STET7CTUEAL PECULIARITIES. 65 



it pursued and caught, and heard repeatedly the 

 snapping of the beak." 



In addition to our previous observations, we 

 may here state, that the heart in these birds is 

 proportionately very large and muscular. This, 

 indeed, might be expected, seeing that their mus- 

 cular exertions are strenuous and almost con- 

 tinually in operation. The neck is in reality 

 long, but it appears to be short, because the 

 cervical column takes a sigmoid curve down to 

 the breast, and its shape, therefore, is concealed 

 by the plumes of the chest. 



The tongue, as we have said, is bifid, consist- 

 ing of two tubular filaments, laid side by side, 

 united for half their length but separated for the 

 remainder. Their substance, during the lifetime 

 of the bird, is transparent in the same degree as 

 a good quill, which they much resemble. " Each 

 tube is formed by a lamina rolled up, yet not so 

 as to bring the edges into actual contact, for 

 there is a longitudinal fissure on the outer side, 

 running up considerably higher than the junc- 

 tion of the tubes ; into this fissure a pin may be 

 inserted and moved up and down the length. 

 Xear the tip, the outer edge of each lamina 

 ceases to be convoluted, but is spread out and 

 split at the margin into irregular fimbriae which 

 point backward, somewhat like the vane of a fea- 

 ther ; these are not barbs, however, but simply 

 soft and flexible points such as might be pro- 

 duced by snipping diagonally the edge of a strip 



