Mr. F. E. Beddard — Ornithological Notes. 511 



provided with only three or four spines, it is covered with 

 numerous very short pointed processes. But the most 

 important difference concerns the free extremity of the 

 tongue ; this is split in two, as in Zosterops lateralis, tut 

 in addition to this each half is frayed out into two or three 

 bristle-like processes. 



Fig. 1. 



Upper surface of tongue of Zosterops simiHex, magnified. 



In the two specimens from Japan the tongue was a little 

 different ; in one of them the upper surface was nearly flat, 

 but the bifid extremity was frayed out into a number of 

 processes. 



In the other specimen the edges of the tongue were de- 

 cidedly more rolled over towards the middle line than in 

 Zosterops simplex. As long as the specimens were kept wet, 

 the two edges of the tongue did not actually meet in the 

 middle line, although forming by their close approximation 

 a deep trough with an almost circular section ; when the 

 tongue was allowed to become dry, its margins actually 

 joined in the middle line, and temporarily converted the 

 trough into a tube for the greater part of the length of 

 the anterior portion of the organ. The extremity of the tongue 

 was frayed out, as in both the other specimens of Zosterops 

 that I have examined. Unfortunately I was quite unable to 



