feet — (Steganopodes) — Four Groups. 



First Group — Fishing-Plungers — (Piscatrices) — Two Families. 



1. Tropic Birds — Ph&ton. 



2. Gannets- — Sula. 



Second Group — Frigate Birds — ( Tachypetes) — One Family. 

 1. Frigate Birds — Tachypetes. 



Third Group — Cormorants — (Haliei) — Two Families. 



1. Anhingas, or Snake-neck Birds— Plotus. 



2. Cormorants — Phalacrocorax. 



Fourth Group — Pelicans — (Pelecani) — One Family. 

 1. Pelicans — Pelecanus. 



SEVENTEENTH ORDER. 



Divers — ( Urinatores) — Six Groups. 



First Group — Greebes — (Podicipites) — Two Families. 



1. Greebes — Podiceps. 



2. Dwarf Greebe — P. minor. 



Second Group — Divers — ( Colymbi) — One Family. 

 1. Sea Divers — Colymbus. 



Third Group — Guillemots — {Urice) — Three Families. 



1. Sea Doves — Cepphus. 



2. Guillemots — Uria. 



3. Crab Divers — Mergulus. 



Fourth Group — Ornament Divers— (Phaleres) — One Family. 

 1. Ostrich Divers — Phaleris. 



Fifth Group — Auks — (Alcce) — Three Families. 



1 . Puffi ns — Mormon . 



2. Auks — A lea. 



3. Stump Auks — Pinguinus, Plautus. 



Sixth Group — Fin Divers — (Aptenodytce) — Three Families. 



1. Fin Divers — Aptenodytes. 



2. Fat Divers — Spheniscus. 



3. Springing Divers — Eudyptes. 



Explanation of Plate D. {Terminology of a Bird.) 



a. Upper mandible, b. Lower mandible, c. Nostril, d. Ridge of upper man- 

 dible, e. Cutting edge of lower mandible, f. Angle of the mouth, g. The 

 eye. h. Front, i. Crown, k. Occiput or hind head. /. Neck. m. Ear,, auricle, 

 or auditory conch, n. Chin. o. Throat /.Breast, q. Fore part of bell y. r. Mid- 

 dle part of belly. 5. Hind part of bell/, t. Winglet, spurious or bastard wing. 

 u. Under tail coverts, v. Fore part of back. zv. Middle part of back. x. Hind part 

 of back. y. Tail feathers, s, z. Middle tail feathers. 1, 1. Side feathers of tail. 

 2. Upper tail coverts. 3. Bend of wing. 4. Smaller wing coverts. 5. Wing cov- 

 erts, first and second row. 6. Primaries. 7. Secondaries. 8. Tertiaries. 9 

 Shoulder feathers. 10 Shank. 11. Tarsus. 12. Great or hind toe. 13. Outer 

 toe. 14 Middle toe. 15. Inne*" toe. 16. Sole of foot. 



FIRST CLASS, 

 CRACKERS— (Enuclalores)— Three Orders. 



Parrots being the most proportionally developed birds, ought to 

 be placed at the head of the scientific classification. The question 

 then is, what kind of birds should stand next? Reichenbach re- 

 gards, as the next akin to Parrots, Sparrows proper (Passer cs) 

 and Ravens (Coracirastres). Not without reason, we call a certain 

 Sparrow a " Pine Parrot," and certain Parrots (Siltiches) " Spar- 

 row Parrots." This is founded on a similarity recognized as ex- 

 isting between these birds. 



We must not, however, forget that, with such a conception, we 

 have to do, in regard to such relations, only with orders, but not 

 with groups or families ; and that it is consequently the form only 

 which we have to elucidate. A Cockatoo, a Finch, and a Crow 

 appear to us as having no direct relation to each other ; while all 

 the Parrots, the multitude of Sparrows, and the Ravens show a de- 

 cided similarity, each to the other. These three groups have 

 many peculiarities in common. They are all short in bod}S with 

 wings of a medium length; they have short, stout legs, a propor- 

 tionally large head, and a short, hook-shaped, or a simple conical 

 beak. Their tail, as with birds in general, is variously formed ; it 

 may be long or very short, gradually pointed or lyre-shaped : but 

 it always consists of proportionally soft and somewhat elastic feath- 

 ers ; sometimes a peculiar formation of single feathers of the tail is 

 found, but oftener a rich development of the tail coverts. The 

 other plumage is compact, although not abundant ; the single 

 plumes are usually large and stiff; the color of the plumage is 

 often vivid and frequently gorgeous. The anatomical structure 

 is essentially similar in all. The skeleton may be said to be 

 coarsely built, and the muscles are powerful. The tongue is of 

 medium length, and capable of being little projected or not at all, 

 but very movable. The throat widens in many of the class and 

 forms a regular crop ; the stomach consists of strong muscles ; and 

 the senses are uniformly well developed. Sight, hearing, and feel- 

 ing are developed in all ; smell is developed in some, and taste to 

 a certain degree in others. 



Bodily, as well as in regard to instinct or intellect, we must rank 

 the Crackers among highly gifted birds. They are wise, sprightly 

 and quick in motion, and are fond of the society of their own kind. 

 Their highly developed instincts or intellects enable them to live a 

 comparatively comfortable life, even under unfavorable circum- 

 stances ; while their bodily equipments afford them decided ad- 

 vantages in the struggle for existence. Parrots are chiefly con- 

 fined to the warmer zones ; the rest of the class are dispersed over 

 the entire globe : their fixed quarters are essentially conditioned by 

 the growth of trees, as by far the greater part of Crackers are 

 tree birds. They rove about in comparatively small districts, and 

 only those that live in colder regions are wanderers. Crackers live 

 principally on vegetable food; their strong bill enables them to 

 crack hard seeds which can not be eaten by others : they eat, be- 

 sides, fruits and buds of trees or shrubs. Insects serve as food 

 for many of them. 



Nearly all Crackers mate for life, and most of them breed more 

 than once a year. Their nests are variously constructed, and the 

 number of eggs is usually from three to six or eight. The female 

 generally does the hatching alone, but in some kinds she is tem- 

 porarily relieved by the male bird. The feeding and raising of 

 the young are equally conducted by both parents. Many Crack- 

 ers are disliked by the farmer on account of their raids upon his 

 property, but they usually profit him more than they do him dam- 

 age. By their picking out the eyes of the seeds of weeds, and by 

 their catching obnoxious insects, they become very useful to the 

 husbandman. Besides, they enliven the woods and fields b} T their 

 presence, their beauty, and their song. They can be trained and 

 kept in confinement with ease. The flesh of most of the Crack- 



