APPENDIX. 155 



APPENDIX. 



NOTE I, p. 38. Some additional information on the powder-down tracts in various birds 

 will be found in the following paper, reprinted from the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' 

 and in the paper given in Note II. 



ON THE AFFINITIES OF BAL^NICEPS. By A. D. BARTLETT.! 



ON appearing before you this evening with new evidence of the affinities of this bird, and 

 in endeavouring to aid in settling a subject so long disputed and frequently discussed, I beg to 

 refer, first, to the elaborate and carefully written paper by Mr. Parker, in which this bird, after 

 the most careful examination and comparison of its bones, is considered to be an Ardeine. 



I have, then, to observe, that from an entirely different course of examination, and by the 

 consideration of its other structures, I have arrived at the same conclusion ; and I hope, with the 

 assistance of my friend Mr. Stewart, to prove to the satisfaction of our ornithological friends, that 

 there is uo longer any doubt in the matter. 



The death of the survivor of the two birds brought home by Mr. Consul Petherick has 

 afforded me the opportunity of making a more accurate examination of its structure, and this has 

 led me to the discovery of two remarkable powder-down patches which, it will be remembered, I 

 stated on a former occasion 2 I had failed to find in the living bird. 



Upon removing the skin from the body of this bird, I was so struck by its close resemblance 

 to the Herons, that I immediately killed a Heron and removed its skin also, in order to form a 

 fair opinion by a close comparison of all the parts of these two birds. The exact form of the 

 body and limbs was most remarkable ; the structure of the hind toes (upon which so much stress 

 has been laid) was alike, these turning backwards, forwards, or sideways in both species. The 

 head and neck, however, of JBalceniceps, when compared with the same parts of the Common 

 Heron, present some very considerable differences. These differences consist, first, in the much 

 larger head, and consequently stronger neck, in JBalceniceps as compared with the Heron. 

 Doubtless these modifications have reference to the food and the mode of obtaining that food. 

 Many illustrations can be found of similar modifications ; I may refer to one in the group under 



1 From the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London/ 1861, p. 131. 



2 See P. Z. S. 1860, p. 461. 



