THE BED- NECKED GREBE. 
197 
Young after first moult. 
Bill bright yellow, the ridge of the upper mandible dusky. Iris pale 
yellow. Feet as in the adult. The upper part of the head blackish-grey, 
the hind neck, and the upper parts generally, of the same colour, but darker 
towards the rump ; the edge of the wing and the outer secondaries greyish- 
white, the latter grey towards the end. The lower parts greyish-white. 
Female from Dr. T. M. Brewer. Length to end of tail 194 inches, to 
end of wings 174, to end of claws 24i ; wing from«flexure 7f ; tail II ; extent 
of wings 321 ; bill along the ridge ; tarsus 2 T % ; hind toe its claw ; 
second toe 1}|, its claw third toe 2f|, its claw T % ; fourth, toe 2 r 9 2 , its 
claw T V 
The mouth is narrow, 94 twelfths in width ; the palate slightly convex, 
with two faint lateral ridges on each side ; its anterior part extremely nar- 
row, with three longitudinal ridges, the lower mandible still narrower, and 
deeply channelled. Tongue 1 inch 7 twelfths long, slender, tapering to a 
thin horny point, trigonal, as deep as broad, fleshy and concave above, horny 
beneath. (Esophagus, a b c, 10! inches long; its width uniformly 4 inch 
along the neck ; the proventriculus, h c, however, is dilated to a very large 
ovate sac nearly 14 inches broad, 1 inch 9 twelfths in breadth. The stomach, 
c d e f is of enormous size, roundish, slightly compressed, 2i inches in 
diameter ; its muscular coat reduced to a single series of large fasciculi ; its 
tendons, e, circular, 9 twelfths in breadth ; the epithelium thick, soft, longi- 
tudinally rugous. The proventricular glands are of a cylindrical form, the 
largest being | inch long, and 1 twelfth in breadth ; they form a complete 
belt 1£ inches in breadth. The inner coat of the stomach is destitute of 
epithelium, being quite soft and smooth. The stomach, therefore, is in all 
respects similar to that of the truly piscivorous birds, such as Divers and 
Herons, and totally different in structure from that of the Coots, to which 
the Grebes might be supposed to be allied, on account of the structure of 
their feet. On the other hand, they differ from the Divers and Cormorants 
in the form of the oesophagus, which in these birds is extremely wide, 
whereas in the Grebes it is exceedingly contracted, and more resembles that 
of the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails. The proventriculus is intermediate 
between that of the birds just mentioned and the Cormorants. There is a 
pyloric sac of small size, approximating to that of the Pelican family. The 
stomach is moderately distended with a great quantity of feathers, apparent- 
ly those of the bird itself or of some species of the same genus. These feathers 
are intermixed with vertebras of small fishes, easily distinguishable by their 
concave surfaces and three prominent spines. The duodenum curves round 
the stomach, returning at the distance of inches, ascending to the liver 
as usual, passing down the right side, and forming several convolutions, the 
