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![opposite directions. This arrangement acts as a contracting influence
on this muscle and its tendons, while the weight of the bird is
sufficient to preserve this condition and the consequent flexion of
the toes.
To turn to those muscles the arrangement of which has, been
made the basis of a suggested classification. In the leg of the bird
there are, among others, four muscles, the names of which are
femoro-caudal, accessory femoro-caudal, semi-tendinosus, and
accessory semi-tendinosus, any of which may be absent, but in
those cases where a single muscle only is found the first is always
present; again, there is a muscle which, from its course, is known as
the ambiens, and this, too, may be present or may be absent. As the
presence or absence of any of these muscles is a very constant
phenomenon in any given section of birds, it has been proposed to
divide the class into those which do, and those which do not,
possess the above-named ambiens muscle. In the latter group the
second of the four above-named muscles—the accessory femoro-
caudal—is never present.[141]
Of all the muscles, those which act in aid of the vocal organs are
of the greatest interest, but they will be considered a little later on.
A valuable suggestion has been made, which, if followed out,
may lead us to understand how it is that the brain of the bird, which
is so simple as compared with that of man, is nevertheless capable
of so much intelligent activity. Bearing in mind the axiom that it is
quality not quantity that tells, and looking at the fact that the brain
of the most highly intelligent man is, after death, supposed to be
similar to that of the foolish and of the unwise of our race, it is
obvious that the essential difference must lie elsewhere than in the
coarser, or more evident, characters of that organ which is known as
the brain. The suggestion, then, that was made, was to the effect,
that the possessors of aviaries, in which it was possible to study the
characters of birds, should submit the brains of their deceased
favourites to that more thorough investigation which the microscope
allows of. The brains of birds vary but little in their anatomy. The](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/11584-250626203835-d44632fd/75/Auditing-and-Assurance-Services-Louwers-4th-Edition-Solutions-Manual-17-2048.jpg)
![seems that, in many cases, the condition known as that of being
“short-sighted” depends, is very long in some birds, and notably in
the Owls.
The eye is covered in by a firm and strong membrane, which is
known as the “sclerotic;” this, in its front part, develops a number of
bony plates; of these there may be as many as twenty, and they are
capable of a certain amount of free movement on one another. What
is known as the power of accommodation depends upon the extent
to which the front face of the somewhat lens-shaped body which
helps to separate the eye into two chambers is capable of being
rendered more or less flat; this front face is covered by a membrane
which is found to be more or less taut, according to the state of
contraction of the muscles (ciliary muscles) connected with it. A very
little reflection is sufficient to show that a swiftly moving animal has
the focus of its eye, or the point at which clear vision is alone
possible, changed much more rapidly than an animal which moves
more slowly. So much on the one side. On the other, it is to be
observed that muscles vary in structure; they are either “smooth” or
“striated,” and it is the latter that contract the more rapidly. Putting
these two series of observations together, it is easy to arrive at the
result that a bird should have striated muscular fibre in its ciliary
muscles, and a more slowly moving animal like man, smooth
muscular fibres; and this we find to be the case! The iris is an
arrangement by which the quantity of light admitted into the eye is
enabled to be varied, and the small hole in the centre, through
which the rays of light pass, is known as the pupil; this is always
rounded in birds, and is never elongated as it is in some mammals—
the Cats, for example.[142]
But the most peculiar arrangement in the bird’s eye is the
presence, projecting into the hinder chamber, of a membrane in
which run blood-vessels; this, which is known as the pecten (comb),
or marsupium (pouch), enters the vitreous humour, which fills up
this hinder chamber by the same cleft as the optic nerve. It is
folded, and is generally of a quadrangular shape; it is not found in
the eye of the Wingless Bird of New Zealand (Apteryx).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/11584-250626203835-d44632fd/75/Auditing-and-Assurance-Services-Louwers-4th-Edition-Solutions-Manual-19-2048.jpg)
![the birds of prey the female is larger than the male, and is much the
more powerful bird. This fact is always recognised in falconry,
especially in the short-winged Hawks, such as Sparrow-Hawks or
Goshawks, whose females are always preferred, as possessing the
greater power for holding ground game, such as Rabbits, Hares, &c.
The difference in size is not very noticeable in the Vultures, but is
unmistakable in the long-legged Sparrow-Hawks, Eagles, and
Falcons. The form of the breast-bone, which plays such an important
part in the classification of other birds, is a character of less value in
the birds of prey, as it varies to a great extent even in those species
which, by their habits and general structure, are most closely allied.
Another character possessed by these birds is the distinct cere,
which is present in all, though much hidden by bristles in the Owls:
it is a waxy covering to the base of the bill, often hard, but generally
fleshy in substance.
Birds of prey are of three kinds: Hawks, Ospreys, and Owls.
Under the first name is included every rapacious bird which is not an
Osprey or an Owl, and, therefore, the first thing to find out is—how
to tell an Owl from a Hawk. At one time it was supposed that all
Owls came out by night and all Hawks by day, and so they were
separated into two great divisions, which were called diurnal birds of
prey[143] and nocturnal birds of prey.[144] Now, however, that the
habits of birds are getting better observed, these divisions have to
be abandoned as not being entirely true, for there are Owls which
are quite at home in the daylight, when they hunt for their food like
any other bird of prey, and at least one kind of Hawk is known,
whose habit it is to feed on Bats in the evening. This is Andersson’s
Pern,[145] a kind of Kite, allied to the Honey-kite of England. It is
found only in the Damara Country, in South-western Africa, and in
Madagascar. A far better way to distinguish Hawks from Owls is seen
in the foot, as the latter have the outer toe reversible—that is to say,
they can turn their outer toe backwards or forwards as they please.
This is easily observed in the living birds; and any one examining a
caged Owl in the Zoological Gardens will see that it sits with its toes
in pairs—two in front and two behind. A Hawk cannot do this, all his](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/11584-250626203835-d44632fd/75/Auditing-and-Assurance-Services-Louwers-4th-Edition-Solutions-Manual-42-2048.jpg)
![toes being arranged as in a little perching bird, such as a Sparrow or
a Canary, three in front and one behind. Then, again, Owls have no
“after-shaft” to the feathers, a structure which most Hawks possess.
