598 CRESTED GREBE.
Length to end of tail 19g, to end of claws 2 4 | ; extent of wings 30 ;
bill along the back along the edge of lower mandible 2f; tarsus 9.\ ;
third toe its claw \. Weight 1 lb. 6\ oz.
The following account of the digestive organs of this species was taken
from an adult male.
The oesophagus is nine and a half inches long; at its commencement,
and for an inch and a half, it has a diameter of half an inch, for the next
two inches only two-twelfths, towards the lower extremity four-twelfths;
this, however, in the contracted state, the specimen having been kept in
spirits. The mucous coat is raised into numerous longitudinal folds.
The walls of the proventriculus are extremely thick, the glands cylindrical,
generally about a quarter of an inch long, and one-twelfth in diameter.
The stomach is roundish, compressed, the muscular coat very
thick, being that of a true gizzard, the tendons nearly half an inch in diameter
; the inner coat thick, the cuticular lining very thick and rugous.
Between the orifice of the oesophagus and the pylorus is a rounded
lobe, from the lower part of which the intestine comes off. The pylorus
has no valve, but a thick marginal rim. The intestine, immediately after
its commencement, dilates to the diameter of half an inch, and continues
of that size for twelve inches, then gradually contracts for about six inches,
when its diameter is four-twelfths, and again within six inches of the cceca
becomes enlarged. The cceca come off at the distance of two inches from
the anus, and are an inch and a half in length, a little enlarged towards
their extremity, and rounded. The rectum is half an inch in diameter,
the cloaca one inch. The entire length of the intestine is forty-two inches.
The heart is conical, rather pointed, and slightly curved. The trachea
is flattened, of uniform diameter, the rings complete, 167 in number, its
transverse diameter two inches and half a twelfth, contracted at the bifurcation
to two-twelfths.
The tail of the Grebes is usually described as a small tuft of feathers;
but on carefully removing the coverts and downy parts, the tail may be
satisfactorily traced. In this species there are 14 feathers, on each side
7 arranged in a semicircular manner. The two middle feathers are separated
to the distance of about ft, and the two outer or lateral approach
each other below, leaving an interval of about the same space. When the
feathers are broken across near their bases, which they frequently arc,
there is thus produced the appearance of a small circular tuft. When
perfect, they are about \ \ inches long, arched, with loose barbs, downy
at their extremities.
( 599 )
T H E L A R G E - B I L L E D PUFFIN.
MORMON GLACIALIS, LEACH.
PLATE CCXCIII. MALE.
ALTHOUGH my learned friend Prince CHARLES BONAPARTE says in
his Synopsis of the Birds of the United States, that this species is not uncommon
in winter on our coast, I have only once met with it, and even
then I rather supposed than was actually certain that the birds observed
were Large-billed Puffins. They occurred on the outer side of the Island
of Grand Manan, at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. None were seen
by myself or my companions on our way to Labrador, or in that country,
so that I am unable to say any thing respecting the habits of this remarkable
bird. The specimens from which my figures were taken were
kindly lent to me by Mr GOULD of London, whose name must be familiar
to you as a successful cultivator of Ornithology.
MORMON GLACIALIS, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 430.
LARGE-BILLED PUFFIN, Nuttall, Manual, voL ii. p. 541.
Adult Male. Plate C C X C I I I . Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, nearly as high as long, exceedingly
compressed, at the base higher than the head, obliquely furrowed on the
sides. Upper mandible with a horny rim along the incurved basal margin,
its dorsal line irregularly curved from the base, the ridge very narrow
but rounded, the sides rapidly sloping, and marked with three curved
oblique grooves, the edges strong, rather sharp, their outline nearly straight,
the tip deflected, very narrow, but obtuse. Between the basal rim and
the first groove is a triangular flat space, in the lower part of which, close
to the edge of the mandible, is the linear direct nostril. Lower mandible
with the angle narrow, and so placed that the base is inflected much
beyond the perpendicular, the dorsal line irregularly curved, towards the
end ascending and nearly straight, the ridge narrow, broader about the
middle, the sides nearly flat and grooved, the edges strong, the tip very
narrow. The gape extends downwards a little beyond the base of the
bill, and is furnished with a soft corrugated extensible membrane.
Head large, oblong, anteriorly compressed. Eyes of moderate ^ize,