1880.] MR. FORBES ON THE STOMACH IN TANAGERS. 143 



March 2, 1880. 

 Prof. St. George Mivart, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. Contributions to the Anatomy of Passerine Birds. — Part I. 

 On the Structure of the Stomach in certain Genera of 

 Tanagers. By W. A. Forbes, B.A., F.L.S., Scholar of 

 St. John^s College, Cambridge, Prosector to, the Society. 



[Eeceived February 16, 1880.] 



Under this heading I propose to continue from time to time, as 

 material may occur, the " Notes on the Anatomy of Passerine 

 Birds," of which the late Prof. Garrod published four parts in the 

 Society's ' Proceedings ' \ 



In the vast majority of Passerine birds the structure of the 

 anterior part of the alimentary canal conforms to the type present 

 in the Fowl — that is to say, to an oesophagus, which may or may not 



Fig. 1. 



Stomach of Taohyphonus melaleuciis, natural size, undisturbed, and viewed 

 from behind. The liver, oesophagus, and small intestine are also par- 

 tially represented. 



be dilated into a crop, succeeds a stomach consisting of two parts : — 

 an anterior glandular part, the proventriculus ; and a posterior part, 

 separated off from both proventriculus and duodenum by more or less 

 distinct constrictions — the gizzard or ventriculus, of which the mus- 

 cular walls are always more or less thickened, and provided with a 

 central tendon on each side (vide fig. 1). 



> Part I. P. Z. S. 1876, p. 506; Part II. 1877, p. 447; Pai-t III. 1877, 

 p. 523 ; Part IV. 1878, p. 143. 



Proc. Zool. Soc 1880, No. X. 10 