The “after-shaft” is the small accessory plume, which springs from
the under-side of the main feather. In some birds it is very large, in
others small. It occurs on the body feathers only, and is never found
in the quills or tail feathers (see p. 238). Lastly, in addition to the
reversible outer toe, and the absence of an accessory plume or
after-shaft, Owls may be distinguished from all other birds of prey,
save one, by the proportions of their leg-bones. In the skeleton
figured on p. 241 the three principal leg-bones are pointed out; and
it is the length which the tarsus bears in proportion to the tibia that
is here insisted on. In the Owls the tarsus is only about half the
length of the tibia; this is never the case in a Hawk, in which these
two bones bear different proportions the one to the other, according
to the sub-family. Thus in Sparrow-Hawks and Harriers[146] the tibia
and the tarsus are equal in length. In Eagles and Buzzards, Kites and
true Falcons, the tibia is always much longer than the tarsus, but is
never double its length, as it is in the Owls. The term “Hawk,” which
has been employed throughout the foregoing sentences, is intended
to apply to every bird of prey excepting the Owls, with the sole
exception of the Osprey. The habits of the Osprey are noticed later
on, but they may be briefly stated to be similar to those of a Sea-
Eagle, its prey consisting entirely of fish, while its plumage and
general appearance are also those of an Eagle, so that in many
places it is popularly known as the “Fish Hawk,” or “Fishing Eagle;”
but here the resemblance of the Osprey to the Eagle ends, and in its
other characters it is very like an Owl. The tibia is more than double
the length of the tarsus, as in the Owls; the feathers of the body
have no after-shaft, as in the Owls, and the outer toe is reversible,
as in the Owls. Possessing, therefore, as it does, some of the most
prominent features of the Eagles, as well as some of the most
striking peculiarities of the Owls, the Osprey holds an intermediate
position between these two sub-orders of birds.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/11584-250626203835-d44632fd/75/Auditing-and-Assurance-Services-Louwers-4th-Edition-Solutions-Manual-43-2048.jpg)
![HEAD AND BILL OF SEA EAGLE. (After Keulemans.)
(a) bony eye-shelf; (b) cere.
The birds of prey, then, may be separated into three sub-orders:
—
(a). Outer toe not reversible; tibia varying in length in proportion to the
tarsus, sometimes equal to it, but never double the length of the
latter; body feathers with an after-shaft or accessory plume.
(American Vultures excepted.)
I. Hawks (Falcones).[147]
(b). Outer toe reversible; tibia double the length of tarsus; body feathers
without an after-shaft or accessory plume; plumage compact, as in
an Eagle; no facial disk.
II. Ospreys (Pandiones).[148]
(c). Outer toe reversible; tibia double the length of tarsus; body feathers
without an after-shaft; plumage soft and fluffy; a facial disk.
III. Striges;[149] Owls.
The Falcones, or Hawks, include in their number more kinds of
rapacious birds than the other two sub-orders. All the Vultures, the
Caracaras, the Harriers, the Sparrow-Hawks, the Buzzards, Eagles,
Kites, and Falcons, together numbering some four hundred different
species, are classified as Falcones. Only one species of Osprey is
known, which is found nearly all over the world; and about two
hundred different kinds of Owls remain to represent the STRIGES.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/11584-250626203835-d44632fd/75/Auditing-and-Assurance-Services-Louwers-4th-Edition-Solutions-Manual-44-2048.jpg)
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- 5. Type: Solutions Manual – –. We also faced similar difficulities when we were students, and we understand how you feel. But now, with the Auditing and Assurance Services 4th Solutions Manual, you will be able to * Anticipate the type of the questions that will appear in your exam. * Reduces the hassle and stress of your student life. * Improve your studying and also get a better grade! * Get prepared for examination questions. * Can save you time and help you understand the material. This is the quality of service we are providing and we hope to be your helper. Solutions Manual is accurate. Prepare to receive your Auditing and Assurance Services 4th Solutions Manual in the next moment. If you have any questions, or would like a receive a sample chapter before your purchase, please contact us at [email protected] Auditing and Assurance Services Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers Ramsay Sinason Strawser Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers Ramsay Sinason Strawser 4th Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers Ramsay Sinason Strawser 4th Solutions Manual Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers 4th Edition Solutions Manual CHAPTER 2 Professional Standards SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS 2.1 For independent (external) auditors of financial statements, practice standards are issued by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (in the form of Statements on Auditing Standards) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (in the form of Auditing Standards). Statements on Auditing Standards are appropriate for the audits of nonpublic entities, while Auditing Standards are appropriate for the audits of public entities. For governmental auditors, the Government Accountability Office issues Government Auditing Standards (also known as the “Yellow Book”). For internal auditors, the Institute of Internal Auditors issues Statements of Internal Auditing Standards (also known as the “Red Book”).
- 6. For fraud auditors,the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners issues Professional Standards and Practices for Certified Fraud Examiners. For auditors in other countries, the IFAC International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board issues International Standards on Auditing and Assurance. 2.2 Generally accepted auditing standards are standards that identify necessary qualifications and characteristics of auditors and guide the conduct of the audit examination. Generally accepted accounting principles represent the requirements for the preparation and presentation of financial statements and accompanying footnote disclosures. These two types of standards are related to one another because a primary objective of a GAAS audit is to allow auditors to conclude whether an entity’s financial statements are prepared and presented in conformity with GAAP. 2.3 The three fundamental principles are: 1. Responsibilities, which involves having appropriate competence and capabilities, complying with relevant ethical requirements, maintaining professional skepticism and exercising professional judgment. 2. Performance, which requires auditors to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free of material misstatement by: (1) planning the work and properly supervising assistants; (2) determining and applying appropriate material levels; (3) identifying and assessing the risk of material misstatement; and, (4) obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence. 3. Reporting, which requires the auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. Auditing procedures relate to acts to be performed during the engagement. Auditing standards deal with measures of the quality of performance of those acts and the objectives to be attained. Auditing standards are less subject to change and provide the criteria for rejecting, accepting, or modifying auditing procedures in a given circumstance. An example of the relative stability of standards and procedures is found in the change from non computerized information systems to computerized information systems. New auditing procedures were required to evaluate computerized information systems, but auditing standards remained unchanged and were the criteria for determining the adequacy of the new auditing procedures. 2.4 Independence in fact represents auditors’ mental attitudes (do auditors truly act in an unbiased and impartial fashion with respect to the client and fairness of its financial statements?). Independence in appearance relates to financial statement users’ perceptions of auditors’ independence.
