THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 215 



it will be quite dead, and, killed in this way, it will be 

 in excellent condition for a detailed examination of its 

 structure* 



Naming of External Parts. For purposes of descrip- 

 tion, the external parts of the bird are named as follows : 



I. The Head and Neck. At the front of the head is 

 the beak, "composed of upper and lower mandibles. The 

 line of meeting of the two mandibles is the commissure. 

 Observe that in the sparrow the commissure is not 

 straight, but angulated; i.e., bent downward posteriorly, 

 as if the corners of the mouth were drawn downward. 

 The corner of the mouth is called the rictus, and the 

 bristles overhanging the rictus are called rictal bristles. 

 The ridge of the upper mandible is called the culmen; and 

 the keel of the lower' mandible, the gonys. At the base 

 of the upper mandible are the nostrils. The front part 

 of the top of the head is the forehead, the top part is 

 the crown, the back part is the occiput, and the back of the 

 neck is the nape. The space between the eye and the 

 rictus is the lore. Below and behind the eye, hidden by 

 a tuft of loose feathers, is the ear. Lift up these feathers 

 and find the auditory opening. Examine one of these 

 feathers with a lens. What advantage is there in having 

 these feathers less compact than the others? The front 

 part of the under surface of the head is the chin. The 

 front of the neck is the throat. 



Make an enlarged outline drawing of the head and 

 neck, naming all the parts upon the drawing. 



II. The Body and Tail. The dorsal surface of the body 

 is the back. The tufts of feathers covering the bases of the 

 wings dorsally are the scapulars. The prominent nar- 

 rowed portion of the back immediately preceding the 

 tail is called the rump. The long, soft feathers that over- 

 lap the tail above are the upper tail coverts. The long, 



