220 
THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
Turning to the higher groups, I find families distinguished by 
characters of hardly more importance, thus: 
TURDID. 
First primary short, strictly spuri- 
ous. 
Bill rather long, usually notched 
at the tip. 
Tarsi always booted. 
Tail shorter than wings. 
Tarsus little, if any, longer than 
middle toe and claw. 
Basal joint of middle toe attached 
its whole length externally, halfway 
internally to adjacent toes. 
Size medium. 
SYLVIIDZ. 
First primary short, sometimes 
strictly spurious. 
Bill slender, notched, and decurved 
at the tip. 
Tarsi usually booted. 
Wings longer or not longer than 
tail. 
Tarsus longer than middle toe and 
claw. 
Inner toe free ; outer toe united 
to middle toe for not half its length. 
Size small. 
Now, with this preamble, my question is this: Are these genera 
and families equivalent to genera and families in other groups? To 
me it would seem that the distinctions between Merula and Turdus 
and between Passer and Carpodacus are not equivalent to those used 
to distinguish even subgenera in other groups of vertebrates or in- 
vertebrates ; while the family characters quoted would be of not 
more than generic rank in, say, reptiles or fishes. However, this is- 
merely the opinion of one not an ornithologist, and I would like the 
views of other naturalists upon the subject. Cannot you induce stu- 
dents interested in the systematic study of vertebrates — ornitholo- 
gists, mammalogists, herpetologists, and ichthyologists — to express 
their views upon the matter? I am sure that a discussion of the 
questions involved would interest many readers of the American 
Naturalist. ZOOLOGIST. 
