1882. | ANATOMY OF THE INDIAN DARTER. 211 
and neck, which may be compared to that of a man poising a spear 
or harpoon before throwing it. Arrived within striking-distance, 
the Darter suddenly transfixes, in fact bayonets, the fish on the tip 
of its beak with marvellous dexterity, and then immediately comes 
to the surface, where the fish is shaken off the beak by jerking of 
the head and neck (repeated till successful), thrown upwards, and 
swallowed, usually head first. 
A study of the neck in the recently dead bird leaves little doubt 
Diagram to show the mechanism of the “ kink” of the neck in the Darters. 
a, head and anterior moiety of neck (1st to 7th cervical vertebrx); p, posterior 
moiety of neck (from the 9th cervical vertebra to thorax); 8, 8th cer- 
vical yertebra; D, ‘ Donitz’s bridge,” on the 9th cervical; f, the two 
flexor muscles (vide text); ¢, the extensor muscle (the longus colli ante- 
vior). In fig. 1 the flexor muscles are supposed to be acting, bending 
back the anterior part of the neck on the 8th ceryical; in fig. 2 the 
extensor muscle has opened out the anterior genu formed by the 8th cer- 
vical, thereby protruding the apex of the beak (marked B in fig. 1) 
to B’. 
as to the mechanism by which this peculiar impaling of the prey is 
effected. The 8th cervical vertebra is articulated, as has already 
been described, with the 7th in such a way that the two cannot 
naturally be got to lie in the same line, but form an angle, open 
forwards, of about 145°, when the two bones are stretched as far as is 
possible in that direction. Behind, its articulation with the 9th 
cervical is such as to permit it to be bent back at an angle a little 
greater than 90° with that vertebra, beyond which extent, however, 
14* 
