465 



BUTEO VULGARIS. COMMON BUZZARD. P. 130. 



When my description of this species was printing, I 

 had not taken detailed notes of its intestinal canal, and 

 failed in procuring a fresh specimen. Since then, how- 

 ever, I have examined several, and am therefore enabled 

 to supply deficiencies. I was much struck with the 

 great resemblance which the digestive organs bore to 

 those of the golden eagle ; it being in fact so perfect, 

 that a figm'e of those of the one bird might answer for 

 one of the other. 



Mouth wide ; palate flat, anteriorly with a broad 

 ridge, from the posterior part of which proceed lateral- 

 ly two very prominent, nearly parallel soft ridges, bear- 

 ing papillae directed backwards, farther separated be- 

 hind, and slightly incurved. A transverse papillate 

 edge proceeds inwards on each side from behind the 

 middle of these ridges, and another at their posterior 

 extremity. The palatal slit or aperture of the poste- 

 rior nares is narrow-elliptical behind, linear and papil- 

 late before. The aperture of the glottis without pa- 

 pillae on the edges, behind with three central rows and 

 two lateral flaps of papillae. 



The oesophagus very wide, dilated before the fur- 

 cula into a large pouch three inches long and two deep, 

 surrounded with muscular fibres. At its entrance into 

 the thorax it is one inch in diameter, then gradually 

 dilates and joins the stomach, Avith which its lower 

 glandular part is directly continuous. The glandules 

 of the proventriculus are small and roundish. The en- 

 tire length of the oesophagus is eight inches, that of tlie 



Rr 



