AMPEMDjE. TDEIB AFFINITIES. 77 
all tlie toes being divided. Lewin, in his Birds of New 
South Wales, when describing one species, remarks, 
that it frequents high forest trees, constantly singing a 
short but pleasing song in passing from tree to tree. 
This genus, in all probability, represents that of 
Diceum among the honeysuckers, and JEuphonia among 
the tanagers. The subgenus Metnpia* seems necessary 
to connect Plioenicercus with Pipm ; and there are one 
or two birds evidently belonging to this division not yet 
described, which, by their stronger bill, evince a tend- 
ency towards uniting with Leiothriw. 
(88.) On a general review of the affinities of this 
intricate group, the systematic ornithologist will ob- 
serve that there is more than one considerable hiatus in 
the series, and that the situation of several of the sub- 
genera is extremely doubtful. Upon this we shall offer 
a few words. It has been imagined by some writers, that 
the fewer species or genera there may be in a family or 
group, the more easily may they be arranged : now, this 
may be very true, if an arbitrary or artificial system is 
the object proposed ; but when that of nature is to be 
studied, the very reverse of this opinion must naturally 
and obviously be true. In respect to the Ampe.lidm, 
there are fewer forms and species than in any other 
family of the Pentirostres ; and, therefore, in distri- 
buting the aberrant genera into three divisions, it 
is more for the sake of perspicuity than from any 
confidence we have that these primary divisions are 
natural. On the two typical groups there can be no 
doubt, nor have we much on that which contains Bom- 
bycilla; but the accuracy of the two others may be rea- 
sonably questioned, or at least they should be looked 
Upon with doubt. There are certain characters in the 
genus Pachycephala, which leads us to suspect that it is 
the scansorial type of the whole family, and that it 
consequently enters into the same division with Leio- 
thrix ; this would also comprehend Vireo, and thus 
these two genera, the one closely resembling Parus, 
* Metopia galeata } Birds of Brazil, i. pi. 23. 
