132 ELEMENTS OF OENITHOLOGY. \ 



groups, and this was done by Ouvier, who mainly rested his 

 divisions on the form of the beak. Thus, as the Shrikes have a 

 marked notch or " tooth " on either side of the bill, he placed 

 them in a group called toothed-billed or Bentirostral Birds — 

 associating with them the Plycatchers, Tanagers, Waxwings, 

 Thrushes, Orioles, Warblers, Manakins, Lyre-birds, the Water 

 Ouzel, Wren, Wagtails, Pipits, and Mynas. 



The Swallows, Swifts, and Goatsuckers, on account of their 

 wide gape, were also associated together as wide-mouthed or 

 Fissirostral Birds. 



The vague name of cone-shaped beak was bestowed on the 

 Larks, Tits, Buntings, Sparrows, and other Finches (including 

 the very exceptional (>ossbill), Oolies, Oxpeckers, Starlings, 

 Pastors, Crows, Magpies, Jays, EoUers, Birds of Paradise, and 

 Woodpeckers. These were all spoken of as " Gonirosirdl 

 Birds." 



The remaining Passerine Birds, all of which have long, and 

 most of them slender bills, were taken together in a group 

 designated as " Tenuirostral Birds." Such were the Humming- 

 birds, Sun-birds, Creepers, Bee-eaters, Honey-eaters, Hoopoes, 

 Motmots, Todies, Nuthatches, and Kingfishers. 



Thus there were recognized in popular Ornithology : — (1) 

 Raptorial Birds ; (2) Tenuirostral *, Conirostral, and Benti- 

 rostral Passerine Birds ; (3) Scansorial Birds ; (4) Cursorial 

 Birds ; (5) Gallinaceous JBirds ; (6) GraUatorial Birds ; and (7) 

 Natatorial Birds ; and these constituted the primary groups into 

 which Birds were divided by Cuvier. These divisions have, for 

 the' most part, become obsolete ; but it is none the less desirable 

 that the beginner should not be altogether ignorant of them. 



We have now enumerated the more leading forms of Birds, 

 and the student who has acquired some slight knowledge of each 

 of the groups whereof a named type has been here put before 

 him, will be able to set forth on a serious study of the whole class 

 of Birds. He must not suppose, however, that all the more im- 

 portant forms have been as yet indicated. To set out a complete 

 list is impossible in an introductory chapter, except at the cost 

 of making it so burthensome as to defeat the very object for 

 which it has been written. Nevertheless, we believe the forms 

 herein brought forward and distinguished are sufficient in number 

 for our purpose, so that it will be enough hereafter, when intro- 



* See below, p. 144. 