- 7. Auditors can beindependent in fact but not perceived to be independent. For example, ownership of a small interest in a public client would probably not influence auditors’ behavior with respect to the client. However, it is likely that third-party users would not perceive auditors to be independent. 2.5 Due care reflects a level of performance that would be exercised by reasonable auditors in similar circumstances. Auditors are expected to have the skills and knowledge of others in their profession (known as that of a prudent auditor) and are not expected to be infallible. 2.6 Professional skepticism is a state of mind that is characterized by appropriate questioning and a critical assessment of audit evidence. Professional judgment is the auditors’ application of relevant training, knowledge, and experience in making informed decisions about appropriate courses of action during the audit engagement. Auditors are required to demonstrate professional skepticism and professional judgment throughout the entire audit process. 2.7 Reasonable assurance recognizes that a GAAS audit may not detect all material misstatements and auditors are not “insurers” or “guarantors” regarding the fairness of the company’s financial statements. The following characteristics of an audit do not permit auditors to provide absolute assurance: • Mistakes and misinterpretations may occur • Management judgments and estimates affect financial reporting • Audit procedures cannot always be relied upon to detect misstatements • Audit engagements must be conducted within a reasonable period of time and so as to achieve a balance between benefit and cost. 2.8 Three elements of planning and supervision considered essential in audit practice are: • A written audit plan. • An understanding of the client’s (auditee’s) business. • Policies to allow an audit team member to document disagreements with accounting or auditing conclusions and disassociate him or herself from the matter. 2.9 The timing of the auditors’ appointment is important because auditors need time to properly plan the audit and perform the necessary work without undue pressure from tight deadlines. 2.10 Materiality is the dollar amount that would influence the lending or investing decisions of users; this concept recognizes that auditors should focus on matters that are important to financial statement users. Materiality should be considered in planning the audit, performing the audit, and evaluating the effect of misstatements on the entity’s financial statements. 2.11 Auditors obtain an understanding of a client, including its internal control, as a part of the control risk assessment process primarily in order to plan the nature, timing and extent of
- 8. substantive audit procedures.A secondary purpose is because of auditors’ responsibilities for reporting on client’s internal controls under Auditing Standard No. 5. 2.12 As the client’s internal control is more effective (a lower level of control risk), auditors may use less effective substantive procedures (a higher level of detection risk). Conversely, when the client’s internal control is less effective (a higher level of control risk), auditors must use more effective substantive procedures (a lower level of detection risk). 2.13 Audit evidence is defined as the information used by auditors in arriving at the conclusion on which the audit opinion is based. 2.14 External documentary evidence is audit evidence obtained from another party to an arm’s length transaction or from outside independent agencies. External evidence is received directly by auditors and is not processed through the client’s information processing system. External internal documentary evidence is documentary material that originates outside the bounds of the client’s information processing system but which has been received and processed by the client. Internal documentary evidence consists of documentary material that is produced, circulates, and is finally stored within the client’s information processing system. Such evidence is either not circulated to outside parties at all or is several steps removed from third-party attention. 2.15 In general, evidence that is completely external in nature is most reliable, because the client has not influenced its processing. In contrast, evidence that is completely internal in nature is least reliable, as it may represent a fictitious transaction created or modified by client personnel to enhance perceptions of the client’s financial statements. 2.16 As auditors need to achieve lower levels of detection risk, more appropriate evidence needs to be obtained. Thus, auditors should gather higher quality evidence (more reliable evidence). For example, auditors may choose to obtain evidence from external sources rather than internal sources. In addition, for lower levels of detection risk, auditors need to gather more sufficient evidence. Because sufficiency relates to the quantity of evidence, a greater number of transactions or components of an account balance should be examined. 2.17 A financial reporting framework is a set of criteria used to determine the measurement, recognition, presentation, and disclosure of material items in the financial statements. The financial reporting framework is related to auditors’ reporting responsibilities because this framework serves as the basis against which the financial statements are evaluated and the auditors’ opinion on the financial statements is expressed. 2.18 Four types of opinions and their conclusions: Type Conclusion
- 9. Unqualified opinion Financialstatements are presented in conformity with GAAP. Adverse opinion Financial statements are not presented in conformity with GAAP. Qualified opinion Financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP, except for one or more departures or issues of concern. Disclaimer of opinion An opinion cannot be issued on the financial statements. 2.19 The auditors’ report is dated at the point when all significant procedures have been completed by auditors and auditors have gathered sufficient appropriate evidence. This date is referred to as the audit completion date. 2.20 Public accountants should issue a report when they are associated with financial statements because users may mistakenly assume that an audit has been conducted and that the entity’s financial statements are fairly presented according to GAAP. 2.21 The purpose served by the attestation standards is to guide work in attestation areas and engagements other than audits of financial statements. 2.22 The major differences between attestation standards and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) lie in the areas of practitioner competence, materiality and the risk of material misstatement, and reporting. GAAS presume knowledge of accounting and require competence and capabilities as auditors (meaning auditors of financial statements). The attestation standards are more general, requiring training and proficiency in the “attest function” and knowledge of the “subject matter of the assertions.” The attestation standards have no specific requirement for determining materiality levels or obtaining and understanding of the entity and its environment to assess the risk of material misstatement. Because attestation engagements may cover information not confined to accounting and financial assertions, these activities may not be appropriate for all attest engagements. Reporting is different because attestations on nonfinancial information do not depend upon generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, GAAS do not address two reporting issues (stating significant reservations about the engagement and indicating that the report is only intended for specified parties) that are important reporting aspects for attestation engagements. 2.23 A system of quality control provides firms with reasonable assurance that the firm and its personnel (1) comply with professional standards and applicable regulatory and legal requirements and (2) issue reports that are appropriate in the circumstances. The six elements of a system of quality control are: 1. Leadership responsibilities for quality within the firm (“tone at the top”) 2. Relevant ethical requirements
- 10. 3. Acceptance andcontinuance of clients 4. Human resources 5. Engagement performance 6. Monitoring 2.24 In deciding whether to accept or continue an engagement with a client, firms should consider: • The integrity of the client and the identity and business reputation of its owners, key management, related parties, and those charged with governance. • Whether the firm possesses the competency, capability, and resources to perform the engagement. • Whether the firm can comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If firms decide to withdraw from an engagement, the firm should document significant issues, consultations, conclusions, and the basis for any conclusions related to the decision to withdraw. 2.25 Typically, firms that audit nonpublic companies have peer reviews conducted through the AICPA’s Center for Public Company Audit Firms Peer Review Program. While firms that are subject to PCAOB review requirements can elect to have peer reviews conducted under this program, most choose not to do so. 2.26 The PCAOB’s monitoring role for firms providing auditing services to public entities includes registering public accounting firms and conducting inspections of registered public accounting firms (similar to peer reviews). 2.27 The frequency of PCAOB inspections depends upon the number of audits conducted by member firms. For firms performing audits for more than 100 public companies, inspections are required on an annual basis. For those performing audits for fewer than 100 public companies, inspections are conducted every three years. SOLUTIONS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 2.28 a. Correct Gathering audit evidence is a component of the performance principle. b. Incorrect While reasonable assurance is related to gathering audit evidence, this is not one of the categories of principles c. Incorrect The reporting principle relates to the contents of the auditors’ report d. Incorrect The responsibilities principle relates to the personal integrity and professional qualifications of auditors. 2.29 a. Incorrect This practice relates to accountants’ competence and capabilities, not due care. b. Incorrect This practice relates to the reporting principle. c. Incorrect Sufficiency of evidence relates to the performance principle and not due care. d. Correct These practices are a part of due care.
