Aves. 109 



THE HEAD. 



1. The beak consists of the upper and lower mandibles; hold 

 the pigeon's head with one hand, and with the other take hold of 

 the tip of the upper mandible and see if it is movable. 



2. Raise the upper eyelid, and look in the front angle of the 

 eye for the third eyelid ; seize the edge of this with the forceps, 

 and pull it backward over the eye. 



3. Brush forward the feathers below and back of the eye to 

 find the ear opening; observe the peculiarities of the feathers 

 which cover this opening. 



4. Examine the nostrils ; open the mouth and insert the head 

 of a pin into the nostril, and probe, to discover its place of appear- 

 ance in the mouth. 



5. With the forceps pull forward the tongue for careful exami- 

 nation. 



6. Just back of the tongue is the opening, the glottis, of the 

 windpipe, or trachea. 



7. The mouth continues backward to become the gullet. 



THE LEGS. 



1. Feel of the parts, beginning close to the body, to be sure to 

 find the first division of the limb ; this is the thigh, or " second 

 joint." 



2. Below this is the tibia, or " drumstick." 



3. The next division is the tarsus ; it is a consolidation of sev- 

 eral bones that were distinct in the young bird ; this part of the 

 bird's leg, then, really corresponds to the tarsus and metatarsus of 

 the human foot, or that part between the ankle and the toes. 

 Where, then, is the true heel ? 



4. Bend and extend the toes to find how many bones there are 

 in each. 



5. The scales on the front of the tarsus are called scutella; 

 hence the tarsus of the pigeon is said to be scutellate in front ; 

 the back of the tarsus of the pigeon is reticulated. 



