322 PHILOMELA LUSCINIA. 



acute ; the gape-line nearly straight. Both mandibles are con- 

 cave internally, with a slightly prominent median line. The 

 palate flat, the posterior aperture of the nares oblongo-linear, 

 papillate on the edges. The tongue is half an inch long, slen- 

 der, sagittate at the base, with two strong papillae and inter- 

 mediate acicular points, slightly concave above, the point slit 

 and bristly. The oesophagus, PI. XIII, Fig. 7, is two inches and 

 a quarter long, its average diameter two twelfths and a half. 

 The stomach is six twelfths and a half long, elliptical, its lateral 

 muscles strong, its cuticular lining thin and tough, with three 

 prominent transverse and several longitudinal rugae on each 

 side. The intestine is seven inches long, the coeca cylindrical 

 and one-twelfth in length. The trachea is an inch and eight- 

 twelfths in length, with sixty-five rings, its muscles as in the 

 Thrushes and Crows. 



The whole form is slender ; the head ovate and of moderate 

 size ; the aperture of the eyes two-twelfths in diameter, that of 

 the ears three-twelfths ; the nostrils large, oblong. The tarsi 

 are rather long, slender, compressed, w^ith eight scutella, of 

 which the upper are blended ; the toes slender, compressed ; 

 the first stout, rather broad at the base, with eight scutella, the 

 second with ten, the third eleven, the fourth ten. The claws 

 are of moderate length, arched, extremely compressed, laterally 

 grooved, and very acute. 



The plumage is soft and blended ; the feathers oblong, with 

 loose filaments, and a very slender plumule ; the bristle-feathers 

 at the base of the bill very small. The wings are of moderate 

 length, broad, with eighteen quills ; the first scarcely a third of 

 the length of the second, which is equal in length to the fifth, 

 the third longest, and the fourth almost as long ; the secondaries 

 rounded and rather slender. The tail is straight, rather long, 

 even, the feathers rather broad. 



The upper mandible is reddish-brown, the lower pale yellow- 

 ish, its tip brown ; the iris is hazel ; the feet and claws pale 

 greyish-brown. The general colour of the upper parts is red- 

 dish-brown, redder on the head and rump, the tail of a brighter 

 tint ; the inner webs of the quills dusky brown. The feathers 

 of the eyelids are brownish-white ; the ear-coverts dull 



