IN STORKS AND SPOONBILLS. 285 
ing the lungs. No other peculiarities have been described among 
these birds. : 
A specimen of Tantalus ibis was purchased by the Society on the 
26th of May, 1873, which died on the 12th of March, 1875. It 
proved to be a male. The following is the arrangement of the convo- 
Intions of its trachea (see figure, p. 286). The windpipe descends 
the neck in front of the cesophagus without any peculiarities being 
observable, the rings which go to compose it being exactly like those 
of other allied birds, circular, complete, elastic, notched in the middle 
line before and behind, and of ordinary depth. Directly it reaches 
the superior aperture of the thorax, between the two rami of the 
furcula, a sudden change occurs. The succeeding rings are inelastic, 
from being ossified; and they are ossified together in pairs, so that 
their apparent depth is more than double that of the cervical rings, 
the intermediate membrane being included in the double rings. The 
depth of the unmodified rings is hardly more than ~, of an inch, 
that of the intrathoracic modified ones being as much as } of an 
inch. The diameter of both is about 4 of an inch; those in the chest 
are further peculiar in developing a slight median longitudinal ridge 
along their posterior surface. 
The two musculi depressores trachece, after ranning down the wind- Page 299. 
pipe as long as it is in the neck, leave it together as it enters the 
chest to run to their insertions behind the sternal articular ends of 
the second complete ribs, the left one crossing in front of the upper 
of the two loops described below. There are no special lateral muscles 
running to the syrinx. 
The trachea, modified in the manner above described, continues its 
normal course downwards as far as a horizontal plane cutting the 
base of the heart, when it makes a fairly gradual turn through half a 
circle, directly forward, to consequently ascend with the posterior keel 
above mentioned, running along the middle of its convex surface. On 
reaching the level of the symphysis furcule it makes a second semi- 
circular turn to the right, to again descend nearly as far as_on the 
former occasion, and making a third similar turn to the left whilst in 
the fold of the first loop, ascends a third time as high as the line 
joining the two sides of the furcula—in other words, to the very 
top of the thoracic cavity. Here it turns backwards to descend 
again, in contact with the first part of the intrathoracic tube, to its 
right side, as far as the level of the apex of the heart and the com- 
mencement of the proventriculus ; where, making a short very abrupt 
turn forwards, it bifurcates into the two bronchi, which therefore, 
uniquely, run from their origins upwards and outwards to their re- 
spective lungs. In this third and last descending portion of the 
windpipe, which has a length of 53 inches, the lower 3 inches are 
— 
i al 
