498 



ON THE FLEXOR MUSCLES IN BIKDS. 



[June 19, 



Now this Parrot and the Heron, though belonging to widely 

 separated groups of birds, are alike in that they each belong to 

 groups which Garrod unhesitatingly placed among the Eomalo- 

 gonatce. although he knew that in their cases the ambiens was absent. 

 In other genera of Parrots the ambiens is present ; in the Storks, 

 those near allies of the Herons, the ambiens, as Garrod showed, is 

 absent in two cases, present in most. The existence of this 

 possible rudiment in Edectus and Ni/cticorax is tlierefore not 

 surprising when the affinities of the birds are considered ; and if it 

 be found in other specimens, and still more in the case of those 

 other members of Garrod's group that have no ambiens, the case 

 for the ambiens as a character of great importance in classification 

 will be confirmed. 



Kg. 3. 



Jem. 



ffe^'Str. 



Dissection of the right leg of Edectus roratus, seen from the outer side. 

 Lettering as in fig. 1. 



In Corvus capellanus, which is of course a Passerine and there- 

 fore one of Garrod's Anomalogonatce, the three perforated flexor 

 tendons arise by a single head, in common with one head of 

 the longus hallucis which corresponds with the inner head 

 mentioned in this paper. In Bubo maximus there are represen- 

 tatives of the inner and outer heads for each perforated flexor, but 

 there is no ambiens nor representative of a rudimentary ambiens, 

 so that with regard to this point the Owl is intermediate between 

 bu'ds with a reduced ambiens and birds with no ambiens. 



I hope to have further opportunity of pursuing the points 

 mentioned in this note, but I bring it forward now in the hope 

 that other observers into whose hands may come any of the few 

 members of the Homalo<jonata'. without an ambiens may look for 

 the vestige which I have described. 



