Vol. xiv.j Leach, The Myology of the Bell-Magpie. 35 



reduced, being less than half the length of the longest primary ; 

 the ninth quill is always less than the eighth. 



The pterylosis indicates that Strepera is related to Gymnorhina 

 and Cracticus, and not to Corvus. 



There are six pairs of rectrices or tail quills. The centre pair 

 is placed higher, one feather on each side of the pygostyle close 

 to the bone. The other five pairs have upper tail coverts. 

 Coverts are absent from the centre pair. 



Gymnorhina has dense, closely webbed and hooked contour 

 feathers. 



Cracticus has looser plumage, while Strepera has the feathers 

 still more loosely webbed and hooked. 



The oil-gland has no tuft of short feathers. 



The young birds are faintly mottled and marked on their 

 plumage, and are not similar to the adult in Cracticus and Gym- 

 norhina. Not enough material is at hand for a satisfactory 

 examination of the phases of Strepera, though I examined the 

 specimens in the National Museum, Melbourne. 



The young of Corvus are like the adults, but are duller. 



The Convolutions of Intestines and C^ca. 



The convolutions of the intestines agree closely in all the birds 

 examined, whether they are examined by tracing the coils as set 

 out by Gadow (" Proceedings Zoological Society," i88g, pp. 

 303-316) or by opening out the folds and spreading the sheet 

 bounded by mesentery out flat, as described by Mitchell 

 (" Transactions Linnean Society," second series, vol. viii. : Zool., 

 pp. 173-275). 



Strepera has a bend in the last ascending branch which is absent 

 in the other birds examined. 



The quotients obtained by dividing the actual length of the 

 intestine from the pyloric to the anus by the distance from the 

 first thoracic vertebra to the anus are as follow : — 



Strepera . . 26f " 



= 6.48 



= 5-36 



4i 

 Raven . . . . 2g|'' 



Cracticus . . ii^" 



= 3-91 



Gymnorhina . . 14I" 



= 3.68 



4 

 The caeca vary in length. In 



Raven they are |" long. 



Strepera „ „ i" long. 



Gymnorhina „ „ 3/16" long. 

 Cracticus „ „ 3/32" long. 



