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LARINJE. 
Body rather stout, ovate ; neck of moderate length ; 
head ovate, of moderate size. Bill generally shorter than 
the head, straight, compressed, rather acute, somewhat 
decimate at the end ; upper mandible with the ridge con- 
vex, the nasal groove rather long, the edges sharp, direct, 
overlapping, the tip declinate ; lower mandible with the 
angle long and very narrow, an angular projection at the 
commencement of the dorsal line, which is ascending and 
concave. Mouth of moderate width, opening to beneath 
the eyes ; palate flat, with two prominent ridges, and 
four series of intervening reversed papillse, on the ante- 
rior part five ridges ; tongue emarginate and papillate at 
the base, fleshy, rather narrow, tapering to a narrowly 
rounded point, and horny beneath ; oesophagus very wide ; 
proventriculus dilated ; stomach rather small, elliptical, 
moderately muscular, with large radiated tendons, and 
extremely dense, thick, longitudinally ridged epithelium; 
intestine rather long, narrow; coeca very small, cylindrical. 
Eyes rather small. Nostrils oblong or linear, reversed. 
Aperture of ear moderate. Legs short, or moderate ; ti- 
bia bare below; tarsus rather short, somewhat compressed, 
with numerous much curved scutella ; hind toe very small 
and elevated ; fore toes of moderate length, slender, con- 
nected by full membranes, of which the anterior edge is 
a little concave, the lateral toes margined externally by a 
thick scaly membrane; claws small, slightly arcuate, some- 
what compressed, obtuse. Plumage very full, close, elas- 
tic, soft, and blended, on the back and wings rather com- 
pact ; the feathers generally oblong and rounded, on the 
fore part of the head short ; wings very long, rather 
broad, pointed ; tail rather short, even, or slightly round- 
ed, of twelve broad feathers. 
The Larinae inhabit the shores of the ocean, and are 
represented by species in every latitude. They vary in 
size from chat of a goose to that of a pigeon. The larger 
species are omnivorous, the smaller feed on fishes, crus- 
