SCREECH-OWL. 333 



at the sides, with a central and two lateral prominent 

 soft lines, converging forwards, and having on their 

 ridge minute soft papilla? directed backwards; upper 

 mandible soft within until near the tip, and having an 

 elevated central line with soft tubercles ; lower deeply 

 concave, with an obscure central ridge ; the palatal slit, 

 or aperture of the posterior nares, elliptical behind, an- 

 teriorly linear, the edges being in contact, its sides 

 broadly covered with small papillte directed backwards, 

 and terminating behind in two rounded, edged, papil- 

 late lobes. Tongue narrow, fleshy, sagittate, and pa- 

 pillate at the base, its upper surface nearly flat, with a 

 central longitudinal groove, its sides nearly parallel, its 

 tip thin, bifid, the points acute, a small portion of the 

 back horny, with a slight central groove. Aperture 

 of the glottis without papillae on the edges, but with 

 three papillate lobes behind. CEsophagus very wide, 

 thin, of nearly equal diameter throughout, the inner 

 coat with numerous longitudinal folds, at its lower 

 part the walls much thickened and studded with round- 

 ish glandules ; above this part, the proventriculus, is a 

 slight contraction. Stomach large, its muscular coat 

 very thin, but with distinct fasciculated fibres, the cen- 

 tral tendons thin and small, the middle coat rather thin 

 and tough, the inner thin very soft and even. Pylorus 

 extremely narrow, being closed by a rim from the mid- 

 dle coat, and without valvular protuberances. Intes- 

 tine slender, larger at the commencement, and continu- 

 ing of nearly the same diameter about a fourth of 

 its length, then gradually contracting to the coeca, 

 which are of the same diameter at their commencement, 

 gradually enlarge, and are rounded at the extremity ; 