- 11. 2.30 a. IncorrectGAAS relates to the conduct of audit engagements and not overall professional services. b. Correct Standards within a system of quality control are firm- (rather than auditor-) related. c. Incorrect GAAP relates to accounting and financial reporting, rather than auditing practices. d. Incorrect International auditing standards govern the conduct of audits conducted across international borders. 2.31 a. Incorrect Relying more extensively on external evidence is related to the appropriateness (or quality) of evidence. b. Incorrect Focusing on items with more significant financial effects on the financial statements is related to materiality. c. Correct Professional skepticism is characterized by appropriate questioning and a critical assessment of audit evidence. d. Incorrect Financial interests are most closely related to auditors’ independence. 2.32 a. Correct Auditors study internal control to determine the nature, timing, and extent of substantive tests. b. Incorrect Consulting suggestions are secondary objectives in an audit. c. Incorrect Information about the entity’s internal control is, at best, indirect evidence about assertions in the financial statements. d. Incorrect Information about the entity’s internal control provides auditors with little opportunity to learn about changes in accounting principles. 2.33 a. Incorrect External evidence is considered to be relatively reliable. b. Correct Management representations should least affect auditors’ conclusions, as they have not been validated or corroborated by external parties. c. Incorrect Auditor-prepared evidence is considered to be the most reliable form of evidence. d. Incorrect Although a representation of a client employee, inquiry of the entity’s legal counsel is considered more reliable than that of entity management. 2.34 a. Incorrect Inquiry of management should least affect auditors’ conclusions. b. Incorrect Although very persuasive, auditors’ personal knowledge (choice d) provides the most persuasive evidence c. Incorrect Observation of a client’s procedures provides evidence on the effectiveness of the client’s internal control, but not the existence assertion for newly-acquired computer equipment. d. Correct Auditors’ personal knowledge provides the most persuasive evidence. 2.35 a. Incorrect Inquires of client personnel are the least reliable form of evidence. b. Incorrect While more reliable than inquiries (choice a), inspection of internal documents is relatively low in terms of reliability. c. Incorrect While sales invoices are documents created by external parties, the fact that these documents were received from client personnel decreases their reliability.
- 12. d. Correct Becausethe statements were received directly from outside parties, this is a more reliable form of evidence than choice (c). 2.36 a. Incorrect Documentation of this nature would not be related to independence. b. Incorrect While the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the documentation might provide information about competence and capabilities, choice (c) is more appropriate. c. Correct Initials of the preparer and reviewer provide evidence that the documentation was reviewed, which relates to planning and supervision. d. Incorrect While the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the documentation might provide information about sufficient appropriate evidence, choice (c) is more appropriate 2.37 NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the requirement that is not included in attestation standards, the response labeled “correct” is not included in attestation standards and those labeled “incorrect” are included in attestation standards. a. Incorrect Attestation standards require adequate knowledge of the subject matter. b. Correct An understanding of the client’s environment (including internal control) is not required under attestation standards, because internal control may not always be relevant to the subject matter of the attestation. c. Incorrect Attestation standards require sufficient evidence to be gathered. d. Incorrect Attestation standards require independence in mental attitude. 2.38 NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the concept that is least related to due care, the response labeled “correct” is least related to due care and those labeled “incorrect” are more related to due care. a. Incorrect Due care requires the level of skills and knowledge of others in the auditors’ profession, which would require independence in fact. b. Incorrect See choice (a) above. c. Incorrect Due care refers to the performance of a “prudent” auditor. d. Correct Due care recognizes that mistakes and misinterpretations may occur during the audit. 2.39 a. Incorrect Internal documents are a relatively low quality of evidence. b. Incorrect Management representations (and the related verbal inquiries) are the lowest quality of evidence. c. Incorrect While direct, external evidence is of reasonable quality, it is of lower quality than direct personal knowledge of the auditor (choice d). d. Correct Direct, personal knowledge of auditors is the most appropriate form of evidence. 2.40 a. Incorrect While it may increase auditors’ knowledge about the client, obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence auditors’ competence and capabilities. b. Incorrect Obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence
- 13. auditors’ independence. c. IncorrectObtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly help satisfy the quality control standard about audit staff professional development. d. Correct The primary purpose of obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control is to plan the nature, timing, and extent of substantive audit procedures on an engagement.
