327 



FRINGILLA. FINCH. 



Bill shortish, straight, direct, conical, acute, subpeiitagonal 

 and nearly as broad as deep at the base ; upper mandible with 

 the dorsal outline declinate and straight to near the end, when 

 it becomes a little convex, the ridge broad and convex, the 

 sides rounded, the edges sharp and inflected, but overlapping, 

 with an obsolete notch or slight sinus close to the tip ; lower 

 mandible with the angle short, broad and rounded, the dorsal 

 line very slightly convex, the ridge broad, the sides rounded, 

 the edges sharp and inflected. 



Mouth rather narrow ; both mandibles deeply concave, the 

 upper with a medial prominent line, two lateral lines, and four 

 grooves. Posterior aperture of the nares linear, and, with that 

 of the glottis, margined with acute papillse. Tongue sagittate, 

 subulato-lanceolate, involute so as to be nearly tubular, the tip 

 terminated by a pencil of short bristles. (Esophagus when 

 distended forming a large crop on the right side of the neck, 

 afterwards narrow ; proventriculus, PL VIII, Fig. 10, cl^ bul- 

 biform, and furnished all round with numerous cylindrical 

 glandules. Gizzard, e, /, ^, roundish, compressed, with two 

 very strong lateral muscles, ^, /, and radiated tendons ; its cu- 

 ticular lining dense, tough, and longitudinally rugous. Intes- 

 tine of moderate length, rather wide, of nearly equal diameter 

 throughout, with two very small, cylindrical, adnate coeca near 

 its extremity ; rectum very short, with an elliptical enlargement. 



Nostrils nearly circular, basal, in the fore part of the nasal 

 depression, which is very short and broad. Eyes of moderate 

 size ; eyelids feathered, their edges bare and papillar. External 

 aperture of ear large, oval. 



