524 HABITS AND ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE 
a few hours after death. The most careful dissection of the 
organs of respiration in both birds, in which I was assisted 
by Dr WilUams, completely confirmed the discovery which 
I had made, a year ago, of the direct communication be- 
tween the trachea and great air-cells in the Trumpeter. 
This structure I shall fully explain, after a few remarks on 
the general appearance of the living bird. 
The external appearance differs little from the concise 
descriptions given by Latham and Cuvier ; but Lathanfs 
figure represents the bird much too erect ; for it usually 
carried its neck arched below, and its shoulders elevated 
above the bend of the neck, something in the manner of a 
heron. 
In the first specimen examined, I found the beak of a 
deep-brown colour, and the upper mandible a little shorter 
than the lower ; but this was evidently the effect of a hurt 
it had received some time before. The beaks of the other 
two specimens were dark-brown, streaked with deep-green. 
The upper mandible projected beyond the lower about Jth 
of an inch ; it was arched and pointed, but the extremity 
was a little rounded, though with sharp edges. The nos- 
trils are large, oval, pervious, and slightly covered above 
and behind by a blackish membrane. The eye is large, 
and of a clear bluish-black colour. Dr Latham describes 
the iris as of a luteous-brown, but in my specimens it was 
not so; the iris, in the living and in the recently dead 
bird, being with difficulty distinguishable from the pupil. 
The shield of brilliant feathers on the breast was con- 
spicuous in them all, though two were females ; but the 
colour had more of the iridescent hues of tempered steel 
than of the golden tint described by some authors. The 
feathers of the head and neck are velvet-black, soft and 
curled ; the feathers on the shoulders, and breast below the 
shield^ are long, sleoderj and more coarse. The sca})uiarg 
