158 



FACULTIES OF BIRDS, 



CHAPTER VII. 



TASTE OF PISCIVOROUS BIRDS. 



THE digestible properties of fish are not greatly dif- 

 ferent from those of tiesh, and accordingly we find 

 that the digestive organs of birds which feed upon 

 fish are very similar to those of birds purely carniv- 

 orous. In the gannet or solan-goose (Sula alba, 

 MEYER), for example, the solvent glands are very 

 numerous, and placed round the cavity of the gizzard 

 in the form of a very broad belt, extending nearly as 

 low as the outlet of the stomach, and forming, as in 

 the hawk, four distinct portions, though the interstices 

 are less distinct. The digastric muscle is feeble, and 

 the cavity is of an oval form, the outlet going off 



The gizz&rd of the Solan Goose, opened to show the gastric glands. 



