300 AMERICAN BITTERN.
The. dimcirsions of a young male «hot in autumn were lui follows :
To Olid of tail 21 inchoate (mil eg wings 21, to end of -claws: 29 ;
extent, of wings 2» ; wing from iiexuro 1 OA. Weight X lb. 1| oz.
In dissecting this bird, the extreme compression of the bpdy strikes,
one with surprise, its greaijjgt.,lareadth being scarc^Jg .afpyin'ch and i | -
hîlf, although it is capable of being much dilated. The groat
length and thickness of the neck are also remarkable ; but tho^cir-
©iMistanees are not peculiar to the present specif being equally observed
in many other I lurons. On the roof of the mouth are three
longitudinal ridges ; the aperture of the posterior nares is lin#ar, with
an obliqfe flap on each ,side lower mandibie is deeply concave,
its crura elastic and expansile ; the longue 2.!, inches long, .sagittate
at the base with a singie. very;.slider papilla on each sicle, trigonal,
tapering, flattened abu\ e ; the width ofthiMriuuth is 10 twelfths ; but the ,
pharynx is much wider. The. oesophagus, a b n. which is ¡iftoen inches^
'• long, is very wide, having at its upper part, when Mated, a diameter
of 2 inches, but gradually contracting to | inch at its entrâmes into
the thorax, 'and again expanding to 1 inch. Its walls are. extremely
thin, and when contracted, its mucous coat forms strongly marked lcfiigitudinal
plaits. The proventriculus is,?#ry wide, its glandules oblong:
and arranged in a belt 10 twelghs in bSadth. The stomach, e, is of
mofèraïe s%e, membranous, that is-'with its muscular ccStj; xery ,thin,
ànd not forming lateral muscles : its tendinop 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 s i d e i f the proventriculus ; oneM, being 1 inchlO
twelfths, the other,./, 1 inch 2 twelfths longithp gall-biaddor large, 11
twelfths long. The intestine is; long and very slender, measuring.. 4
feet 7 inches,, with a diameter of only 2 twelfth? at its upper part, and
14 twelfth at the lower, when inflated ; the rectum 4 inches long, and
4 twelfths in diameter, its anterior, extremity rounded^ andijtavimg a.
minute papil-iiorm termination, only 1 twelfth long.
The trachea, which is I2j inches long, differ.- from that of ordinary
Herons in being much compressed, especially at its upper and lower extremities';
the middle part being less,so. It is ||1|proportionally
wider, and its rings arc narrower! At the top its diameter is 5 twelfths,
at the middle 4^ twelfths, towards the lower part 4J twelfths, at the
AMERICAN BITTERN.
301
end' i i .twelfth's* T h e r m g ^ e osséoiJ, in number 180 ; the five lower
divided in front and behind* and much,
arched, the .last measuring half an inch in a ••
direct line between its extremities. The
bronchi axe in consequence very broad at
1 1 1
their commenceiâèfÇj but gradually taper, '
and are composed of about 18 half rings.
The contractor muscles are inconspicuous, the _
sternotracheal.1 slender ; and there-is a single
pair of inferior laryngeal, going to the first
bronchial ring. The aperture of tWglottis
is 8 twelfths long, without any papilla-, but
with a deep groove behind, and two thinedgejl
flaps..
In'the digestive organs oï this bird, there
is nothing remarkably'^ffffient from that of
other lierons. The stomach contained re- ,
mains of folies and large coleopterous insects,
The examination of tlio trachea, lmmi
Mi and lungs, would not, lead us to suppoSB,,»'.
that its cry is of the curious character represented,
although it certainly would induce
us fo,believe it different from that of ordinary
Herons, which have -the trachea narrower,
round, and with broader ami more
bony rings:
Although in-external appearance and habits
it exhibits some affinity'to;this Rails,
Its digestive organs have no resemblance to
theirs.
' /W
Wttm
An egg presented by Dr Beewer of Boston measures two inches in
length by (me inch and a half, and is. of a broadly oval shape, rather
pointed at the smaller end, and of a uniform dull olivaceous tint.