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Show 1899.] ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE RATITE BIRDS. 787 the Gardens it would go straight to a pond, plunge boldly into the water and commence swimming ; it swain slowly, but with facility and determination. Colour. Iris dark brown; naked portion of face- $ flesh-coloured; <5 flesh-coloured, except the space between the eyes and the proboscis, which are purplish brown. Ears particoloured, black and flesh-coloured. Hands, feet, and ischial callosities black. Hair, $ . Beddish brown, bright chestnut on the top of the head, neck, and shoulders ; underneath of head, neck, and body pale buff ; a conspicuous white patch on the lower part of the back, forming a transverse diamond-shaped mark ; tail white, the extreme tip being reddish buff. Hair, <$ (jr.). M u c h brighter coloured than the adult $ . The upper parts are very bright yellowish chestnut, darkest on the top of the head ; the lower parts are silvery buff ; an irregular grey patch on the lower part of the back ; tail silvery white at the base, gradually turning to brownish grey towards the tip. Eyebrows, basal third red-brown, remainder black. Hairs on the lips white. Measurements. ? • 6 juv. „ tail (without end hair).... „ (with „ „).... iu. 22 • • 24 J .. 25* • • 194 - 21J 13 .. li . 1 .. 74 A mm. 559 616 648 489 540 330 32 25 184 in. 19 18 184 144 16£ 8 li 1 6 -* , m4m8.2 457 470 368 419 203 32 20 152 3. On the Temperature of the Ratite Birds. By ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND, M.A. [Eeceived May 17, 1899.] There is a large and fascinating chapter in the history of animal development which remains to be written, and lies as yet practically untouched. It is the story of the process by which the cold-blooded animals grew to be warm-blooded: or, to speak more definitely, it is the story of that adaption of the vaso-motor nerves and their centre in the medulla whereby, from a simple apparatus to regulate the flow of blood in the body to the parts where it happened to be needed, the whole system took on the more complicated function of regulating the temperature and keeping it at a high level most favourable to the animal's activity. Before the story of that process can be written, many preliminary |