98 



AMERICAN BITTERI 



its claw 1^; middle toe 3f; its claw 1; outer toe 2-f, its claw £?; inner toe 

 2i, its claw f . Weight 1 lb. 7 oz. 



The dimensions of a young male shot in autumn were as follows: 



To end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 24, to 

 end of claws 29; extent of wings 26; wing from 

 flexure 10 A. Weight 1 lb. 1| oz. 



In dissecting this bird, the extreme compression 

 of the body strikes one with surprise, its greatest 

 breadth being scarcely an inch and a half, although 

 it is capable of being much dilated. The great 

 length and thickness of the neck are also remark- 

 able; but these circumstances are not peculiar to 

 the present species, being equally observed in many 

 other Herons. On the roof of the mouth are three 

 longitudinal ridges; the aperture of the posterior 

 nares is linear, with an oblique flap on each side; 

 the lower mandible is deeply concave, its crura 

 elastic and expansile; the tongue 2^ inches long, 

 sagittate at the base with a single very slender pa- 

 pilla on each side, trigonal, tapering, flattened above; 

 the width of the mouth is 10 twelfths; but the pha- 

 rynx is much wider. The oesophagus, a b c, which 

 is fifteen inches long, is very wide, having at its 

 upper part, when inflated, a diameter of 2 inches, 

 but gradually contracting to J inch at its entrance 

 into the thorax, and again expanding to 1 inch. Its 

 walls are extremely thin, and when contracted, its 

 mucous coat forms strongly marked longitudinal 

 plaits. The proventriculus is very wide, its glan- 

 dules oblong and arranged in a belt 10 twelfths in 

 breadth. The stomach, e, is of moderate size, 

 membranous, that is with its muscular coat very 

 thin, and not forming lateral muscles; its tendinous 

 spaces large and round, its inner coat smooth and 

 soft; its greatest diameter 1 inch. There is a small 

 roundish pyloric lobe, as in other Herons. Both 

 lobes of the liver lie on the right side of the pro- 

 ventriculus; one, *", being 1 inch 10 twelfths, the 



other, j, 1 inch 2 twelfths long; the gall-bladder large, 11 twelfths long. 

 The intestine is long and very slender, measuring 4 feet 7 inches, with a 

 diameter of only 2 twelfths at its upper part, and lj twelfths at the lower, 



