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simile of the fmger, the tip is directed forwards with the nail-like portion downwards, the part corresponding to the free edge of the 
nail appearing along the lower margin of the anterior rounded surface. This unguis, or nail-like portion, appears to me further 
to resemble a nail in that its anterior edge is not quite regular and is free, while the posterior margin is continuous with the 
neighbouring epithelium, which is almost enough to show that it grows forwards, and is worn down, as is a nail, by constant 
contact with foreign substances. In the typical Parrots this unguis of the tongue is broader than long, horny in texture, 
semicylindroid, with its lateral margins extending up the sides of the organ and encroaching on the borders of the superior 
surface for a short distance ; not imbedded at the sides as is a nail. Its anterior border is nearly straight. 
“ In the Trichoglossi this horny plate is also present, and is similarly constructed ; but on the superior surface of the tongue, 
between the lateral edges of the unguis, in the part which in others is covered by a smooth longitudinally plicated epithelium, 
there is an arrangement of retrovertod papillae forming a spinous covering ; and their mechanism is such that when the tongue 
is protruded beyond the mouth to grasp any object, the papillae stand upright or are even directed somewhat forward. 
“ In Nestor there are no papillae of this description, but the tongue is here, as Dr. Buller says, ‘ soft, rounded on the edges, 
with a broad central groove,’ and it is as smooth as in other Parrots. Therefore the Kaka Parrot cannot in this point be said 
to approach the Trichoglossi (badly so called). 
“ The peculiarity of the tongue of Nestor consists in the fact that the anterior edge of the unguis, always free (though for a 
very short distance) and jagged, as mentioned above, in the other birds of the class, is here prolonged forwards, beyond the tip 
of the tongue, for about -fa inch as a delicate fringe of hairs, with a crescentic contour. This fringe seems to result from the 
breaking up into fibres of the forward-growing plate, which is always marked by longitudinal striations, clearest anteriorly, the 
result of unequal density and translueency of the tissue composing it, though on making a cross section I was not able to find any 
of the longitudinal papillary ridges which are present in the human nail and which the striation led me to expect. The unguis 
is also longer than broad, and very narrow considering the size of the bird, as is also the whole tongue, though the length is 
greater than in others of the class. In the living bird the mouth is moist, as in the Lories, and not, as in tho Cockatoos and 
others, dry and scaly. 
“ From these considerations, and a comparison of the tongues of Stringops, Nestor, and Trichoglossus, it is evident that 
the structure of this organ would lead to the placing of Nestor among the typical Parrots, though an aberrant one, and not with 
the Tnchoglossince ; and other points in its anatomy favour this conclusion.” (P.Z. S. 1872, pp. 787-789.) 
Nestlings of Nestor notabilis. (See page 174.) 
