﻿83% ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



pected of having a suctorial tongue, however strongly it 

 may be allied, in all other parts of its organisation, with 

 groups far differently situated. When, therefore, it is 

 said that the five tribes above mentioned have been 

 universally admitted, it is necessary to premise that no 

 two writers have yet agreed on their definite nature. 

 Hence it becomes advisable, before proceeding further, 

 to state our views of their prominent or typical dis- 

 tinctions. 



(274.) The primary circles of the order before us 

 appear to be three. The first composed of those fami- 

 lies where the bill is very conspicuously notched, and 

 the food almost exclusively derived from insects ; these 

 are the Dentirostres. The second includes such as 

 have the notch much slighter, and who feed almost indis- 

 criminately both upon animal and vegetable substances ; 

 these are the Conirostres, the bill being more conic 

 than the latter: but in both tribes the feet are the 

 same ; that is, the tarsus is not uniformly short, and 

 there are three toes before and one behind. The third 

 circle is composed of the Curtipedes ; differing materi- 

 ally from the two former in having the tarsus much 

 shorter, the notch of the bill either obsolete or altogether 

 wanting, and the position of the toes variable. Under 

 this last group, which is the aberrant division, we 

 include the three tribes of Scansores, Tenuirostres, 

 and Fissirostres. Preliminary remarks will be given 

 upon each of the foregoing tribes as they come succes- 

 sively under our elucidation ; but, that the student may 

 have a general idea of their nature, we shall here de- 

 signate their chief peculiarities, and the different fami- 

 lies of birds they respectively contain. 



(275.) The Dentirostres, as the name implies, is 

 distinguished by a distinctly notched bill, and by being 

 the greatest destroyers of insects among the perchers : 

 with very few exceptions, they either live entirely upon 

 insects, or only resort to fruit when deprived of their 

 favourite nourishment. In accordance with these habits, 

 the mouth, or rictus, is defended on each side by bristles, 



