.u:t. 19 CONCERNING BIRDS ' TONGUES GARDNER 27 



Gymiomitra verticalU lias ;\ loniz slencler toiifrue, longer than the 

 bill, completely tubular, and somewhat forked, and this is true also 

 for Chalcomitra fuUginosa and Aethopyga holtoni. In Anthreptes 

 fraseri, malaccensis^ and uy'igleswortM., the bifurcation is more 

 marked than in any of the others, so that practically a double 

 tong-ue is formed. 



On the other hand the tongue of Chalcopcvria phoenicotis (fig. 139) 

 is not at all like the above, and this fact together with other evi- 

 dence has led Oates ^^ to separate this species from the family. In 

 view of the fact that there is such a regularity of tongue form in 

 this family the divergence from it as seen in Ghalcoparia may well 

 have the significance that Oates gives it. 



The Drepanididae typically have tubular tongues. These are 

 formed as are all tubular ones by an upcurling of the margins of 

 the horny anterior part which constitutes the major portion of the 

 tongue in these birds. The edges of the dorsally rolled sides meet in 

 the midline and finally overlap. As the tip is approached the edges 

 become broken up and split, forming delicate laciniae. At first one 

 side completely overlaps the other but as these fimbriations become 

 more prominent they interlace in a complex manner finally forming 

 at the tip a whipped-out brush. 



This is the fully developed tongue and is well illustrated in the 

 long-billed Hemignathus procerus (fig. 19). This same appearance 

 is seen also in Vestiaria coccmea, Chlorodrepanis, and Hhnatione 

 sanguinea^ all of these, however, being shorter than the above. In 

 HeterorhyncMis wilsoni it is completely tubular only in the anterior 

 third and is bifurcated. 



Loxioides haiUeui, which Doctor Gadow ^^ first classed among the 

 Fringillidae, is described by him as follows. The tongue is 



Thick and fleslij^ much shorter than the bill, very slightly protractile, 

 tip rouuded off and euding in a neat horny scoop, which is formed by the 

 lower horny covering of the tongue projecting a little ; the brim of this scoop 

 is slightly frayed out, as is the case in many Fringillidae. 



Oreoviyza {Oreomystis) haircli he describes as: 



A little shorter than the bill, thin and horny but at first sight apparently 

 different from that of the Drepaniddae. However, the lateral horny margins 

 are raised up dorsally and frayed out. Tlie distal fourth of the tongue is 

 slightly split into a right and left half but far less than in Coereba. This 

 broader, shorter, and decidedly less tubular tongue is in conformity with the 

 slightly broader bill. 



Loxops cocciiiea he describes as " short, in conformity with the 

 bill, but ending in a frayed-out single brush, which, like the whole 



IS Fauna of British India. E. W. Oates. Birds, vol. 2, p. 372. 



1" Gadow, H. Structures of Certain Hawaiian Birds. The Birds* of the Saadwich 

 Island.s, Wilson and Evan.s, London, 1890--99. pp. 219-241. 



