BLACK-NECKED STILT. 
83 
upwards, at the tip decimate ; the ridge convex, the sides convex, the edges 
sharp and inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute. Nasal groove nearly 
half the length of the bill ; nostrils linear, direct, sub-basal, pervious. 
Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the sides grooved 
as far as the angle, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow. 
Head small, ovate, rounded above ; neck very long and slender ; body 
rather compact. Legs extremely elongated and slender ; tibia bare for more 
than half its length, covered anteriorly with large curved scutella ; tarsus 
very long, moderately compressed, scutellate before, reticulate on the sides ; 
toes of moderate length, slender ; hind toe wanting, outer a little longer than 
inner, and connected with the middle toe by a web extending nearly to the 
second joint ; the inner toe also connected with the middle by a very short 
web. Claws small, nearly straight, moderately compressed. 
Plumage ordinary, the feathers ovate and rounded. Wings very long, of 
moderate breadth, acute, the first quill longest, the other primaries rapidly 
graduated. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers. 
Bill black, iris bright carmine ; feet lake-coloured, claws dusky. Fore- 
head, a spot above the eye, another below it, fore part and sides of the neck, 
and all the other lower parts, pure white. Upper part of head, hind neck, 
and upper parts, bluish-black, glossed with green ; tail white. 
Length to end of tail 144 inches, to end of wings 164, to end of claws 21|; 
extent of wings 2T; wing from flexure 9; tail 2j-f; bill along the ridge 2 T 8 3 , 
along the edge of lower mandible 2H; bare part of tibia 3^-; tarsus 4f| ; mid- 
dle toe LJ, its claw y^. Weight 61 oz. 
The Female is smaller than the male, but otherwise similar. 
Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 151, to end of claws 20 ; 
extent of wings 25f. Weight 5 oz. 
The median ridge of the anterior part of the roof of the mouth is furnished 
with a few short papillae. The tongue is 1 inch 2 twelfths long, slender, 
tapering, emarginate and papillate at the base. The oesophagus is 1 inches 
long, with an average diameter of 4 twelfths ; the proventriculus 9 twelfths 
long, and 6 twelfths in diameter. The stomach is elliptical, 1 inch in length, 
84 twelfths in breadth ; its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the right 
being 4 twelfths thick ; the inner coat or epithelium dense, longitudinally 
rugous, and of a brownish-red colour. The intestine is 20 inches'long, its 
diameter varying from 3 to 14 twelfths. The coeca are 1| inches long, T \ in 
diameter at the base, 2 twelfths towards the end, which is blunt. 
The trachea is 54 inches long, rather wide, its diameter at the upper part 
3 twelfths, gradually diminishing to 1| twelfths ; the rings 120, unossified, 
excepting a few at the lower part. The contractor muscles are feeble ; the 
Vol. YI. 5 
