98 
AMERICAN BITTERN. 
If, its claw II; middle toe 8f; its claw 1; outer toe 21, its claw B inner 
toe 21, its claw I. Weight 1 lb. 7 oz. 
The dimensions of a young male shot in autumn were as follows : 
To end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 24, to 
end of claws 29 ; extent of wings 26; wing from 
flexure 101. Weight 1 lb. II oz. 
In dissecting this bird, the extreme compression //,/ 
of the body strikes one with surprise, its greatest 
breadth being scarcely an inch and a half, although 
it is capable of being much dilated. The great 
length and thickness of the neck are also remark- 
able ; but these circumstances are not peculiar to 
the present species, being equally observed in many 
other Herons. On the roof of the mouth are three 
longitudinal ridges; the aperture of the posterior 
nares is linear, with an oblique flap on each side ; 
the lower mandible is deeply concave, its crura JHSf/ If 
elastic and expansile; the tongue 2 r \ inches long, 
sagittate at the base with a single very slender pa- 
pilla on each side, trigonal, tapering, flattened above; 
the width of the mouth is 10 twelfths; but the pha- 
rynx is much wider. The oesophagus, a b c, which 
is fifteen inches long, is very wide, having at its 
upper part, when inflated, a diameter of 2 inches, |li| 
but gradually contracting to $ inch at its entrance 
into the thorax, and again expanding to 1 inch, its 
walls are extremely thin, and when contracted, its 
Ji 
m 
mucous coat forms strongly marked longitudinal h|| 
plaits. The provontriculus is very wide, its glan- fyj 
dules oblong and arranged in a belt 10 twelfths in ; j | 
breadth. The stomach, e, is of moderate size, > l 'j 
membranous, that is with its muscular coat very \ ’■ ; 
thin, and not forming lateral muscles ; its tendinous ' \ | 
spaces large and round, its inner coat smooth and \\ 
soft; its greatest diameter 1 inch. There is a small \ 
roundish pyloric lobe, as in other Herons. Both 
lobes of the liver lie on the right side of the pro- 
ventriculus ; one, i, being 1 inch 10 twelfths, the 
other, j, 1 inch 2 twelfths long ; the gall-bladder large, 11 twelfths long. 
The intestine is long and very slender, measuring 4 feet 7 inches, with a 
diameter of only 2 twelfths at its upper part, and II twelfths at the lower, 
