ON THE BRITISH BIRDS OF PREY. 23 



part the cloaca, then the rectum, which is much wider 

 than the rest of the jntestine, and from the upper ex- 

 tremity of which come off laterally the two coeca, which 

 are much larg-er than those of the Buzzard, very nar- 

 row in their lower part, but dilated above into an ob- 

 long or pyriform sac. 



Supposing these two plates to represent the intesti- 

 nal canal of the Hawks and Owls, we see that in the 

 former the oesophagus differs from that of the latter in 

 having a crop-like dilatation, while the cceca are much 

 larger in the owls than in the hawks, and of a very 

 different form. 



These circumstances, however, will be more particu- 

 larly explained in the generic and specific descriptions. 

 In the mean time, what has been said will suffice to 

 give a general idea of the form and structure of the 

 parts in question. 



The dilatation of the oesophagus is obviously in- 

 tended to afford a receptacle for that portion of food 

 which the stomach is unable to contain, when a hawk 

 has been so fortunate as to secure a comparatively large 

 animal. I have, in several instances, found both the 

 crop and the stomach, as well as the intermediate 

 space, packed with flesh and other substances. I 

 have also observed that no digestion takes place in the 

 dilated part of the oesophagus, which is not properly 

 speaking a crop, as it is not furnished with glands. 

 Digestion commences in the proventriculus, and is com- 



