40 



THE LONG-BILLED CURLEW. 



extent of wings 40; wing from flexure 11 J; tail 4^; bill along the back 8j; 



along the edge of lower mandible S; bare part of tibia 2; tarsus 3^ middle 



toe l-f§, its claw -ff. Weight If lbs. 

 Adult Female. 



The female cannot be distinguished from the male by external appearance. 

 The bill varies in length from 7 to 9 inches. It has been remarked that 



the tarsus of this species is scutellate anteriorly in its whole length, whereas 



that of N. arquata is scutellate on its lower half only; but this is incorrect; 



for both species have transverse series of small scales on the upper third of 



the tarsus. 



The two palatal ridges meet- 

 ing anteriorly to the aperture of 

 the nares form an elevated line 

 in the middle, running all the 

 way to the tip of the upper 

 mandible, and the lower mandi- 

 ble has a median groove; both 

 are internally formed by two 

 inclined planes, which leave a 

 vacant space when the bill is 

 closed. The tongue is very 

 small, triangular, narrow, flat 

 above, pointed, horny beneath; 

 its base sagittate and papillate; 

 its length only 1 inch 2 twelfths, 

 whereas that of the bill, from 

 the opening to the tip, is 8 

 inches. The width of the 

 mouth is 10 twelfths. The oeso- 

 phagus, a b c, is 8f inches long, 

 of the nearly uniform width of 

 7 twelfths, contracting to ^ inch 

 within the thorax; but the pro- 

 ventriculus, b c, expanded to 9 

 twelfths; at the top, however, 

 it is funnel-shaped, where its 

 greatest width at the hyoid bone 

 is 1 inch. The stomach, c d ef, 

 is a large and very strong giz- 

 zard, of a roundish or trans- 

 versely elliptical form, lj inches 

 long. If inches in breadth; its 



