THE HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY 9 



Still another German, J. C. W. Illiger, 1811, now became 

 prominent, and his work stands next to that of LinntEUS, in 

 point of time, as regards scientific accuracy and value. He 

 brought together the results of all his predecessors, and at- 

 tempted, successfully, a new departure as a basis for future 

 advancement. His idea was of a system which should recog- 

 nize more close affinities than had hitherto been apparent of 

 Birds with each other. He did this by introducing the Fam- 

 ily as a sub-division of the Order. His system gave us not 

 always the most perfect but, to the eye perhaps, the most nat- 

 ural, arrangement. Of his 7 orders the 1st, The Scansores or 

 Climbers, contained 5 families ; the 2nd, The Ambulatores or 

 Walkers, 1 1 ; 3d, The Raptores or Birds of Prey, 3 ; 4th, The 

 Rasores or Seratchers, 5 , oth, The Cursores or Runners, 3 ; 

 6th, The Grallatores or Waders, 8 ; and 7th, The Natatores, or 

 Swimmers, 6. Through Illiger the idea that all Birds were 

 more or less closely allied to each other by such character- 

 istics as would separate orders into families, and families into 

 still smaller divisions, until ultimately individual difference, 

 embracing within it order and family itself, began to dawn 

 upon the mind of scientists. Closely following Illiger came 

 the Baron George Cuvier, 1817, with his great work La 

 Regne Animal He was a man whose erudition is still the 

 envy of the world. His work was preeminent in its day. 

 The great majority of writers who preceded, as well as those 

 who have followed, him have fallen far below his worth and 

 penetration. Cuvier and Linnjeus go hand in hand, — the 

 former correcting the ostensible and real errors of the latter. 

 The basis of Cuvier's classification has been followed almost 

 universally by the thousands who, since his day, have revelled 

 in the broad field of Nature's creation. His special tribute to 

 the chain of Ornithological classification which we are seek- 

 ing to examine were investigations upon the muscular anat- 

 omy of Birds. He made prominent the singing muscles of 

 the larynx, by which we separate the Insessores into the Osd- 

 nes or Singers, and the Clamatores or Screamers. He made 



