34 
TOE PASSENGER PIGEON. 
parts pale reddish-brown, tinged with blue. The changeable spot on the 
neck is of less extent, and the eyo of a somewhat duller red, as are the feet. 
Length 15 inches, extent of wings 23 ; bill along the ridge 3, along the 
gap f- 
An adult male preserved in spirits. Length to end of tail 17 inches, to 
end of wings 123; extent of wings 24, wing from flexure 8fV; tail 8. 
The mouth is very narrow, being only 4! twelfths in breadth, but capable 
of being dilated to the width of 1 inch by means of a joint on each side of 
the lower mandible. There are two thin longitudinal ridges on the palate, 
of which the sides slope upwards. The posterior aperture of the nares is h 
inch long, margined with papillm. The tongue is 7 s twelfths long, rather 
broad and sagittate at the base, with numerous small papillae, but at the 
middle contracted to l-£ twelfths, afterwards horny, very narrow, induplicate, 
and ending in a rather sharp point. (Esophagus, a g, 5i inches long, imme- 
diately dilated to 1 inch, and to the lower part of the neck enlarged into an 
enormous sac, bed, 3 inches in breadth, and 2i inches in length, a little 
contracted in the middle, with its inner surface smooth, and at the lower 
aperture running into longitudinal prominent plicse ; in the rest of its extent 
the width of the cesophagus, e f , is about 10 twelfths. The stomach, g h i , 
is a very large and strong gizzard, placed obliquely, 2 inches 2 twelfths in 
breadth, 1 inch 1 fourth in length ; its lateral muscles exceedingly thick, the 
left being 73 twelfths, the right 8 twelfths ; the lower muscle prominent ; the 
tendons very large ; the epithelium of a horny texture, of moderate thickness, 
with longitudinal broad rugm, and two opposite longitudinal grinding sur- 
faces, of a yellowish colour. In the crop were found three entire acorns, 
and in the stomach fragments of others, and three pieces of quartz. The 
intestine, ij k l m n, is 4 feet long, 4 twelfths in width, at the narrowest 
part only 2 twelfths. The duodenum, ij k, curves in the usual manner, at 
the distance of 3 inches. The intestine forms six folds. The coeca, m, are 
extremely diminutive, being only 1^ twelfths in breadth ; they are 2 inches 
distant from the extremity; the cloaca, n, oblong. 
The trachea passes along the left side, as usual in birds having a large 
crop ; its length is 23 inches ; its breadth varying from 23 twelfths to 1£ 
twelfths ; its rings 105, feeble ; the last ring large, formed laterally of two 
rings, with an intervening membrane. Bronchi of about 15 half rings, and 
narrow. The lateral muscles strong, as are the sterno-tracheal, which come 
off at the distance of \ inch. There is a single pair of inferior laryngeal 
muscles going to the upper edge of the l|ist tracheal ring. 
