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VULTURINiE. 



VULTURES AND ALLIED SPECIES. 



The occurrence of birds of this family in Britain being 

 limited to a single instance, it is not expedient to enter into 

 very minute details respecting their structure and habits. The 

 only species which I have had an opportunity of examining as 

 to their digestive and respiratory organs, are the two, among 

 the smallest of the order, which occur in the southern parts of 

 North America. Three other species peculiar to that conti- 

 nent, and four of those belonging to Asia and Africa have come 

 under my observation in the living state or in the form of pre- 

 pared skins. The general characters derived from the com- 

 parison of these are as follows. 



The body robust ; the neck rather long ; the head rather 

 small, ovato-oblong, and, with part of the neck, destitute of 

 feathers. Bill of moderate length, generally stout, sometimes 

 rather slender ; the upper mandible with a bare skin or cere 

 at the base, compressed, with the tip elongated, decurved, rather 

 obtuse, but thin-edged ; lower mandible rather slender, with 

 the extremity rounded and thin-edged. Tongue of moderate 

 length, concave above or induplicate, rounded or slightly emar- 

 ginate. CEsophagus very wide, and dilated into an enormous 

 crop ; proventricular glandules forming a broad continuous 

 belt ; stomach large, moderately muscular or very thin, with 

 a soft rugous epithelium ; intestine of moderate length and 

 width ; coeca wanting. 



The trachea of the Vultures differs from that of the Eagles 

 and Hawks in several respects, while it agrees with them in 

 being considerably flattened, somewhat tapering, and composed 

 of slender rings. The inferior larynx is remarkable for being 

 much flattened, and for bifurcating without having a septum 



