116 Mr. A. Newton on the supposed Gular Pouch 



plumes allongees qui s^y implantent, A la fin de juillet, elle 

 commence a s'affaisser, les plumes tombent, se renouvellent, si 

 bien qu'avant la fin de septembre il ne reste plus rien de cette 

 grande masse de tissu cellulaire." 



In 'March 1848^ Professor Owen made the preparation of 

 the head and neck of a male Otis tarda, which is now in the 

 Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, and 

 which, in 1852, he thus described (Cat. Physiol. Series Mus. 

 R. Coll. Surg. 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 233) :— " 772, Q. The head of 

 a Bustard [Otis tarda), with the mouth and fauces exposed, 

 showing the glandular orifices between the rami of the lower 

 jaw, the tongue, glottis, internal nostril, and eustachian orifice. 

 There is no trace of a gular pouch." I may add, that an inspec- 

 tion of this specimen, still exhibited to visitors, shows positively 

 that in it there is no opening under the tongue, and also that 

 the Professor did not conduct his dissection in the manner that 

 has been attributed to him by Dr. Gloger.. I now come to the 

 article which has provoked the hostile remarks of that natu- 

 ralist, and, in justice to Mr. Yarrell's memory, I am obliged to 

 make some copious extracts therefrom, that my readers may 

 decide for themselves whether or not he has been misrepresented. 

 Mr. Yarrell (Trans. Linn. Soc. xxi. pp. 159, 160) says as 

 follows : — 



" I had long wished to have an opportunity of examining the 

 body of a male Bustai'd to inspect the gular pouch described by 

 Daines Barriugton in his 'Miscellanies/ 1781, and by Edwards 

 in his ^Gleanings in Natural History,' 1811, and from thence 

 copied by Bewick and myself, but it was not until lately that 

 an opportunity offered. About four years ago the Zoological 

 Society obtained by purchase six or seven young Bustards from 

 Germany. One of these birds, a male, died within a year : the 

 body was examined by Mr. Mitchell and myself, but no gular 

 pouch was found. This we then attributed to the youth of the 

 bird. During the past summer of 1852, one of the males of 

 these birds was frequently observed courting a female. * * * 



" In the month of December last this male Bustard, believed 

 to be four years old, unfortunately died, and Mr. Mitchell very 

 kindly allowed me to examine this adult bird. 



