278 
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OP BIRDS. 
Bertroides, Sw. Bill lengthened, conic, compressed: 
the basal part of the culmen swollen, elevated, and 
advancing on the front of the head ; the rest slightly 
curved. Nostrils entirely naked, basal, pierced in 
the naked substance of the bill. Commissure sinu- 
ated. Under mandible thinner dian the upper. Wings 
and tail round ; first quill spurious, but half as 
long as the second. Feet strong. Lateral toes equal. 
D. albirostris. West. Af. i. 16S. PI. Col. 446. 
Ploceus. Weavers. Size small. Bill conic, but with the 
the culmen slightly bent, and the tip entire. Underman- 
dible less thick than the upper. Claws large, very 
long. (fig.Ziti.a) Wings pointed; but the first quill 
remarkably short and spurious. The Old World only, 
ridwa, Cuvier. {Jig.2i6.') Bill short. Wings length - 
eneil ; the second, third, and two following quills 
longest, and of equal length. Tail boat-shaped : 
males with the two middle feathers excessively elon- 
gated, generally broad and convex. 
V. rufitorques. W. Af. i. 174.(c) chrysnotus. W. Af. i. f74.(rf) 
erytlirorynclms. Ib. (A) paradisea. Ib. pi. 1 1. 
Euplectes, Swains, {fig. 247.) Bill shorter than the head. 
Nostrils round, partly con- 
cealed by the frontal feathers. 
Wings short; the second quill 
shorter than the third; ter- 
tials as long as the primaries. 
Tail short, even, or very 
shghtly rounded. Feet large, gracile. Toes very 
