4238 Zoological Society. 



male weighed 151 grains. I will only allude to a few points connected with 

 the anatomy of this bird : probably they have been before noticed, but I have not met 

 with any account of them. 



Skeleton. — The head broad : orbitar foramen large : the bones generally large and 

 heavy (comparatively), as in most ground birds : cervical vertebral 14 ; dorsal ver- 

 tebrae 7 : ribs 7 : depth of sternum 2| inches : length 7 inches ; breadth 4 inches : 

 upper part of chest wide. 



Tongue serrated laterally : os hyoides 3£ inches long: opening of glottis large: 

 trachea voluminous : length 10 inches; rings entire, three bony rings at the bifurca- 

 tion of each bronchus. (Esophagus capacious : pro-ventricular glnnds much developed 

 and of an oblong shape. Gizzard less muscular than in other gallinaceous birds; 

 cuiicular lining tough and corrugated. The structure of the gizzard shows that the 

 bird is partly an insect-feeder.* Heart large and pointed ; length from base to apex 3 

 inches 4 lines ; thickness of parieties of the left ventricle 7 lines ; of the right ventricle 

 1| line; auricles covered with fat. Liver: the lobes very obtuse; no gall-bladder. 

 Spleen of a rounded form, like that of most gallinaceous birds. Pancreas bilobed. 

 Kidney very large ; the lowest lobe the most voluminous. 



The chief points of difference between this and the other gallinaceous birds, ex- 

 cepting the Struthionidae, are the thinness of the gizzard, and the greater size of the 

 eye, ear, and nostril. But my object in bringing the anatomy of this bird before the 

 Society, is in reference to the faucial pouch (so-called), figured in Mr. Yarrell's 

 'British Birds,' 1843, and in Professor Owen's article on "Birds," * Cyclopaedia of 

 Anatomy and Physiology.' I copy the supposed discovery of this pouch from Mr. 

 Yarrell's ' British Birds,' 1843, vol. ii. p. 369 : — " Dr. James Douglas, of the College 

 of Physicians first discovered it. It is a pouch or bag to hold fresh water, which sup- 

 plies the bird in dry places when distant from water: entrance between the under-side 

 of the bill. I poured into this bag when the head was cut off nine pints of water.'' 



In a communication made to this Society by Col. Sykes (Oct. 9, 1832, to Proceed- 

 ings"), on the Otis nigriceps, he says, " the male bird is provided with the gular 

 pouch common to the Otis tarda." Professor Owen told me this morning, that " he 

 did not now believe in the existence of this pouch, that he had relied upon the state- 

 ments of others, and that Mr. Yarrell also disbelieves in its presence." 



On a careful dissection of the male bird, I find a thin membrane covering 

 the whole length of the trachea ; attached to the os hyoides above, to the oesophagus 

 and cervical vertebral behind, and to the clavicles and sternum below; its attachment 

 to the trachea in front is very loose, and a probe can readily be passed between it and 

 the trachea, and probably if air or water were introduced under it, a bag might easily 

 be formed, but it has no connexion with the mouth or pharynx, nor can I conceive 

 that it could be used for the purpose assigned to it, for if filled with water, it would 

 materially interfere with the functions of the trachea and oesophagus. The presence 

 of this membrane may perhaps account for the statement, that this male bird is pro- 

 vided with a bag to contain water during the breeding-season. I do not deny the ex- 

 istence of such a bag, but I think its presence, in any case, is very doubtful. 



* Mr. Frazer, who has been a long time in Africa, in reference to this remark, in- 

 formed me, after the meeting, that the food of the Otis Hobara consists^ chiefly of 

 grasshopper". 



