336 
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
upper one not inclined. Commissure perfectly 
straight. Feet syndactyle, all the tarsal scales obsolete. 
Alcedo. (^fig.ZQO.e) Tail very short. Feet ivith three 
toes before, and one behind. Claws simple. Culmen of 
the bill sharp, carinated, and simple. Inner and hinder 
toes of equal length. Inhabits only the Old World. 
A. tspicla. Selby, pi. 40. f. 1. Asiatica. Z. lU. i. pi. 50. 
semitorquata. Z. 1 1 . i. 1 5 1 . 
Ispida, Sw. Habit of Alcedo. Culmen obtuse, some- 
what flattened, and margined on each side by an in- 
dented groove. Tail lengthened, rounded. Inner toe 
much longer than the hinder. Claws either deeply 
notched, or cleft so as to present two acute unequal 
points. Chiefly the New World. 
I. alcyon. Edw. pi. 115. gigantea. West. Af. ii. 
bitorquata. West. Af. u. lorquata. PI. Enl. 1184. 
Tanysiptera, Vigors. BUI depressed. Tail cuneated : the 
two middle tail feathers much elongated, with their 
tips spatulate. India. 
T. Dea. Vig. PI. Enl. 116. 
Alcyone*, Sw. Bill as in Alcedo ; but the feet with 
only three toes. Australia. 
A. Australis. Zool. III. i. pi. 26. 
Lampbotila, Sw. Plumage metallic green and gold. 
Bill very broad, dilated : the commissure and culmen 
curved; the upper margins folding over the lower. 
Nostrils membranaceous ; the aperture round, pro- 
tected by feathers. Wings as in Galbula, but longer ; 
the third and fifth qtiiUs equal. 
L. platyryncha. Vicil. His. Nat. Jacamars. pi. 6. 
»rALBUi.A, Linn.t Plumage metallic. Bill very long, 
perfectly straight, greatly compressed : the culmen 
sharp ; the tip not bent. Wings short. 'I’ail length- 
ened, graduated. T oes in pairs, or with the hallux 
wanting. Nostrils with a few strong bristles. 
• As this is the only group in ornithology wherein mythological names 
hare been tolerated, 1 have vcutured to continue the metaphorical connec- 
tion in this instance. 
+ I eon.sider the three.toed species are the most typical, and that the 
others arc aberrant, leading to Lampi'otiia, 
