volitores

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. In Owen's classification, those birds which move solely or chiefly by flight, or are preëminent in ability to fly. It is the fifth order of the system, embracing 11 families, as the swifts, humming-birds, goatsuckers, kingfishers, hornbills, etc., intervening between his Cantores or singers and Scansores or climbers. It is an artificial group, practically equivalent to those Picariæ which are not yoke-toed, or to Picariæ with the old group Scansores eliminated.