| lines | |
|---|---|
| Length of sternum | 12½ |
| Breadth anteriorly | 6½ |
| posteriorly | 9¼ |
| Width of fissures | 1½ |
| Depth of ditto | 4 |
| keel | 4¾ |
| Length of pelvis | 13½ |
| Width anteriorly | 5 |
| posteriorly | 11 |
| Length from occiput to point of bill | 16 |
| Breadth of head | 8 |
| Length of coracoids | 9 |
| No. of cervical vertebræ | 11 |
| dorsal ditto | 7 |
| sacral ditto | 10 |
| caudal ditto | 7 |
| Total | 35 |
| No. of true ribs | 5 |
| false ribs | 2·1 |
| Total | 8 |
Remarks:—The skeleton and soft parts of this bird very nearly resemble those of the genus Loxia, but differ in their superior size, in having the fissures on the posterior margin of the sternum not so deep, and in the margin itself being straighter, the coracoids larger, and in having the process at the end of the os furcatum approaching the sternum smaller than in that genus. The ribs also are stronger.
TROCHILUS GIGAS. Vieill. (Male.)
Tongue bifid, each division pointed; hyoids very long, in their position resembling those in the Picidæ; trachea of uniform diameter; destitute of muscles of voice; bronchia very long; œsophagus funnel-shaped, slightly contracted on approaching the proventriculus, which is small, and scarcely perceptible; gizzard small, moderately muscular, the inner coat slightly hardened, and filled with the remains of insects; intestine largest near the gizzard; I could not perceive a vestige of cæca.
| Inches | |
|---|---|
| Length of œsophagus, including proventriculus | 1¾ |
| Intestinal canal | 3½ |
| Length of gizzard | ¼ |
| Breadth of ditto | ⅓ |
Sternum with the keel very deep, its edge rounded, and projecting anteriorly; posterior margin rounded, and destitute of indentation or fissure; the ridges to which the pectoral muscles have their attachment, large and prominent, the horizontal portion much narrowed anteriorly, consequently the junctions of the coracoids are very near together.
Pelvis short, very broad; os pubis long, curved upwards at the extremities, projecting far downwards, and posteriorly beyond the termination of the caudal vertebræ; the ischiatic foramen small, and linear; femora placed far backwards; coracoids short, very strong, their extremities much diverging; os furcatum short, slightly arched near the extremities of the rami, which are far apart, furnished with only a small process on its approach to the sternum; scapula flattened, long, broadest near the extremity; humerus, radius, and ulna short, the metacarpal bones longer than either; the former furnished with ridges much elevated for the attachment of the pectoral muscles; caudal and dorsal vertebræ with the transverse processes long, and expanded; cranium of moderate strength, the occipital portion indented with two furrows, which pass over the vertex, and in which the hyoids lie; orbits large, divided by a complete bony septum; the lachrymal bones large, causing an expansion of the bill near the nostrils.
| lines | |
|---|---|
| Length of sternum | 13¼ |
| Breadth anteriorly | 4 |
| posteriorly | 7¼ |
| Depth of keel | 6¾ |
| Length of pelvis | 6¼ |
| Width anteriorly | 2½ |
| posteriorly | 7 |
| Length from occiput to point of bill | 27½ |
| Breath of cranium | 6½ |
| Length of coracoids | 6 |
| No. of cervical vertebræ | 10 |
| dorsal ditto | 6 |
| sacral ditto | 9 |
| caudal ditto | 5 |
| Total | 30 |
| No. of true ribs | 5 |
| false ditto | 1·3 |
| Total | 9 |
Remarks:—The skeleton of this bird does not differ in form from that of Trochilus pella, figured at page 270 of the Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology. The whole of the group are more nearly allied to fissirostral birds than any other.