THE CLASSIEICATION Or BIEDS. 263 



follows the forty-third family — the Chatterers, Cotim/idce — the 

 type of which is the Blue Chatterer, and which also contains 

 the other interesting birds before mentioned by us ' — namely, 

 the Cock-of-the-Eock, the TJmbrella-bird, and the Bell-bird. 

 The next family group consists of the Plant-cutters, Phytoto- 

 midce, a small group of South-American birds. To these 

 succeed the Wattled Ant-thrushes, Philepittidce, the Pittidce, 

 or Old-world Ant-thrushes, and the very small family of New- 

 Zealand Wrens, XenicidcB, with only five known species. 



The next and forty-eighth family, that of the Dendroeolaplidce', 

 is the first family of the division TracheaphonoB. It is the 

 family of the Wood-hewers and Oven-birds ^ To this succeeds 

 the family of American Ant-thrushes*, or Formicariida, and 

 after that the small families, G-nat-eaters, Gonopophaffidce, and 

 the Tapaculos or PteroptocMdce (that might be called " tilt- 

 tails "), with which the second division of Passerine Birds 

 terminates. 



The third division of the section Mesomyodi is formed by the 

 Scrub-birds — the fifty-second family, Atrichiidce. The trachea 

 and vocal organs are as in ^ the Oligomyodce, but the sternum is 

 quite exceptional. The fourth and last division, the Menurce, 

 consists only of the Lyre-birds — the family Menuridce. It 

 resembles the Oligomyodce, as does the third division, but is 

 entirely peculiar, in the downy clothing of its young. 



The divisions may be expressed in a tabular form, thus : — 



Order PASSEEIFOBMES. 



Suborders Passeres. Ewrularmi, Trochili. 



Sections Acromyodi, Mesomvodi. 



(39 families) T 



Divisions OligomyodaB Tracheophonie Atrichise MenursB 

 (8 families). (4 families). (1 family). (1 family). 



1 See ante, pp. 91-95. ^ P. 118. 



» P. 120. ' P. 110. 



