INTESTINES, ETC., OF BIRDS. 23 



the pelvis are firmly united to the back- 

 bone. They are covered with feathers, 

 which are kept in order by an oily substance 

 obtained from a small gland situated on the 

 rump. The gullet is enlarged at its origin, 

 where it is called the crop or craw, and 

 thence the food passes, after some little 

 delay, into the true stomach or gizzard. 

 This is composed of powerful muscles, and 

 is lined with a thick and strong membrane. 

 Into this the food is received and ground 

 up, which process is aided by gravel and 

 other equally indigestible substances. The 

 quantity thus taken in is, doubtless, reg- 

 ulated by the sensation of the stomach, but 

 this instinct is so far deranged in domestica- 

 ted birds, that we have known death to en- 

 sue from over-distension. In one case, the 

 cavities of the gizzard and crop were filled 

 with gravel-stones of various sizes ; in an- 

 other, the same parts were so much dis- 

 tended with the common yellow rose bug, 

 that death ensued. 



The intestines and organs connected with 

 generation terminate by a common opening 



