THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 211 



palliatus, which is, I believe, common in Chili and the northern 

 parts of Patagonia, and the Argentine Eepublic. Mr. Darwin 

 remarks that he observed these birds wherever there were 

 lakes of brine. Apparently they are but rare in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the Strait, for this was the only occasion on which 

 we observed specimens. We cooked two of them, but found 

 them extremely fishy, probably owing to the fat, of which 

 there was a considerable layer on the muscles of the breast 

 and abdomen. The plumage was chiefly composed of sombre 

 gray and brown tints, but on the inside of the wings there 

 was a lovely pale rosy hue, recalling a dying sunset flush. 

 I was greatly interested in the examination of the peculiar 

 tongue, dishes composed of which were highly esteemed in 

 the luxurious times of the Eoman Empire, and whose struc- 

 ture has been carefully described by Professor Owen, who 

 remarks that its substance " is not muscular, but is chiefly 

 composed of an abundant yielding cellular substance, with 

 fat of an almost oily consistence." 



To employ the language of the above distinguished 

 anatomist — 



" It is almost cylindrical, but sHghtly flattened above, and obliquely 

 truncate anteriorly, so as to correspond with the form of the inferior 

 mandible. The lower part of the truncated surface is produced in a 



pointed form, and is supported beneath by a small bony plate 



Along the middle of the flattened superior surface there is a moderately 

 deep and wide longitudinal furrow, on either side of which are from 

 twenty to twenty-five recurved spines, but of a soft and yielding texture, 

 measuring from one to three lines in length. These spines are arranged 

 in an irregular alternate series, the outer ones being the smallest, and 

 these indeed may be considered as a distinct row." 



On the 1st of May one of the officers who was on shore 

 brought me, on his return, a specimen of a pretty species of 

 finch {Phrygihhs Aldunatii), with yellow and gi'ayish-blue 



