by William Swainson

“ The truth is, that many groups, which in our first process of combination, we are obliged to distinguish, or perhaps name, will, in the second, be united to others. So that it appears highly probable that the number of genera, in ornithology, ultimately retained, will be fewer perhaps than at present. We are, in short, but in the infancy of this knowledge, and our genera, for the most part, must be looked upon as temporary landmarks, to denote the ground gone over, and to be fixed or removed as our views become more extended, by a wider analysis of qualities and relations. ”

“ To ascertain their relative value is the next step: this is the second, and by far the most difficult process, in the study of real affinities; for not only that particular group which claims our attention, but every other related to it in a higher division, must be patiently analyzed. ”

“ Nostrils oval, naked: without a membrane. Wings moderate, rounded, the first quill spurious, the five next nearly of equal length. Feet short, strong, the middle toe longer than the tarsus, the hind toe nearly equal with the tarsus. Tail very short, rounded.
Divisions or Sub-Genera.
Malimbus. Vieil. Bill more straight, slender, and lengthened.
Ploceus. Cuv. As above.
Euplectes. Nob. Bill of Ploceus. Toes and claws very slender. The greater quills scarcely longer than the lesser; spurious quill very minute. Type, Loxia Orix. L. ”