700 STERXA FULIGIKOSA, SOOTY TEEN. 



ing: the ordinary characters as to mnscularity and dilatability ; of pretty nnifonn 

 calibre throngbont. The gastric zone is Tery narrow, less than half an inch. The 

 mncous membrane differs but little in color from that of the tesophagns, bnt is some- 

 what darker, with broader and more irregular mgs, and presents the usual soft, vel- 

 Tet}-, v.-iicnlar appearance. The gigeriuui is situate far back, and turns a little to the 

 right frnm tlie line of the cesophagus. It measures when empty about one by one and 

 a half ir.cbes. presenting the nsnal constriction at its neck. Its cuticnlar lining is 

 thrown np intonnmeroos longitudinal ruga, eseejit over the tendons of the mnscnli 

 laterales, where there is a smooth button formed. 



The duodenal fold is short, only .ibout IJ inches ; just at its termination the intestine 

 receires the hepatic, cystic, and pancreatic ducts, the latter piercing the intestine be- 

 tween the two former.' All are quite short and open near each other. The li\ er ii of 

 ordinary size, the right lobe nearly double the size of the left. The two are loosely 

 connected by a fibrous band, but little if any of the glandular substance being inter- 

 posed. Gall-bladder present, of ordinary size and shape. The kidneys measure one 

 and a half long by about one in breadth." Each i^ divided into three or four lobes, of 

 which the superior are strictly reniform, the inferior ne.-u-ly rectangular, the median 

 irregularly oval and elongated. 



The iLtestines n:eLi?ure about sixteen inches from pylorus to anus. The coeca are 

 extremely short, only about two-tenths in length ; oval in shape. Eectnm short, only 

 about half an inch long. The cloaca large ami globular. It is fully described, with 

 the oviduct, infra. 



The trachea is about four inches long, consisting of from ninety to ninety -five rings. 

 It is weak and thin, and of small calibre throughout. Superiorly it is very flat, but 

 about an icch from the larynx becomes almost perfectly cylindrical, and continues >o 

 for the rest of its length. The lower larynx U extremely small and delicate, compara- 

 tively mcite sn than in other sjiecies : its cartilage appears softer and le-s den-e. Its 

 anterior wall is very short, scarcely one-tenth of an inch. Its anterior inferior apex 

 and lateral inferior angles are very prominent and acute, the edges between them con- 

 cave, ris 15 also the posterior wall. The lateral bronchial apertures are narrow. The 

 bronchial half-riu;;s are about twenty-sis in number, delicate, but quite distinct up 

 to the first one, vLich, as usual, is larger and stronger than the rest. The laryngeal 

 and tracheal ntis ;les are as in the other species, but saiidl and weak. 



The following description of the ovaries, ovidact, and cloaca of this species was 

 taken from a perfect female, obtained in l--"^-. at Bird Keys. Florida : 



The condition of the organs show that tLe bird was taken while these were at their 

 period of full activity . The left ovary, the one developed, as nsnal, contains a large 

 quantity of ova, the majority of which are of the size of a pin-he<id. Five or six. how- 

 ever, h.nve attiiined the size of peas, and hang out from the rest of the ujass upon long, 

 siemier, well-developed pedicles. Upon the largest of these the vessels are di-tinctly 

 visible, ramifying over its surtace, and conveging toward the white zone, already 

 well marked, which indicates the place where the envelope is to be ruptured for the 

 exclusion of the ovum. A calyx larger than .iny of the others has been emptied of its 

 contents, and hangs by a very long i)edicle in a shrunken, collapsed condition. The 

 line of rupture is quite straight .ind smooth, extending over -omewhat les? than a 

 third of the circumference of tbe envelo]>e, and is located on that part directly oppo- 

 site to the pedicle. Thp walls are quite thick, and have a fibrons feel between the 

 fingers, but they are delicate and easily torn. Their internal snrface is soft and per- 

 fectly smooth, and sttidded everywhere with minute puncta. The pedicle is about an 

 eighth of an inch long. 



The oviduct measures, when outstretched, about ten inches in length. In situ, how- 

 ever, its length is only from the anus to the extremity of the kidneys, a distance of 

 about two and a half inches. It is coLSeqnently much convoluted. Its two extremi- 

 ties are widely diverse in appe.irance, the upper being so delictite and attenuated that 

 it cr.n hardly be examined except under water, while near tl.e cloaca it is a stont, 

 thick, mnscnlar tube, half an inch in diameter. For two or three inches it is simply 

 a very delicate membrane, upon which no sfrueture is recognizable- by the naked eye 

 beyond a few slender, muscular fasciculi, arranged chiefly in a longitudinal direction. 

 The tube then becomes quite abruptly thicker and stouter, and its lining membrane is 

 fiirown np into well-marked longitndinal rugit. which have a good deal the appear- 

 ance of the ordinary 'esophageal folds. They are, however, more irregular and convo- 

 luted, and no one fold extends the whole length of this portion of the tube, they saij- 

 sidiug into the level of tt e canal at Tarious places, and beinj; interrupted by nmneroiu 

 transverse depressions. They cannot be made entirely to disappear by stretching the 

 membrane transversely. On this portion of the duct, which is about four inches in 

 length, both circular and longitndinal mnscnlar fibres are very apparent. Beyond 

 tLis the tnbe, for a short distance, again becomes more delicate, resembling somewhat 

 the superior p<irtions, bnt with the lon^tudinal rugae still distinct. It then resumes 

 the physical characters of the second portion, until within an inch and a half of its 

 termination, where lx)th the mueotis and muscular coats undergo a total change. The 



