47^6 Zoological Society. 



perpendicularly, in a more oblique direction from the soil, and turned 

 away from the slope, as if they strove to rest on the steep surface of 

 the rock at a right angle ; they became more and more bent, stood 

 thicker and more compact, and were at the same time covered over 

 with thick layers of mosses from the very roots up to the extre- 

 mities of their stems. Such a ragged moss-covered forest presents 

 indeed a very peculiar aspect. 



[To be continued.] 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Jan. 13, 1846.— William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. 

 Mr. Gould described a new species of Nyctihius, which he pro- 

 posed to name 



Nyctibius bracteatus. Nyct. castaneo-fuscus ; scapularum api- 

 cibus, et abdomine, maculis alhis, quasi bracteis, ornatis. 



The general plumage rich chestnut-brown ; the feathers of the 

 head, back and breast freckled with black, and with an irregular- 

 shaped blotch of black at the extremity of each feather ; near the tip 

 of each of the scapularies a spot of white encircled with black ; on 

 the lower part of the abdomen are two lunar-shaped marks of white, 

 formed by a square spot of silvery white, bounded above and below 

 with a narrow line of black, occupying the extremities of the feathers ; 

 wings dark brown, with the exception of the outer margins of the 

 primaries, which are cinnamon-brown ; tail chestnut, crossed with 

 numerous bars, composed of two irregular narrow lines of black, and 

 with a small spot of white at the tip ; under tail-coverts buff, with a 

 square spot of white at the tip. 



Total length, 9j inches; bill, \^', wdng, 6; tail, b\\ tarsi, ^. 



Hab, Santa Fe de Bogota. 



Remark. — This species is the least of the genus that has come under 

 my notice ; the description is taken from a fine specimen in the col- 

 lection of the Royal Institution of Liverpool. 



January 27. — William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. 

 A paper by Professor Owen was read, containing the following 

 notes on the dissection of the Chimpanzee {Troglodytes niger) which 

 died in the menagerie of the Society Dec. 29, 1845: — 



Chimpanzee (female) : — Weight 42^ lbs. 



MEASUREMENTS. ft. in. 



From vertex to under-side of heel 3 6 



From vertex to coccyx 2 



From trochanter major femoris to external condyle of 



femur 9^ 



From external condyle of femur to external malleolus . . 9^ 



From heel to end of middle toe 8| 



From distal end of first metatarsal to distal end of pha- 

 langes of first toe 2^ 



