BIRDS — OSCINES. 205 



D. Primaries, ten, the first nearly half as long as the second. The bill gently curved and 

 moderately notched, or without notch, at the tip. 



a. Nostrils uncovered by bristly feathers. 



LiOTRicniDAE. — Bill slender, nearly as long as the head, or much longer, gently or 

 much curved. First quill more than half the second. Basal joint of middle 

 toe usually free nearly to the base internally, and halfway externally. 



b. Nostrils usually covered with bristly feathers. 



Paridae. — Base of bill covered with rather broad bristly feathers directed forwards, 

 with the shaft projecting anteriorly in a simple bristle, or the lateral branches 

 elongated. Side of tarsi without any groove. Basal joint of middle toe united 

 to lateral nearly its whole length. Bill mostly without terminal notch. First 

 primary less than half the second. 

 CoEViDAB. — Base of bill covered usually with narrow bristly feathers directed for- 

 wards, with short branches to the very tip. Middle of sides of tarsi with a 

 groove, usually more or less occupied by a row of small scales. Basal joint 

 of middle toe united halfway only to the lateral. First primary more than 

 half the second. Bill mostly notched. 

 The preceding arrangement is not entirely natural, a less exceptionable order, perhaps, being 

 that adopted in the succeeding pages, namely, Turdidae, Sylvicolidas, Hirundinidae, Bomby- 

 cillidae, Laniidae, Liotrichidae, Gerthiadae, Paridae, Alaudidae, Fringillidae, Icteridae, and 

 Corvidae. It must be always borne in mind that one set of characters alone is rarely sufficient 

 to establish zoological rank, but rather the varying combination of several sets. The grouping 

 of the families of Oscines, as of other orders, will vary greatly with any change in the points of 

 reference adopted. Thus, as to the character of the tarsus, it is very long in Tardus and 8axi- 

 cola, and in most Liotrichidae; short in Bombycillidae, and excessively short in the swallows. 

 The lateral toes are generally nearly equal, but they are very unequal in the Certhiadae. The 

 basal joint of the middle toe is sometimes nearly free internally, and united externally by the 

 basal third, as in Turdus, Geothlypis, and the Bombycillidae, In Begulus, Sialia, and Ginclua, 

 the union externally is about one-half, while in Myiodioctes and Icteria it is nearly complete. 

 In Toxostoma, Mimus, and Troglodytes, the union of this basal joint externally is about one-half, 

 internally about one-third. In Gampylorhynchus, Gatherpes, and Thryothorus, the union is 

 nearly two-thirds on both sides. In Salpinctes and Lanius it is nearly complete externally. 

 In the Certhiadae, Paridae, and, to some extent, in Vireo, the union of this basal joint is almost 

 complete on both sides. 



As already stated, the tarsus is entirely without scutellae in the thrushes or in Turdus, 

 Begulus, Sialia, Ginclus, &c. , as also in Myiadestes. In all the others it is scutellate or divided 

 into broad plates anteriorly ; but in Icteria, Geothlypis, Myiodioctes, and Ghamaea, there are no 

 plates visible on the outer side at all, the division only commencing on the extreme anterior face, 

 or towards its inner edge. The same is the case in Helmitherus swainsoni, and Seiurus nove- 

 boracensis, but in ;S'. aurooapUlus the plates are more evident. In all the others the scutellae 

 are well defined externally, near the median line of the outer side. The rest of the surface is 

 generally undivided, each side being completed by a single plate, the two uniting behind in a 

 sharp edge. Sometimes there is a tendency to division on the sides of the tarsi below, and in 

 in Corvidae there is a row of small scales on the middle of one or both sides. In Lanius 

 boreaUs and AmpeUe garndus there is a tendency to scales behind and on the sides, inferiorly, 



