Family — FALCUNCULIDiE. 
Genus— FALCUNCULUS. 
Falcunculus Vieillot, Analyse nouv. Omith., 
p. 40, April 14th, 1816. Type (by monotypy) .. Lanius frontatus Latham. 
As the relatives of this group are entirely unknown at present, but may be 
the Pachycephalids, I have constituted a family for them. 
The head is crested, the bill short, stout, very strongly laterally compressed 
and tip hooked, medium wings, long square tail with very short legs and stout 
feet. 
The bill is very strongly laterally compressed, very deep at the base, 
culmen strongly arched, tip sharply hooked with a strong posterior notch 
and a slight succeeding sinuation, then edge straight, the culmen ridge keeled, 
depth of upper mandible alone equal to breadth of bill at base ; the under 
mandible very stout, nearly as deep as upper ; small trianguler interram al 
feathered space only about one-third the mandible, the gonys keeled and 
strongly ascending to the notched and hooked tip ; the bill is shorter than 
the head ; the nostrils show as ovals in a depression, scarcely a groove, and 
there is no operculum ; a projecting bunch of feathers hide the nostrils and 
two or three nasal bristles are present; rictal bristles obsolete and few. The 
immature bill shows the nostrils placed in a groove with a horny operculum. 
The wing is rounded, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth forming the tip, 
the third longer than the sixth, but shorter than the fifth, which is subequal 
with the fourth and longest; the second is less than the eighth primary but 
longer than the secondaries ; the first primary short, less than half the length 
of the second. The tail is long and straight. 
The legs are short and stout; strongly scutellate in front with four scutes, 
bilaminate posteriorly, but this is a false bilamination as seen in many other 
similar Australian forms, the outer side plate being composed of scutes which 
fuse, and these are obsoletely seen in many specimens in this genus, six scutes 
being counted. The toes are long and stout, the hind-toe longest, equal to 
the middle toe but stouter with a longer claw, the inner and outer toes are 
subequal with claws each exceeding middle toe alone ; claws sharp and slender. 
Key to the species. 
Lower abdomen and vent white 
Lower abdomen and vent yellow .. 
.. F. leucogaster. 
.. F. frontatus. 
VOL. XI. 
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