I N T R o U U C T I O N. I N T R 0 1) U C T I 0 N.
, | ,e present state of our kiiowle.lso, no o„e can say «1,ether Ptorkhphora is a Bower-builder or a true Bird
of I'aradi.se. Xmdhomelm, pltR-ed l.y reecnt observers on the border-land of the ParadkeUlm, may turn
ont to be aetually a liower-hudder ; and in this way, in default of anatou.ieal or osteological characters, the
last link for separation between the Parmlknidce and PtUonmhyHohkim may be broken down.
It is also not an easy matter to define the distinctive characters between the Paradkeuke. and the Cordda:.
'J akin- , for example, the gaudy decorative iilnmage of the Birds of Paradise as tlieir highest characteristic,
w h i c i r ' i t undoubtedly is m. a first aequaintanee, one may ask where this feature becomes of value in
t h e didl-eoloured genus Lycocrax, whose jilnmage is more sombre than that of many Jays and Magpies
beloui-ing to tlie Family Comdcc. It may be as well, therefore, at once to confess our ignorance ou the
sul.ject of the division of these groups of Birds and to content ourselves with sucb cliaracters as are to
hand, leaving to tlie future the discovery of more exact definitions of the Families, when amjile material
may be nvuilalilc.
Siiii(U'vall (' Tcntiuiieii, • p. 42) sejiarates the Cormdie from the Paradlseida;. The former belong to his
" Phalanx 3, Althmns," with 10 primaries, the first decidedly long, reaching for a long distauce beyond the
coverts ; tbe nostrils placed higli; the bill straight from the base ; the toes as in most Oscines, the outer
toe a little longer tha.i tbe inner oue and not much exceeding the first joint of tbe middle toe; tbe hind
toe moderate.
• For his Phalanx 4, IdhdacUjla:, Suudevall gives tbe followi.ig characters : -Qn i l l s 10, the first elongated.
T h e outer foe a little shorter than tbe middle one, but tbe inner toe much longer ; the hallux 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.
T h e Bower-Birds be places far away from the Comdai and Paradkeidce in his CiMomorpha: (p. 19).
Tims the characters of these three Families are defiLicd by Snndevall as follows : —
Cobors I. CiciiLOMOiiiMi,E. Bill hooked or awl-sbaped, with the nostrils placed low down in the bill,
nearer to the cutting-edge of the mandible than to the cnluien.
The Bower-Birds constitute his F am. 29, PtilonorhyHc/ihue. " Birds of the Australian Region, of somewhat
htrge size, with a nearly Corvine aspect; the first quill long, a little shorter than the secondaries. Bill of
valuing dimensions, generally stout, always somewhat arched. The tail moderate mid nearly equal as
r e g a r d s length of feathers, eniarginate or well rounded."
According to Sundevall the Crows belong to his Cobors III. CoLiOMOiipiiiE, with the bill rather strong
and of large size for tbe most part, cither not deflected at all or only slightly so ; the angle of the chin
produced in front of tbe nostrils Fe e t generally powerful and of large size, with tbe middle claw
oblique.
In the third volume of the ' Calalogue of Birds,' I separated the Paradkeidce from ibe Corm/a: on the
p r o p o r t i o n of the toes (p. 4) , as follows:—
Toes normal; the hallux very strong, but, with its claw, not so long as the middle toe
antl claw . . . . . . . . . . • • •
Toes abnormal ; outer toe a little shorter than the middle one, longer than the imier one ;
hallux very large, with its claw equal to or longer than the middle toe with its claw.
CÓRVIDA.
P A I I A D I S E I D « .
T h e Bower-Birds were placed by me far away from the above-mentioned Families in the sixth volume of
t h e ' Catalogue.' This was undoubtedly a mistake.
Taking, therefore, the typical OjjTiVte, such as Rooks, Crows, and Ravens, we can separate them
f r om tbe Birds of Paradise and the Bower-Birds by the cliaracters given below; but tbe aberrant
ConidiC, tbe Jays and Magpies and their kin, especially tbe Nutcrackers and Choughs, have many
c h a r a c t e r s ivhieb are intermediate, and a tborongh revision of the groups is iiccc.ssary before one can
define their exact limits. Speaking broadly, we may separate the three fimillies as follows:—
a. Cbin-angle advanced in front of the nasal aperture.
a ' . Hallux moderate, measured from its extreme base to the tip oi the
claw about equal to tbe middle toe and claw; the outer and
i n n e r tees sub-equal in length; palatines obtusely (piadrale near
their postero-external e.xtrcmity. [In typical Crows the first primary
is long and extends beyond the tips of the inner secondaries.] . . (JOUVID.K.
Fig. 2
Fig. 1.—Vential surface of skxill of Rook [Try^ariocorax frvtjUegvs).
Fig, 2.—Pliintav surface of foot of Hook, from fresli speciracii, to sliow the proporlions of the tops.
[From tlie Catalogue of the lioyal College of Surgeons, Part lit. Aves, pp. 4, 5, 1891.]
/ / . Hallux very large, measured as above exceeding tbe length of tbe
middle toe and claw; the outer toe longer than the inner one;
lialatiiies with the postero-external angle prolonged ; narcs impervious ;
nasal se])tuni much swollen and filling up the space hetweeii tbe
palatines ; first primary shorter than the inner secondaries . . PARADISEID.E.
Fio;. .'!. Fig. 4.
Fig. 3.—Ventral surface of skull of ÄmiZ/siri oyoio (slightly rnlarged).
Fig. 4.—Plantar surface of foot o( J", opoila, to show ihe proportions of the Iocs, from a specimen in spirits in the
British Museum. [From Ihe Catalogue of the Hcjal College of Surgeons, Part III. p. 17, 1891,]