MONOGRAPH OF THE FALCONIDA3, 
a fish swimming ” (or a bird flying), “ which sets not at nought all 
our systems ?” ! 
If all men of science who attribute so much importance to a small 
and partial characteristic, would put the question to themselves, 
What renders a bird a bird ? What constitutes the Ornithes to he 
Ornithes? — they would easily have found, that the apparatus of 
the singing muscles is a characteristic of a true bird, and of the 
whole class, for the same characteristic occurs in no other classes. 
If, consequently, they would farther have reasoned, that all Orni- 
thes, possessed of this apparatus, must necessarily represent the 
noblest type of a bird, either as a family, subfamily, or genus, I 
believe they would never have thought of tearing asunder forms 
so intimately connected by their main characters. The Cypseli, 
with their enormous jaws, short secondaries, and long quill-feathers, 
with their four toes mostly turned forward, and sharp claws ; with 
their great voracity, the inartificial structure of their nests ; surely 
these do not represent the singing bird in the family of Hirun - 
dinidce ; but yet to separate them altogether on that account, and 
because they want the apparatus of the singing muscles, cannot 
enter the mind of any one whom scholarship has not deprived of 
all sense of natural order. Still more, to unite the Cypselince as 
an order of the Macrochires, Nitzsch, with the Trochilidce, as my 
honoured friend Sundeval has done, would betraya want of dis- 
cernment, and a false application of analogies. 
The family Trochilidce represents the sub-order Tenuirostres, 
the true bird type, as the Cypselince among the Hirundinidce do in 
their sub-order of Fissirostres . The Hirundince represent the first 
and noblest type among the Hirundinidce. 
If scientific persons, with such principles of analogies and affini- 
ties, say and think that the Cypselince represent the Hirundinidce 
in the order of Clamatores, then I must confess, that I don’t think 
them possessed of the right sense of either analogies or affinities. 
From all these arrangements, it would appear that men, otherwise 
most capable, if preoccupied in favour of some particular charac- 
teristic type, will in accordance with these, and in defiance of nature 
itself, tear asunder the most natural connections, merely to unite 
forms like the Cypselince and Trochilidce , which in all other respects 
are totally dissimilar. Betwixt the Cypselince and Trochilidce 
there can be no question of any affinity, they are merely in their 
