102 ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
icterocephalus Bonp. (^fig. 155.). There is still another 
characteristic of these birds : to enable them to retain a 
firm hold on the smooth stems of the maize and other 
grain, upon which they feed, their claws are slender and 
acute; while the tail (always bent downward when the 
bird is in such attitudes) is frequently worn at its ex- 
tremity. In the scansorial genus (^Doliehonyx Swains.), 
this habit is actually accompanied by the scansorial 
structure of tail, the feathers of which are rigid and 
pointed. The most interesting genus in this group is 
the Molothrus pecoris or cow-bunting, of Wilson, — 
the only bird, except the cuckoo, which deposits its eggs 
in the nests of other birds. 
(118.) The IcTEHiNAS, or hangnests, form the 
iifth and last division of this family, and they are so 
intimately connected with it, that naturalists have not 
hitherto been aware of their true distinction. This is 
also strictly a South American group ; gregarious, wary, 
and ingenious ; building long purse-shaped nests, sus- 
pended from the slender branches of lofty trees ; and feed- 
ing on fruits and coleopterous insects : yet, unlike aU the 
preceding genera, these birds are never seen upon the 
ground: the legs, indeed, are 
robust, but they are short, and the 
claws broad, strong, and fully 
curved (Jig. 15(5.) : the subordi- 
nate types are well distinguished 
by slight but perfectly character, 
istic differences in the form of 
the biU, wings, and tail; the 
fuU perfection of the group being 
seen in Icterus, not, as it has 
been thought, in Ccmious, which 
is tlie rasorial type. That we 
have now traversed the circle of 
this family, and have again ar- 
rived at the boat-tails, will be apparent to every one 
who is acquainted with tlie genus Scaphidura Swains, 
as now restricted; a bird which has, indeed, been 
