40 
THE LONG-BILLED CURLEW. 
extent of wings 40 ; wing from flexure 114 ; tail 4^ ; bill along the back 81 ; 
along the edge of lower mandible 8 ; bare part of tibia 2 ; tarsus 3-, 7 a ; 
middle toe 1]4, its claw fj. Weight If lbs. 
Adult Female. 
The female cannot be distinguished from the male by external appearance. 
The bill varies in length from 7 to 9 inches. It has been remarked that 
the tarsus of this species is scutellate anteriorly in its whole length, whereas 
that of N. arquata is scutellate on its lower half only ; but this is incorrect ; 
for both species have transverse series of small scales on the upper third 
of the tarsus. 
The two palatal ridges meet- 
ing anteriorly to the aperture of 
the nares form an elevated line 
in the middle, running all the 
way to the tip of the upper 
mandible, and the lower mandi- 
ble has a median groove ; both 
are internally formed by two 
inclined planes, which leave a 
vacant space when the bill is 
closed. The tongue is very 
small, triangular, narrow, flat 
above, pointed, horny beneath; 
its base sagittate and papillate: 
its length only 1 inch 2 twelfths, 
whereas that of the bill, from 
the opening to the tip, is 8 
inches. The width of the 
mouth is 10 twelfths. The oeso- 
phagus, a b c, is 8f inches long, 
of the nearly uniform width of 
7 twelfths, contracting to 1 inch 
within the thorax; but the pro- 
ventriculus, b c, expanded to 9 
twelfths; at the top, however, 
it is funnel-shaped, where its 
greatest width at the hyoid bone 
is 1 inch. The stomach, c d ef, 
is a large and very strong giz- 
zard, of a roundish or trans- 
versely elliptical form, 11 inches 
long, II inches in breadth; its 
