IIl.—How to Determine the Sex of a Bird. 
The body having been removed from the skin, make a long incision 
down the left side with a pair of scissors, and gently force the cut 
edges apart ; then with the handle of a scalpel displace the intestines 
so as to expose the wall, or rather the roof, of the cavity in 
which they rest. If there is much blood, wash it away with a little 
water, to which, if’ possible, should be added a little salt. All this 
must be done very gently : the water should be poured in, and then 
soaked up by a piece of sponge; or if this is not to be had in the 
field, drain off the water by overturning the body. Never use the 
sponge to rub with. As soon as the roof of the body-cavity is 
thoroughly exposed, the sexual organs may be sought for ; but, except 
in the breeding-season, the search must be conducted with much care. 
Attention must first be directed to an examination of the organs 
lying at the upper end of the kidneys, the latter being the dark red 
masses forming the roof of the cavity. 
In the male will be found two egg-shaped, white, or sometimes 
black, bodies, the testes (fig. 4, ¢.), lying side by side, just over the 
arch formed by the convergence of two large blood-vessels, which 
can be seen running up from the tail-end of the kidneys. In 
the breeding-season there can never be any doubt about these ; but 
in young birds, and in old ones also after the breeding-season, the 
testes can often hardly be made out. In such cases the greatest care 
must be taken lest two other small yellowish bodies, known as the 
‘“‘adrenals ” or “ suprarenals” (fig. 4, s.r.), lying a little higher up— 
at the extreme edge of the front border of the kidney—be mistaken 
for the testes. 
In the female, in the breeding-season, on the left side of the body, 
in a position corresponding with that of the testes of the male, there 
will be found a large yellowish mass, made up of eggs of various 
sizes, from tiny granules to a full-sized yolk (fig. 5,0vy.). Earlier in 
the year the mass is granular only, and of course much smaller, 
sometimes extremely small. If the ovary has been destroyed by shot, 
or is, as often happens, but slightly developed, look carefully on the 
left side of the body for a long and more or less coiled tube (the 
oviduct), one end of which—that towards the head—is free, the other 
joined on to the intestine, quite close to where it leaves the body 
(fig. 5, ov.d.). A vestige of a similar small tube may be found in the 
corresponding position on the opposite side, but this is very short. 
As it is of the greatest importance to determine the sex, and there 
may still be some uncertainty even after the above directions have 
been followed, place the body in a dish of salt and water—salt is 
advisable, but not absolutely necessary—and hold it down on one 
