442 



Genus II.— PLOTUS, Linn. ANHINGA. 



Bill about twice the length of the head, almost straight, being very 

 slightly recurved, rather slender, compressed, tapering to a fine point; upper 

 mandible with the dorsal line slightly declinate, very slightly convex, the 

 ridge convex, gradually narrowed, the sides sloping, the edges sharp, and 

 beyond the middle cut into minute slender-pointed serratures directed 

 backwards, the tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle very long and 

 narrow, the dorsal line beyond it straight and ascending, the sides sloping 

 slightly outwards, the edges sharp and serrated, the point extremely narrow; 

 gap-line ascending towards the end. No external nostrils in the adult. 

 Head very small, oblong; neck very long and slender; body elongated and 

 slender. Feet very short and stout; tibia feathered to the point; tarsus very 

 short, roundish, reticulated; toes all connected by webs, the first of moderate 

 length, the fourth longest, the first toe and the first phalanges of the rest 

 with transverse series of scales, the rest of their extent scutellate. Claws 

 rather large, very strong, compressed, curved, very acute, the third with 

 parallel slits on the inner edge. A bare space at the base of the upper 

 mandible, including the eye; skin of the throat bare and dilated, as in the 

 Cormorants. Plumage close, blended, silky, the feathers oblong; scapulars 

 elongated, lanceolate, compact, the outer web of the largest undulated. 

 Wings of moderate length and breadth; third quill longest, inner secondaries 

 elongated and resembling the posterior scapulars. Tail very long, narrow, 

 of twelve straight feathers, having very strong shafts, and increasing in 

 breadth to the end. Tongue a slight oblong knob; oesophagus very wide; 

 proventricular glands placed on "the right side in the form of a globular sac; 

 stomach roundish, of moderate size, rather thin, with its inner coat soft and 

 smooth; a large roundish pyloric lobe; intestine long and very slender; no 

 cceca, but a small rounded termination to the rectum. 



