CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
5 
CHAPTER I. 
Rank of Birds in the Animal Kingdom. — Tables of Classification. 
— Directions for their Application. 
B IRDS form the second class in the great natural division 
of the Animal Kingdom. They resemble the first class, 
Mammalia (those that suckle their young), in some respects; 
such as the general form of the skeleton, the mode of 
breathing through lungs, &c. They differ from them by 
being what is termed Oviparous, or producing their young 
enclosed in eggs, in their outward form, in their feathery 
covering, and in the structure of their mouths, which are 
furnished with a horny bill, instead of lips and teeth; but 
most particularly are they distinguished from other animals, 
by being provided with wings. v 
It is not our intention, as we have said, to treat the 
subject in what is called a scientific manner, by entering 
into details and particulars, more calculated for those who 
have made it' a matter of long study, . than for the greater 
number, probably, of our readers, who may have paid little 
attention to it; but as it is our wish to be as extensively 
useful as possible, we have drawn up the following Tables, 
giving at a glance not only a general outline of the rules by 
which Birds are classed, but at the same time enabling an 
inexperienced person, with very little trouble, in most cases, 
to make out for himself the genus, or family, of any specimen 
which may be placed before him, and which he may wi^h to 
describe. 
We are far from recommending these Tables as perfect, 
or even the best that could be drawn up, and an experienced 
student will, no doubt, find some of the subdivisions to be 
defective; but, when the difficulty of any mode of classifica- 
tion, so accurate and unexceptionable in all its details as 
to meet every case, is considered, an approximation to the 
truth is all that can be hoped for; and we trust that, for 
