314 THE RED-NECKED GREBE. 



Young after first moult. 



Bill bright yellow, the ridge of the upper mandible dusky. Iris pale 

 yellow. Feet as in the adult. The upper part of the head blackish-grey, 

 the hind neck, and the upper parts generally, of the same colour, but darker 

 towards the rump; the edge of the wing and the outer secondaries greyish- 

 white, the latter grey towards the end. The lower parts greyish-white. 



Female from Dr. T. M. Brewer. Length to end of tail 19^ inches, to 

 end of wings 17-|, to end of claws 24i; wing from flexure 7f; tail If; extent 

 of wings 324; bill along the ridge 1-ff ; tarsus 2j\; hind toe ^, its claw yf ; 

 second toe 1 T |, its claw ff; third toe 2yf, its claw ~; fourth toe 2 T 9 2, its 

 claw -jj. 



The mouth is narrow, 9^ twelfths in width; the palate slightly convex, 

 with two faint lateral ridges on each side; its anterior part extremely narrow, 

 with three longitudinal ridges, the lower mandible still narrower, and deeply 

 channelled. Tongue 1 inch 7 twelfths long, slender, tapering to a thin 

 horny point, trigonal, as deep as broad, fleshy and concave above, horny 

 beneath. (Esophagus, a be, 10|- inches long; its width uniformly ^ inch 

 along the neck; the proventriculus, b c, however, is dilated to a very large 

 ovate sac nearly 1|- inches broad, 1 inch 9 twelfths in breadth. The stomach, 

 c d e f, is of enormous size, roundish, slightly compressed, 2i inches in 

 diameter; its muscular coat reduced to a single series of large fasciculi; its 

 tendons, e, circular, 9 twelfths in breadth; the epithelium thick, soft, longi- 

 tudinally rugous. The proventricular glands are of a cylindrical form, the 

 largest being |- inch long, and 1 twelfth in breadth; they form a complete 

 belt 1^ inches in breadth. The inner coat of the stomach is destitute of 

 epithelium, being quite soft and smooth. The stomach, therefore, is in all 

 respects similar to that of the truly piscivorous birds, such as Divers and 

 Herons, and totally different in structure from that of the Coots, to which 

 the Grebes might be supposed to be allied, on account of the structure of 

 their feet. On the other hand, they differ from the Divers and Cormorants 

 in the form of the oesophagus, which in these birds is extremely wide, 

 whereas in the Grebes it is exceedingly contracted, and more resembles that 

 of the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails. The proventriculus is intermediate 

 between that of the birds just mentioned and the Cormorants. There is a 

 pyloric sac of small size, approximating to that of the Pelican family. The 

 stomach is moderately distended with a great quantity of feathers, apparently 

 those of the bird itself, or of some species of the same genus. These feathers 

 are intermixed with vertebrae of small fishes, easily distinguishable by their 

 concave surfaces and three prominent spines. The duodenum curves round 

 the stomach, returning at the distance of 5J inches, ascending to the liver as 

 usual, passing down the right side, and forming several convolutions, the 



