VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 93 



proportions in its throat. The bill is pressed together and thin, 

 pointed ; the upper part is convex, thin, the edg-e round and 

 smooth and bare at the base ; the lower part is straight, with a 

 small elevation towards the middle, as long as the upper part, 

 but thinner. The edges of the upper and the lower part are 

 quite sharp, both parts are smooth and black, one and a quarter 

 of an inch long. The nostrils stand sideways almost in the 

 middle of the bill, they are narrow, sunk in long perforations ; 

 there is a small furrow descending from the nostrils which 

 disappears at the sides just before it reaches the end of the bill. 

 The angle of the bill has a short round yellow seam. The tongue 

 is arrow shaped, pointed, a little serrated at the edges, convex, 

 cartilaginous up to the middle, whitish, the lower part fleshy and 

 yellow. The eyebrows have at the lower part fine white feathers, 

 above the eye there is only a small line covered with these 

 feathers, the rest is black. The rainbow - like iris is of a dark 

 yellow, the pupil is black and big. The first feathers of the 

 wings are nine in number, they are a little longer than the tail, 

 the rest are eighteen in number. The tail is divided and has 

 twelve feathers, the two middle ones being a little shorter. The 

 feet are short, thin, pressed together, and black. The three front 

 toes are grown together, one palmate toe, the outer toe has 

 four joints, the second and third only three. They are bent at the 

 end and round ; the nails are black and long. The hindmost toe 

 stands a little upwards, is round and seldom touches the ground 

 on which the bird stands ; its nail is short. The colour of the 

 head is light ash-grey, under the eyes it is black ; the neck, the 

 whole of the back, and the upper coverts of the wings are brown- 

 grey. The feathers of the wings, the first coverts, the ten outer 

 feathers of the tail are black, only the two middle feathers of the 

 tail are of the same colour as the back. I had the good luck to 

 catch two specimens of the same kind on one day, and I compared 

 them. 



Towards evening we had a favourable wind and left Pullu 

 Pinang behind us ; as it grew dark, the sea was very phosphor- 

 escent and from this we concluded that we should have a warm 

 wind. The dolphins chased the smaller fish round the ship during 

 the night, and one could distinctly trace their course by the phos- 

 phoresent light of the sea. 



Soon there came another fish, it snorted as it swam along^ 



