and other Birds found in Egypt. 179 



surements correspond with a p of ^. ncevia in my possession, 

 killed at Thebes. 



Head, as taken in the Ibis s, 4t\ in. ; cere to tip, 1t\ 

 in. ; humerus, 6 A in. ; ulna, 7tV in. ; femur, 4 in. ; tibia, 

 5/o in. ; tarsus, 4rV in. ; great toe, 2tV in. ; hind toe and 

 claw, 2 in. ; hind claw, l^o in. 



Sternum, antero -posterior measurement, inches. Giz- 

 zard contained the feathers and tarsi of a small bird, with 

 the usual amount of peat-like carbonaceous substance. 



Examination of the Body of a Mummied Haiuk, evidently a 

 Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus, X.) 



Head, 2tV in. ; bill from cere to tip, tV in. ; humerus, 2t\ 

 in. ; ulna, 2tV in. ; femur, lyV in. ; tibia, in. ; tarsus, 1t% 

 in. ; great toe, ItV in. ; claw of do., i\ in. 



The above dimensions are somewhat short for the p, but 

 agree with of F. tinnunculus. Stomach was empty. 



The birds found in a mummy state were evidently sub- 

 jected to the process by injecting the bituminous substance 

 into the trunk by a wound in the abdomen. In none of 

 those examined had the brain been removed or disturbed. 

 After freely bedaubing the outer surface, the tips of the 

 wings and tail were more or less twisted together, and the 

 legs either bent at the tibia-tarsal joint, and placed on the 

 front of the breast by the sides of the wings, or stretched 

 out at full length, as was usually the case with short-legged 

 birds, as the Kestrel, Eagle, &c. Long-necked birds had the 

 head brought down and placed on the belly, whilst hawks, 

 &c. were preserved in the natural position. There seems, 

 however, to have been no rule as to position of the head 

 and extremities, the object being to so form the mummy 

 that it might be easily placed in the jar, after which the 

 mouth was sealed up, and the whole deposited in tombs 

 and pits among others of the same description. It appears 

 that the latter was the case, more especially in Lower 

 Egypt, whereas at Thebes the Ibis and other birds have 

 been found with merely the usual thick walls of bandage 

 around them. 



I have often unrolled a large mass of bandage, and 



