151 



land by Mr. William Lord, and presented by him to the Society, were 

 exhibited. The most worthy of particuhir notice were a specimen of the 

 long-tailed Duck, Anas glncialis, Linn., in its summer plumage ; and 

 an example ot the brown-headed Gull, Larus capistraius, Temm. As 

 this Gull has received but little notice as a British bird, Mr. Yarrell 

 added the following description of the specimen, also in its summer 

 plumage. 



"This bird is at once distinguished from Larus atricilla, Linn., and 

 Larus ridibundus, Leisl., (both also British Gulls, and with both of 

 which it has been confounded,) by its more slender as well as shorter 

 beak, shorter tarsu and smaller feet. The whole length of this speci- 

 men from the point of the beak to the end of the tail feathers is 15 

 inches j from the point of the beak to the first feathers, 1 inch and 

 Haifa line ; from the point of the beak to the rictus, \ inch 10 lines j 

 from the carpus to the end of the first primary (which is the longest), 

 11 inches 8 lines 3 length of the tarsus 1 inch 7 lines; of the middle 

 toe and nail 1 inch 6 lines. The beak brownish red; the head and 

 upper part of the neck brocoli-brown, bounded by blackish brown, 

 descending lowest at the fore part, some of the dark feathers at the 

 margin in front tipped with white ; the remaining portion of the neck, 

 the breast, abdomen, vent and tail, pure white; upper surface of the 

 wings pale ash-gray, under surface grayish white; primaries white, 

 edged and tipped with black, broadest on the inner web, shafts white; 

 legs and toes brownish red, webs of the feet chocolate-brown. 



" Inhabits the Shetland and Orkney islands." 



At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Gould exhibited about thirty 

 recent specimens of the Stormy Petrel, Thalassidroma pelagica, Vig., 

 received by him from the eastern coast of England; and a recent spe- 

 cimen of the Pomarhiiie Gull, Lestris Pomurhinus, Temm., obtained 

 from the same locality. A living pair of the latter bird have since 

 been added to the Society's Menagerie by the kindness of James 

 Cornish. Esq. who obtained them on the coast of Devonshire. 



The followino; Notes bv Mr. Owen, taken at the dissection of two 

 Seals {Plioca vitulina, Linn.), which died at the Society's Gardens, 

 were read. 



" All the parts bore the deep venous tint which appears to be pe- 

 culiar to those Mammalia whose aquatic habits tend to impede their 

 respiration. Tlie cellular texture vvas extremely tough, with a gra- 

 nular appearance, somewhat resembling the structure of the corpus 

 cavernosum : it is the same in the Porpoise. It was also gorged with 

 bloody serum, a great quantity of which was contained in the cavity 

 of the abdomen. The omentum was very thin and without fat, (of 

 which indeed there vvas a deficiency over the whole body): it extended 

 over half the contents of the abdomen. 



" The stomach was situated in the left hijpochondrium : its pyloric 

 end vvas bent acutely upon the cardiac : the oesophagus entered at the 

 left extremity, leaving no saccus ccecus beyond it. The pyloric aper- 

 ture vvas extremely small as compared with the size of the stomach j 



