100 AMERICAN WHI T E PEL ICAN.
tin; |iroventriculus, as well as.: into the stomach ; i t s walls thin, its
inner surface smooth, with numerous mucous er>(its irregularly.disposed,
The pylorus,, -is exceedingly, small, 1 | 1 u olftljs in diameter,
wiéli a thickened margin.
The duodenum g ,X- i , pass'«» backwards and upwards to the length
of (i| inches, returns upon itself enclosing the paacïeas , receives the
biliary ducts at the distance of 14 inches'from the pylorus. The gallbladder
is oblong, 2 inches long, and 1 « twe l f ths broad. Th e intestine
then forms numerous convolutions, j,k,l. occupying the whole ab.lomon,
and lying in part over the stomach and proven tt-k-til us. I t s entirc
length is 10 feet 10 inches, I t s diameter varies little, it "being at
the upper part 5 twelfths of an inch, tewi^lp | t h « e t u m ®| twelfths-
Th e rectum is 5 | inches long, including t l le^lqaca, m, which is glôf
hular, and about 2> inches .in diameter. Tl.io coeca arc 1 inch and 1
twelfth ii. length, 1 twelfths in diameter, cyiindrtcal, roundel at the
end. The muscular coat of the ; « t e s t ine s ^ ong , the inner vil-
Onfe 'of' the testes is 1 inch long, the other 1 J ; their form oblong.
In the proventriculus and stomach is 'a accumulation of small
lumbrkSpsabout inch in length, a t d amounting to, about 1000.
T h e trachea is 1 foot 10 inches long, a little flattened, i l i | i i in diameter;
throughout, hut a little narrower about the middle ; the-rings
160, not ossified, « jpépt ing the lower- The c ont r a c t é muscles are very
sma l l ; as arc the steni<-tracli«-:il ; and the inferior larynx is destitute
of muscles. The bronchi arc large, "> twelfths in Uiamctcr, of 25 half
ris^S.Kf/
Th e upper mandible is hollow iftnts whole.extent ; but the lateral
spaces intervening between the edges of the median bono or ridge and
the margins, are tilled with a beautiful net-work of bony spicnlas. Tl )e
two superior maxillary branches of the tilth pai r 'of nerves,, which are
very large, being about 1. twelfth of an inch in diameter at the base,
run close together along the. median-line, sending of"liranchcs a t intervals,
and extending to the &i dV t l i e mandible. Th e lower mandible
is also h o l l ow, a n d similarly reticulated. The infejittr maxillary
branch, having entered on the inner, side at the base, runs in like manner
along its whole length, and is of the same thickness, by an aperture
on the outer side near thé base, it sends ofl';a, branch almost as
AMERICAN WHI T E P E L ICAN. 101
thick, which runs within the membrane of the gular sac, parallel to the
mandible, and about half an inch distant from it, sending off branches
a t intervals. The sac is plentifully supplied with bloodvessels.
Th e nasal cavity is of an oblong fbip| , 1 inch and 5 twelfths in
length, passing obliquely backwards and' upwards from the aperture of
the posterior nare's, and opening externally by curving forwa rds ; its
greatest dianicter 5 twelfths, in,its lower third 3 twelfths, and So continuing
until i t expands into the inferior slit-like aperture, which is 8
twelfths long. The cavity of the nose is thus small, and the olfactory
nerve, which pas ses out from the anterior part.of the brain, is a slender
filament, about i of a twelfth in diameter. I t runs a t first through a
bonv tube, then passes along thiVbony septum of the orbits, in contact
for a short, space with the superior maxillary nerve of the fifth pair,
which at its commencement make| |k great curve upwards, and crosses
the orbit to .inter the maxillary cavity, which has no communication
with ihel feaetory. Fi g . 2 represents the sternum viewed from before.
I t is remarkable chiefly for its great breadth and convexity. I t s sides,
a b, o, . a r e nearly pa ra l lel ; its" ¡¡posterior margin broad, with two
shallow notches,';«,/, separated by a short conical obtuse median proc
e s s ^ Th e crest or ridge, A, i,.is carried forward in front, where it is only,
however, of moderate height, ntiil is not continued to the posterior extremity,
but terminates at 4', in the most convex part. The. coracoid
bones, i, i, are extremely large, very broad at their lower part, and
having a deep groove and tliiri elongated process, j , a t the upper for the
tendon of the pectoralis mel ius , which raises the wing. Th e furcula,
f : 7C; is anchylosed with the crest of the sternum, at" k, has its crura
moderately stout and much diverging, and its upper extremity very
broad and iecurvate. Th e Scapula, of which only the anterior process
t, I, in seen, is small. A sternal apparatus like this indicates a steady
and pmverfuL flight, the-wiiigs being supported upon a very firm basis,
and well separated. Th e great ma s s of the pectoral muscle being
thrown forward, i t acts more directly than in such birds as the Gallinae
and Bucks , in which i t is placed farther backwards, and although its
bulk is not so 'great as in them, i t is< more advantageously situated.
T h e sternal apparatus of this Pelican is, thus extremely similar to that
of the Cormorant, and the Amer ican Anhinga, and is also constructed