- 14. Other documents randomlyhave different content
- 15. those which areknown as the pubes (pb) are so in the African Ostrich, and those which are known as the ischia (is) in the Rhea of South America. These two bones, with the large, flat ilia (il), take part in forming the cavity in which the head of the thigh-bone plays; the outer of the two bones (fi) which are found in the leg is rarely as long as, and is always much more slender than the other (ti), which has a strong ridge on its front face. There is yet another very remarkable point of resemblance between birds and reptiles, in that the “ankle-joint” is in both cases situated between the two rows of bones which make up the “ankle” (tarsus). In birds this arrangement is carried to a still further extent, for the single bone of the upper row is early united with the shin-bone, as may be seen under those unfortunate circumstances in which the poulterer has provided an aged fowl (aged, that is, for eating); in more fortunate cases it will be found possible to separate a small bone from the lower end of the shin-bone of the leg. In no case does any bird, even Archæopteryx, possess a fifth toe. Unlike mammals, the number of joints in the toes varies greatly in birds. In those which possess four toes we find the following number of joints: in the first, two; in the second, three; in the third, four; and in the fourth, five. This rule holds for nearly all birds, but the Swifts have never more than three joints, and in the Goat-sucker and the Sand Grouse there are two less than ordinary on the fourth toe. In a number of birds the inner toe (big toe of man) disappears, and in the Ostrich proper the next division of the “typically” five-toed foot, or second toe, has no toe-joints. In dealing with the muscular system of birds, we need here concern ourselves with only those special muscles which are modified in accordance with the necessities of the bird’s habits, and those other muscles which have been brought into special notice by valuable investigations. That great fleshy mass which is found on the breast of a bird, and which is not unknown to those who are fond of a good “dish,” consists of three separate muscles, two of which depress, while the
- 16. other elevates thewing. The presence of the elevator muscle on the lower side of the sternum is a curious arrangement by which the centre of gravity of the animal is lowered—a most necessary condition in flight; the tendon from this muscle passes through a pulley-like canal to be inserted into the upper side of the head of the bone, which, as has already been explained, is known as the humerus, so that when it contracts it draws this bone up. The ability of the wings to resist the pressure of the air is clearly dependent on the power possessed by these muscles. Borelli has calculated that the “pectoral muscles” of the bird exceed in weight all the other muscles taken together, whilst in man the pectoral muscles are but a seventieth part of the mass of the muscles. The large and important muscles, which in the Mammalia, constitute the diaphragm, or midriff, are ordinarily said to be absent in birds, and, indeed, in most cases are but feebly represented. In the Ratitæ, and especially in the New Zealand form (Apteryx) of this group, the diaphragm may attain to a very fair degree of completeness, though even here the apex of the heart is allowed to pass into the abdominal cavity. The muscles of the back are feebly developed, as might be imagined from the firm character of the spinal column; and as the fore limb exhibits but slight power of varying its movements, its muscles are not well developed. Those muscles which are found in the skin are, on the contrary, expanded into broad pieces; and special bundles are sent to the larger feathers of the wings and of the tail, and to those folds of skin which connect the upper arm with the trunk, and with the fore arm, respectively. Borelli thus explains the arrangement by which a perching bird remains fixed when asleep: A muscle which arises from the pubes bone of the hip-girdle passes over the knee, and then takes a backward direction so as to pass behind the ankle; it thus becomes one of the flexor muscles, by the contraction of which the toes are flexed, or bent. When the perching bird, which, as we know, has one of its toes directed backwards, is seated on a bough, the thigh has its upper end directed backwards, while the upper joint of the leg is turned forwards, or in other words, the two parts of the leg have
- 17. opposite directions. Thisarrangement acts as a contracting influence on this muscle and its tendons, while the weight of the bird is sufficient to preserve this condition and the consequent flexion of the toes. To turn to those muscles the arrangement of which has, been made the basis of a suggested classification. In the leg of the bird there are, among others, four muscles, the names of which are femoro-caudal, accessory femoro-caudal, semi-tendinosus, and accessory semi-tendinosus, any of which may be absent, but in those cases where a single muscle only is found the first is always present; again, there is a muscle which, from its course, is known as the ambiens, and this, too, may be present or may be absent. As the presence or absence of any of these muscles is a very constant phenomenon in any given section of birds, it has been proposed to divide the class into those which do, and those which do not, possess the above-named ambiens muscle. In the latter group the second of the four above-named muscles—the accessory femoro- caudal—is never present.[141] Of all the muscles, those which act in aid of the vocal organs are of the greatest interest, but they will be considered a little later on. A valuable suggestion has been made, which, if followed out, may lead us to understand how it is that the brain of the bird, which is so simple as compared with that of man, is nevertheless capable of so much intelligent activity. Bearing in mind the axiom that it is quality not quantity that tells, and looking at the fact that the brain of the most highly intelligent man is, after death, supposed to be similar to that of the foolish and of the unwise of our race, it is obvious that the essential difference must lie elsewhere than in the coarser, or more evident, characters of that organ which is known as the brain. The suggestion, then, that was made, was to the effect, that the possessors of aviaries, in which it was possible to study the characters of birds, should submit the brains of their deceased favourites to that more thorough investigation which the microscope allows of. The brains of birds vary but little in their anatomy. The
- 18. optic lobes arerounded, paired, and tubercular in the bird, and are not divided into four, as in mammals; they are found at the lower part and sides, and not in the upper part of the brain. The cerebellum is not continued at the sides into distinct lobes; nor are the two lobes of the brain (or cerebral hemispheres) provided with those convolutions which, in mammals, seem to increase in complexity of character as the animal rises in the scale of intelligence. The cerebrum does not cover the cerebellum. Small as is the brain of birds, it is found that, in many, its weight is, as compared with that of the body, much greater than it is in man. With reference to the spinal cord, or the continuation of the central part of the nervous system through the vertebral column, it is only necessary to remark that it is much increased in width at the two regions, in which the nerves for the fore and hind limbs are respectively given off; that there is a narrow canal running along its centre, and that at the lower end there is a large space. In regard to the cerebral nerves, those for the eyes are of great size. Coming now to consider the organs of the senses, and beginning with the eye, it is interesting to note that there are no blind birds, and, indeed, the eyes are of a large size as compared with the brain. They are generally placed at the sides, though the nocturnal birds of prey (in which they are directed forwards) are an exception to this rule. It is in very rare cases that eyelashes are present, and although they seem to exist in the group just mentioned, it is probably more correct to look upon them as slightly modified feathers. If the eye be regarded as having on its front face, a part which would, if completed, form part of a smaller circle than the rest of the eye, it is clear that this cornea, or front part, would be more convex than the rest, and that it would consequently be a “more powerful glass,” inasmuch as it would exert a greater bending (refracting) influence on the rays of light which pass through it, while, further, it is clear that the more convex it is the better “glass” would it be. Now this is just what happens in birds: the cornea is very convex; in addition to this, the long axis of the eye, on the length of which it
- 19. seems that, inmany cases, the condition known as that of being “short-sighted” depends, is very long in some birds, and notably in the Owls. The eye is covered in by a firm and strong membrane, which is known as the “sclerotic;” this, in its front part, develops a number of bony plates; of these there may be as many as twenty, and they are capable of a certain amount of free movement on one another. What is known as the power of accommodation depends upon the extent to which the front face of the somewhat lens-shaped body which helps to separate the eye into two chambers is capable of being rendered more or less flat; this front face is covered by a membrane which is found to be more or less taut, according to the state of contraction of the muscles (ciliary muscles) connected with it. A very little reflection is sufficient to show that a swiftly moving animal has the focus of its eye, or the point at which clear vision is alone possible, changed much more rapidly than an animal which moves more slowly. So much on the one side. On the other, it is to be observed that muscles vary in structure; they are either “smooth” or “striated,” and it is the latter that contract the more rapidly. Putting these two series of observations together, it is easy to arrive at the result that a bird should have striated muscular fibre in its ciliary muscles, and a more slowly moving animal like man, smooth muscular fibres; and this we find to be the case! The iris is an arrangement by which the quantity of light admitted into the eye is enabled to be varied, and the small hole in the centre, through which the rays of light pass, is known as the pupil; this is always rounded in birds, and is never elongated as it is in some mammals— the Cats, for example.[142] But the most peculiar arrangement in the bird’s eye is the presence, projecting into the hinder chamber, of a membrane in which run blood-vessels; this, which is known as the pecten (comb), or marsupium (pouch), enters the vitreous humour, which fills up this hinder chamber by the same cleft as the optic nerve. It is folded, and is generally of a quadrangular shape; it is not found in the eye of the Wingless Bird of New Zealand (Apteryx).
