70 Zoological Society : — 



sion of six inches across ; but the cup was probably a good deal 

 deeper before its brim was subjected to the weight of the young birds. 

 It is composed outwardly of sticks and twigs, among which I recog- 

 nize those of the larch, spruce, and birch. These latter show the 

 period at which it must have been built, as the buds, though enlarged, 

 had not burst. It has a thick lining of grass, which appears to have 

 been plucked while growing. The very small bits of moss and lichen 

 do not seem to have been intentionally added, but to have adhered 

 to the other materials. The down with which the nestling has 

 been covered, and of which traces may be observed on a few of the 

 back-feathers, is of a dark-brownish grey, as is usual among the 

 CorvidcB. The first plumage much resembles that of the adult, 

 being, however, duller in colour and with the white tear-like spots 

 less conspicuous ; but the quill-feathers of the wings and tail are not 

 so entirely destitute of metallic reflexions as some authors lead one 

 to imagine. 



Whether the Nutcracker builds the whole structure for itself, or 

 only furnishes the forsaken nest of some other animal, I do not know. 

 This and other particulars we shall probably soon learn from Pastor 

 Theobald himself; and I need scarcely say I look forward with the 

 greatest interest to the clearing up of our doubts as to what its eggs 

 are really like. 



On some points relating to the Anatomy of the Hum- 

 ming-bird (Trochilus colubris). By Edwards Crisp, 

 M.D., F.Z.S., etc. 



The recent dissection of the above-named bird has induced me to 

 place an account of some parts of its anatomy before the Society, 

 believing that the communication will not be devoid of interest. 



I am indebted to Mr. Gould for the Humming-bird, which he 

 captured in America, and brought alive to this country ; but it lived 

 only a few days after its arrival. 



It had been preserved in spirits for some time before I examined 

 it, and therefore the weight may not have been exactly the same 

 when first captured, but I believe that the difference would be very 

 slight. I have, in the accompanying drawing, depicted the bird with 

 and without its skin. I have also represented the skeleton and all 

 the viscera by measurement. 



The bird (a female) weighed 6 1 grains ; its length from beak to 

 tail 4 inches, the bill being three-fourths of an inch, the tail 1 inch ; 

 from the extremity of each wing, when extended, 4^ inches. Tail- 

 feathers ten ; wing-feathers in all sixteen, the first the longest. 



On removing the skin, the bird, as represented in the drawing, 

 had a very plump, solid appearance, the pectoral muscles being of 

 very large size : they weighed 1 2 grains, being nearly one-fifth the 

 weight of the bird. The extremities of the os hyoides, as in the 

 Woodpeckers, reached the anterior part of the head. The thoracic 

 and abdominal viscera, when viewed in situ, presented nothing ab- 

 normal either in form or position. I failed to discover a gall-bladder. 



