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INTRODUCTION.

rl nIS yt ver-builder or a true Bir
| t state of our knowledge, no one can say whether Preridophora is a Bower-builde j d
the present state Kk ge,
NXanthomelus, placed by recent observers on | ae
1 in this way, in default of anatomical or osteological characters, the

seide and Ptilonorhynchide may be broken down.

the border-land of the Paradiseide, may turn
of Paradise.
out to be actually a Bower-builder ; anc
last link for separation between the Parad
the distinctive characters between the J
of the Birds of Paradise as their highest characteristic,

aradiseide and the Corvide.
It is also not an easy matter fo define
Taking, for example, the gaudy decorative plumage at | a
: . . Bench whore ; feature becomes of value in
which it undoubtedly is on a first acquaintance, one may ask where this feature become alue

the dull-coloured genus Lycocorax, whose plumage is more sombre than that of many Jays and Magpies
: @ i

belonging to the Family Corvide. t may be as well, therefore, at once to oT our ignorance on the
subject of the division of these groups of Birds and to content ourselves with such characters as are te
hel leaving to the future the discovery of more exact definitions of the Families, when ample material
may be available. o

Sundevall (¢Tentamen,’ p. 42) separates the Corvide from the Paradiseide. The former belong to his
«Phalanx 3, A/tinares,” with 10 primaries, the first decidedly long, reaching for a long distance beyond the
coverts ; the nostrils placed high; the bill straight from the base ; the toes as in most Oscines, the outer
toe a little longer than the inner one and not much exceeding the first joint of the middle toe; the hind

toe moderate.

For his Phalanx 4, Idiodactyle, Sundevall gives the following characters :—Quills 10, the first elongated.
The outer toe a little shorter than the middle one, but the inner toe much longer ; the ballux of great size,
equal, with its claw, to the middle toe with its claw; the third joint of the outer toe equal to the second
joint of the middle toe. Here he places the Birds of Paradise.

The Bower-Birds he places far away from the Corvide and Paradiseide in his Cichlomorphe (p. 19),
Thus the characters of these three Families are defined by Sundevall as follows :—

Cohors I. Crcutomorpue. Bill hooked or awl-shaped, with the nostrils placed low down in the bill,
nearer to the cutting-edge of the mandible than to the culmen.

The Bower-Birds constitute his Fam. 29, Ptilonorhynchine. “ Birds of the Australian Region, of somewhat
large size, with a nearly Corvine aspect ; the first quill long, a little shorter than the secondaries. Bill of
varying dimensions, generally stout, always somewhat arched. The tail moderate and nearly equal as
regards length of feathers, emarginate or well rounded.”

According to Sundevall the Crows belong to his Cohors IN. Cotromorpn®, with the bill rather strong
and of large size for the most part, either not deflected at all or only slightly so; the angle of the chin
produced in front of the nostrils.... Feet generally powerful and of large size, with the middle claw
oblique.

In the third volume of the * Catalogue of Birds,’ I separated the Paradiseide from the Corvide on the
proportion of the toes (p. 4), as follows :—

Toes normal; the hallux very strong, but, with its claw, not so lone as the middle toe

and claw : : : ‘
Toes abnormal ; outer toea little shorter tha : id ee
r than the middle one,

ee etn longer than the inner one ;
iallux very large, with its claw equal to or longe

r than the middle toe with its claw PAR EIDE
The Bower-Birds were placed by me far away fr | 1 | a oe ae
es a Tar away trom the above-mentioned Families in the sixth volume of
the * Catalogue.’ This was undoubtedly a mistake,
Taking, therefore, tl I Orel
g, » the typical Corvide, such as cs)

: ' 4 ‘ vide, such as Rooks, Crows, and Ravens, we can separate them
rom the Birds of Paradise and the Bower-Birds | | 1
pe Gs by the characters given below; but the aberrant
orvide, the Jays and Magpies and their kin especially tl Y |

2 » especially the Nutcrackers and Choughs, have many