- 20. SECTION OF THEEYE OF THE COMMON BUZZARD. (After Macgillivray.) (aa) Sclerotic; (bb) Choroid Coat and Pigment; (c) Ciliary Circle; (d) Lens; (ee) Iris; (f) Cornea; (g) Optic Nerve; (i) Pecten. A third eyelid is well developed in this class; it is an elastic membrane (membrana nictitans, or winking membrane), which has not, like the other two, a vertical movement, but is drawn obliquely over the eye from the inner to the outer side. This movement is effected by two special muscles, one of which arises on the inside, and below the eyeball, and has therefore to pass over to the outer side. In contracting, it would press on the optic nerve, were it not for the other one, which, however, is so disposed that by its contraction it draws away the tendon of the pyramidalis muscle from pressing on the nerve. As in ourselves, there are six special muscles for moving the orbit or ball of the eye, but the one which in man is well enough known as the trochlear, has no pulley-arrangements in birds. Lachrymal glands are present. With regard to the organ of hearing, one particular part, which in man is in the form of a snail’s shell, and is known as the cochlea, is not coiled into this shape in birds, being very slightly bent, though holding in other respects the same general relations. Nor is there any external ear, as in mammals, for collecting the waves of sound;
- 21. there is, however,in the nocturnal birds of prey a crescent-shaped valve on which are set tufts of short feathers, and it is possible that this may aid in hearing. Nor, again, are there in the interior of the ear those three small bones, which are known generally as the auditory ossicles; of the two that are absent, one is thought by many anatomists to be represented by the quadrate bone, which, as has already been mentioned, connects the lower jaw of the bird with the skull. The single bone which is present, and which is, perhaps, most generally known as the “columella,” is connected by two or three cartilaginous processes with the drum of the ear, and by the other end—at which it has a small oval plate—with the more internal parts of the organ of hearing. In man there is a curious arrangement of rods, which vary in so remarkable a way as to have led to the supposition that each was adapted to a distinct note; these rods, which constitute the organ of Corti, are not present in birds, affording thereby a striking example of the law that physiological inferences are often well examined by the aid of comparative anatomy, no physiologist being hardy enough to deny to birds the power of appreciating those delicate modulations of sound which go to make up the chief charm of music. With regard to the organ of smell, it is only necessary to note the absence of those muscles by which, in man and other mammals, the nostrils are contracted or dilated. The first point which attracts us on examining the digestive tract of birds is the absence of lips and of teeth; but with regard to these latter we must note that it is a character which has only become distinct since the time when birds were first developed. This statement is borne out by two series of facts, each taken from one of the two great aids to a correct apprehension of the real importance of structural characters—that is, from embryology, or the study of the developing individual; and from palæontology, or the natural history of the past. The young of certain Parrots have been observed to possess, at an early stage of their development, those uprisings on the mucous membrane of the jaw which go by the name of “dental papillæ,” and these papillæ have been seen to be
- 22. covered with acap of dentine. On the other hand, the researches of Owen and of some American palæontologists have brought to light bird-like forms which were provided with teeth (Odontornithes: Ichthyornis, Hesperornis). The beak, or horny covering of the jaws, varies very greatly in form, and in the degree of its sensibility. This tactile sense is dependent on the extent to which the beak is supplied by nerves (from the fifth cerebral nerve). In the Woodpecker, for example, there is a large branch extending along the inside of the lower jaw, which, as it approaches the extremity, breaks up into finer nerves that perforate the bone by a number of small canals and so give to the beak a power of discovering what lies hid in the crevices of the wood and under the bark. Being an external structure, the beak is naturally adapted to the habits of its possessors, so that it may be hooked, as in many flesh-eating forms, or trenchant, and fit to cut and break, or provided with transversely-set fine plates by which the water taken in with the food can be filtered off, or provided with bristles, the better to hold a living prey. Finally, in many cases the hardness of the bill is made up for by a patch of naked skin at the base of the upper mandibles, which is known by the name of the “cere” and seems to have a tactile function. In many birds, the tongue is either feebly developed, or is encased in horn, so that it can hardly be as useful an organ of taste as is our tongue: in the Pelicans it is obsolete. In some, however, as in the Woodpecker, the tongue is a very powerful seizing organ, as it is protruded with great rapidity by means of a special muscle, and is well provided with a sticky secretion, which is given off from a large gland (the sub-lingual), which, lying below the muscle above referred to, is compressed when this muscle contracts; so that in the Woodpecker, just as in the mammal called the Great Ant-eater (Myrmecophaga), the insect prey is easily captured. The region of the mouth is not separated from that which follows it (the pharynx) by an epiglottis, which in ourselves protects the entrance into the air-passages, nor is there any uvula to guard the
- 23. posterior orifice ofthe nose by which the air reaches the throat. The succeeding portion of the gullet (the œsophagus) is very long, as might be supposed from the length of the neck in most birds, and it is very frequently either dilated at one side, or produced into a cæcal pouch (crop, ingluvies), which may, or may not, be separated by a narrow connection, from the rest of the gullet, and which may be divided into two compartments. This crop serves for the detention of the food, which cannot have undergone any complete process of mastication, and it is here treated to a process of maceration by the fluid secreted from the walls of this organ. Passing from this receptacle, the food becomes subject to the action of the stomach proper, which differs, however, from our ordinary conception of a stomach, as seen in man, by being divided into two distinct portions. The anterior one is known as the proventriculus, and it is in this that the gastric juice is brought to bear upon the food, and its walls are consequently thickened by a glandular layer; the hinder division, which is known as the gizzard, forms an elongated sac, with two orifices—one from the proventriculus, the other leading to the small intestine—in its upper portion. The characters of its walls are very different in those birds which live on animal, as compared with those that live on vegetable (grains) food; in the former they are membranous and thin, but in the latter they are enormously thick and very muscular. On examination, it is seen that the dark colour of the muscles is on each side of the gizzard relieved by a shining spot of tendinous material, and the walls of the gizzard have consequently been compared to a double-bellied (digastric) muscle. The internal cavity of the gizzard is lined with a dense and rough coat, and is ordinarily found to contain small stones, and occasionally other hard materials. These obviously take the place of the absent teeth, when the muscles of the gizzard set up that (grinding or compressing) action by which the ingested seeds are broken down. The wall of the gizzard may itself also act as a rasping organ, being, as it often is, provided with a firm glandular layer, the secretion of which is converted into a hard lining, the structure of which has been observed in some cases to be due to interlaced
- 24. filaments secreted fromand continuous with the glands in the wall of the gizzard. Notwithstanding the differences in the character of the gizzard in carnivorous and graminivorous birds, it has been shown by the ever- famous John Hunter that carnivorous birds can be brought to live on grains, and grain-eating birds on meat. It is interesting, further, to note, with regard to the opening into the small intestine, that in a number of grain- or fruit-eating birds there is no valvular arrangement to detain the food in the gizzard till it is completely triturated, for it is thus that many plants have their area of distribution increased, the escaped seeds passing uninjured from the intestine to find, perhaps, a suitable soil in a new district. In those that swallow large stones a valve is often to be observed. The difference which we have already had so frequently to notice, as obtaining between the carnivorous and “vegetarian” birds, is seen to be continued into their small intestine; just as in mammals, this portion of the tract is longer in the latter than in the former birds. The anterior, or duodenal portion, is always characterised by forming a loop, within which lies the gland known as the pancreas, and the succeeding portion is, as compared with most mammals, short. A slight elevation, hardly ever of any great size, may at times be observed on the course of the short intestine. This represents all that remains of the duct by which the hatching bird was connected with the yolk. The short and straight large intestine is ordinarily separated from the preceding by a cæcum; this is generally paired (in the Herons and some others it is single), and varies in length; in many cases these cæcal tubes are hardly more than papillæ. In the Parrot, as in the Woodpecker and some others, these cæca are absent. In the desert-dwelling Ostrich (Struthio) they are said to be as much as two feet long; but in the Emu they do not exceed six inches in length.
