INTRODUCTION. 
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Family HIRTJNDIU’ID^]. Swallows. 
Genus PETROCHELIDON, Caianis. Peculiar to Old World. 
Gen. char. Bill short, strong, broad at the gape, gradually compressed on the sides; the culmen elevated 
at the base, and slightly curved to the tip ; the nostrils basal, rounded, and exposed, without a superior mem- 
brane, the aperture longitudinal or oval. Wings long, with the first quill the longest. Tail square or ouly slightly 
emarginate. Tarsi longer than the middle toe and clothed with plumes. Toes long, not feathered, the lateral 
ones unequal ; the claws moderate and curved. 
Family MELIPHAGIM. Honey-eaters. 
Genus ZOSIEROPS, Vig. & Horsf. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, India, and the 
Malay Archipelago. 
Gen. char. Bill moderate, and slightly curved, with the culmen curved, and the sides compressed to the tip, 
which is acute and emarginated ; the gonys long and slightly ascending ; the gape furnished with very short weak 
bristles; the nostrils basal, and placed in a broad groove, with the opening closed by a lunate scale. Wings 
moderate, with the first quill very small, and the fourth and fifth equal and longest. Tail moderate, broad and 
slightly emarginated in the middle. Tarsi rather longer than the middle toe, and covered in front with broad 
scales. Toes rather long ; with the outer toe rather longer than the inner and united at its base ; the hind toe 
long, strong, and armed with a long curved claw. 
Genus PROSTHEMADERA, Gray. Endemic. 
Gen. char. Bill long, rather slender, broad and elevated at the base, with the culmen and lateral margins 
curved and the sides compressed to the tip, which is slightly emarginated and acute; the gonys long and curved; 
the nostrils basal, laige, in a bioad membranous groove, and the opening covered by a prominent membranous 
scale. Wings moderate, with the fifth and sixth quills equal and longest, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth 
more or less emarginated in the middle of the inner webs. Tail long, broad, aud rounded on the sides. Tarsi as 
long as or longer than the middle toe, and covered in front with transverse scales. Toes moderate, with the inner 
toe shorter than the outei, which is united at its base; the claws long, slender, curved, and very acute. 
Genus ANTIIORNIS, Gray. Endemic. 
Gen. char. — This genus differs from the preceding one in the form of the wings, which are moderate, with the 
