CARINATjE 



Ardeiformes 



Glossy Ibis. Plegadis faldnellus. Plate XXIII. 



The general color of the eyeground is blue-gray. It is covered 

 by a mass of minute, grayish dots, that probably furnishes the light 

 but brilliant gray tone that appears when the rays reflected by the 

 ophthalmoscope are thrown on it. The inferior quadrants of the 

 fundus, including both margins of the optic disc, exhibit a large 

 number of orange-red choroidal capillaries. They are very numer- 

 ous below the nerve-head, and suffuse the whole fundus near the 

 periphery with an orange-pink glow. 



Apparently there is but one macular area, situated above the disc 

 and on its nasal side. In the centre of this region is a small, white, 

 round dot, surrounded by a brilliant blue-green reflex. There are, 

 also, fine fibres radiating from the centre of the fovea. 



The papilla seems to be formed of a mass of coarse, white fibres. 

 It can be traced for about half its length only, the lower part being- 

 obscured by the massive, club-shaped pecten. The hitter organ, 

 of the usual chocolate-brown color, projects well forward towards 

 the posterior aspect of the lens. The disc is bordered with black 

 pigment which resembles a shadow cast on the eyeground. A large 

 number of semi-translucent nerve fibres originate at the edges of 

 the optic nerve on all sides, extend across the choroidal vessels and 

 eventually disappear. 



American Jabiru. Mycteria americana. Plate XXIV. 



The general color of the fundus is a slate-gray, the whole eye- 

 ground being quite uniformly sprinkled with small, but variously 

 sized white dots. In the upper and nasal quadrant of the picture is 

 the small, single macula, an area darker than the surrounding parts, 

 whose exact centre is occupied by the fovea. In the lower two-thirds 

 of the field are seen numerous, plainly marked choroidal vessels that 

 extend the whole length of the pecten, converging somewhat towards 

 the posterior aspect of its base. About two-thirds of the long and 

 rather broad nerve-head is plainly visible, except the central portion, 

 which is partly obscured by the pecten. This large, black-brown 

 organ, divided into 15 large and several much smaller double folds, 

 terminates above in a thin, dark rod. The disc is fringed by dark 

 pigment grains and from its lateral margins project a number of 

 short, faint, whitish lines. 



142 



