AKT..19 CONCERNING BIRDS TONGUES GARDNER 5 



present in some individuals, or if present is not very deep, although 

 Anthreftes is rather deeply cleft, forming two fringeless tubes. 



Curling and fraying of the lateral margins is illustrated by the 

 Drepanididae. In Heviignathus (fig, 19), Iliuiatione, Chlorodre- 

 panis, VesHaria, and Heterorhynchus it is long and slender, curled 

 into a complete tube, the edges of which are delicately frayed, with 

 the tip ending in a much frayed but not bifid brush. 



Finally, beginning with Dendroica tigrina (fig. 2), an interesting 

 series of split and frayed tongues can be demonstrated. In this 

 warbler the maximum of curling in the Mniotiltidae is reached, 

 Baird * going so far even as to suggest a separate genus for it. 



From this it is a near step to the curled tongues of Zosterops 

 simplex and Z. japoniea, which are described by Beddard ^ as being 

 curled into almost a complete tube with a much frayed tip. 



The next step can be traced through the Icteridae, where in Icterus 

 (fig. 3) it is curled, in the anterior one-third to one-half, with 

 elaborately frayed edges and somewhat split to form two semi- 

 tubular fringed tips. The Coerebidae carry this still further. 

 Glossoptila (Euneornis) makes no advance, with only moderate 

 curling, splitting and fraying at the tip. Chlorophanes (fig. 4) is 

 curled in the anterior one-half and is split and frayed, but the 

 tongue is not yet tubular nor has it reached that stage in Gyanerpes. 

 But in Diglossa and Coereha (fig. 5) it is found to have become a 

 complete tube by the overlapping of the upcurled edges and the 

 splitting involves the entire anterior one-half of the tongue, so that, 

 instead of one, we find two complete tubes highly fringed and 

 frayed. Finally this splitting has reached its maximum in the 

 Meliphagidae, so that in Myzomela rubratra (fig. 6) it has become 

 li completely curled tongue in the anterior half, splitting into four 

 tubular frayed tips. 



The examples might be unnecessarily multiplied. Suffice it to say 

 that such a study brings to light a most interesting series of elabo- 

 rately modified tongues, the exact correlation of diet with which 

 offers material for future study. 



Returning to the ground pattern w^e can see a close resemblance be- 

 tween it and the tongues of some of the motmots and todies (see 

 fig. 74), in which birds it is rather flat and the thin horny trans- 

 lucent tip constitutes as much as one-half of the organ. 



A curious little variation is seen in the titmice (see fig. 123). In 

 these birds the cartilaginous tips of the ceratohyals project through 

 the tip of the tongue and with two lateral projections form what 

 has been likened to a four-tined pitchfork. The nuthatches (fig. 



* Baird, S. F. Review of American Birds, November, 1864, pp. 161-162. 



B Beddard, F. E. Ibis, ser. 6, No. 3, 1891, pp. 510-512, Tongue of Zosterops. 