- 25. DIGESTIVE ORGANS OFTHE KINGFISHER. (After Macgillivray.)
- 26. (a) Tongue; (b,c, d) Œsophogus; (d, e, f) Stomach; (f, g, h, i, j, k) Intestine; (j, k) Cloaca. The intestine ends in a cavity, which is common to it, and to the other organs that open to the exterior in this region. This cloaca (sewer) is found in reptiles also, and in one division of the Mammalia, the Monotremata. In birds it is provided with a special glandular appendage on its upper (or dorsal) aspect, which goes by the name of the Bursa Fabricii. Neither the history nor the functions of this peculiar organ can be said to be thoroughly understood. Of the organs which are appended to the intestine, the lungs will be described elsewhere; of the rest we have to consider the liver, the pancreas, and the spleen. The first-named organ is large, and covers over the pancreas, the proventriculus, the spleen, part of the gizzard, and part of the small intestine. It is ordinarily divided into two “lobes,” between which, on the upper edge, is placed the tip of the heart. In the common fowl the left lobe is often divided into two; but this organ is never broken up into so large a number of parts as it is in many mammals, from which animals birds also differ in always having more than one duct to carry off the secretion of the liver (bile) to the small intestine, except in the Ostrich; in this, as in some other birds, there is no gall-bladder in which the bile may be collected, so that in such this secretion passes directly into the intestine. As has been already pointed out, the commencement of the small intestine forms a loop, in which is set the organ known as pancreas, which may for simplicity be described as the salivary gland of this region, although in truth the fluid secreted from it is a much more powerful aid to the digestion of food than that of any known salivary gland. It has always two, and in a number of cases three ducts, which do not unite with the bile ducts, but open separately from, though near them, into the end of the “duodenal loop.” The spleen, which is a small oval body, and is placed to the right of the
- 27. proventriculus, has noducts; in birds of prey it is more cylindrical in shape. The temperature of the blood of the bird is, in requirement with the conditions of its existence, hot—that is to say, it is ordinarily hotter than the temperature of the surrounding air, and is found to register between 100° (Gull) and 112° (Swallow) on Fahrenheit’s scale, or from two to fourteen degrees more than does that of man. Birds and mammals, are, speaking broadly, the only hot-blooded animals now existing, and it has consequently been suggested that they should be grouped together as such, in opposition to the rest of the Vertebrata. But it is obvious that this character of the temperature is merely dependent on physiological conditions; and were this a treatise on the anatomy of birds rather than one on their natural history, the statement of this fact would not receive the prominence here given to it. The high temperature of any body may be preserved from cooling influences by two methods: thus, tea in a well-polished silver teapot keeps hot because the rays of heat are but slightly radiated from its surface; or a less costly teapot may be kept hot by covering it with a loosely-fitting “cosy,” which, being made of badly-conducting materials, “keeps the heat in.” It is, then, clear that the heat of a body is best preserved when it is covered by a bad radiator and a bad conductor of heat; and this is just the case with birds: the polished feathers are bad radiators, and the air entangled among them forms a bad conductor. The blood corpuscles are, broadly speaking, about twice as large as in man; those which are coloured red are oval in shape, as they are in nearly all of the lower Vertebrates and in the Camels among mammals. Like the white ones, they are “nucleated.” The heart is, as in mammals, divided into four chambers. It is a condition of the circulation in hot-blooded and rapidly-breathing animals that the current of arterial blood from the heart, and the current of venous blood to it, should be kept as much as possible separate; no reflection is needed to show that the blood freshly purified by contact with the air in the lungs must be kept as distinct as can be from the blood which has lost its purity in passing through the body;
- 28. in other words,it is required that there should be a similar result in birds and in mammals. Birds, like all warm-blooded creatures, have the heart divided into four cavities—two ventricles and two auricles—those of the right side being completely separated from those of the left. The whole is enclosed in a pericardium, a thin, but strong, membrane. The right ventricle has thin muscular walls, and almost completely envelopes the left. The right auricle has a remarkable valve in the shape of a fleshy leaflet, which appears almost to be a portion of the inside of the ventricle that has become detached from the partition between the two ventricles. The blood, under certain circumstances, passes between this septum, or partition, and the leaflet, into the auricle; but when the beat of the heart takes place (the systole), the septum, being convex, is forced against the leaflet on the other side of the auricolo-ventricular opening, and the passage of the blood, through this, is prevented. The valve between the stout-chambered left ventricle and auricle does not present this structure, but is divided into two or three lobes attached to tendinous processes. At the origin of the great vessels—the pulmonary artery and the aorta —there are three valves, semi-lunar in shape and by name. And this last vessel, often having given off the coronary artery to the heart itself, is curved to the right, and then passes backwards to go down the body. The blood from the body is collected into three large veins —two anterior venæ cavæ and one posterior. The lymphatic system is well developed, and of the so-called “lymphatic hearts,” which are well known in the Frog, the posterior ones have been observed in some, and especially in the Ratite birds. The lungs, or organs in which the blood effects an exchange of its gases with the outer air, are paired, and set on either side of the heart. As is elsewhere mentioned, the nostrils are not provided with muscles, and there is no epiglottis sufficiently well developed to cover the entrance into the long tube, or trachea, which runs down the neck. This tube, which does not always take a straight course, is essentially made up of a number of rings of cartilage, which are for
- 29. the greater partperfect, and not, as in man, imperfect rings. The bronchi which are given off from this tube, to the right and left, have their rings imperfect, and they do not show that two-forked mode of division which is so characteristic of mammals. The lungs are of a rosy colour, and of a comparatively small volume; they are marked externally by depressions corresponding to the characters of the vertebræ and ribs, to which latter they are firmly attached, and they are not divided into lobes; in their texture they are spongy; the air- tubes are given off from them at right angles to the main air- passage; these run nearly parallel to one another, and contain in their walls the true tissue of the respiratory organ. The air-tubes are also connected with the air-cells, which are arranged in so remarkable a manner as to deserve a full account. They are found in all birds with the exception of the Apteryx, according to Professor Owen. Our knowledge of their existence is primarily due to the illustrious William Harvey, while it is to the distinguished anatomist, John Hunter, that we owe our knowledge of the very curious fact that these air-passages and sacs communicate also with the cavities of some of the bones of the skeleton. Though these sacs are not by any means highly vascular, or supplied with vessels to the same rich extent as are the lungs, they are nevertheless of enormous importance to the bird; thus, they diminish the specific gravity of the animal. For example, taking a bird which weighs 1,600 grammes, and has a volume of 1,230 cubic centimetres—or a specific gravity of 1·30 (1600 1230 ) it has been calculated (Bert) that 200 cubic centimetres of air can be introduced; now these centimetres would weigh ·22 of a gramme, so that the specific gravity of the animal would be reduced to 1·05 (1600+0·22 1230+200 ) or (1600·22 1520 ). Again, the air which is taken into the lungs is, in high- flying birds, often of an extremely low temperature; but this air is not only brought into contact with that of the lungs, but also with that which has been warmed in the abdominal cavity. And again, the air is often very dry—as it is for the Ostrich on the desert plains of
- 30. Africa—but the airfrom the air-sacs contains a large amount of moisture. Of the proper air-sacs there are nine; of these, four—the two anterior and the two posterior thoracic—lie in the thorax (breast) proper; three—the right and left cervical, and the sac between the clavicles—lie in front of the thorax; while the last two are found behind it and in the abdomen. From all of these, with the exception of those within the thorax, communications are, or may be, given off to the bones of the vertebral column, to the humerus, to the bones of the thigh, and to the sternum and the ribs; but there is no communication between these sacs and the air-spaces which are so constantly found in the bones of the skull, and which are in connection with the air-cavities of the ear and of the nose. The inter- clavicular sac has been observed to be covered with a thick layer of muscle in those birds, at any rate, which perform somersaults, and it has been suggested that this layer of muscle is capable of driving the air in the sac backwards. It is obvious that such an operation would send the centre of gravity of the animal nearer the head, and would, so far, be of assistance in the execution of the curious movement alluded to. It has been suggested that the air-sacs are of assistance in increasing the resonance of the bird’s voice. Be this as it may, attention must now be turned to the organ of voice. This organ may take one of three forms, or, if absence is to be counted, four. There is no organ of voice in the Ratitæ, or in the American Vultures (Cathartidæ). It is, when present, remarkable for being developed at the lower, and not at the upper, end of the trachea; while the true vocal cords, which, by their vibration produce the notes of the human voice, are altogether and always absent from the larynx; in other words, the vocal organ is not the larynx, but an organ seated at a lower level, and known as the syrinx. This instrument may, further, be formed in the trachea alone (as in some American Passerines), or in the bronchi alone (as in Steatornis), or at the point at which the tracheal and bronchial tubes pass into one another (as in the majority of singing birds).
- 31. The last-mentioned, orbronchio-tracheal syrinx, consists of the following parts; (i.) a tympanic chamber formed by the union of some of the lower rings of the trachea; (ii.) a membranous septum separating from one another the tracheal orifices of the two bronchi; (iii.) on either side a tympaniform membrane, formed on the inner side of the uppermost bronchial rings; in consequence of this these bronchial rings are not complete circles; their mucous membrane is developed into a fold which bounds one side of a cleft which is formed by the presence on the other side of the above-mentioned tympaniform membrane. The air which passes through these bronchial clefts sets in vibration the membranes which bound them, while the character of the note is affected by the position of the bronchial half-rings, and the length of the column of air in the trachea. These rings have their positions changed by five lateral muscles, which act on their ends, and so rotate them. The principle variations in the characters of the muscular supply of the organ of the voice were long ago worked out by Johannes Müller, the famous German anatomist and physiologist. It is also to this observer that we owe our first information with regard to the bronchial syrinx of Steatornis; the anatomy of this animal was also investigated by the late Prof. Garrod, who gave the following account of its vocal apparatus:—“Each semi-syrinx, as it may be termed, is formed on the same principle as that of the combined organ in most of the non-singing birds. Taking for description that of the left side, it is found that the thirteenth bronchial ring is complete, though considerably flattened from side to side; the fourteenth is not complete in the middle of its upper surface; it is a little longer from before backwards than the one above, and not so long as the one following it. The fifteenth is only a half ring, its inner portion being deficient; it is slightly convex upwards, and articulates, both at its anterior and posterior ends, with the fourteenth incomplete ring and the sixteenth half-ring. The sixteenth half-ring is concave upwards, and so forms an oval figure in combination with the one above, which is filled with a thin membrane to form part of the outer wall of the bronchus. There is a
- 32. membrane also betweenthe ends of these and the succeeding half- rings, which completes the tube of the bronchus internally.” FRONT VIEW (A) AND SECTION (B) OF INFERIOR LARYNX OF PEREGRINE FALCON. (After Macgillivray.) The ducts from the urinary organs open to the exterior through the cloaca, into which, as already mentioned, the digestive tube also opens. The chief point with regard to the urinary secretion of birds is the fact that it is semi-solid, and that it contains a quantity of the substance known as uric acid. The kidneys are placed some way back and near the cloaca; they are set on either side of the spinal column, between the transverse processes of the sacral vertebræ, and are generally divided into three portions of greatly varying size. On their inner edge are given off the ureters, which pass on each side to enter separately into the before-mentioned cloaca.
- 33. The right ovaryof birds is always atrophied, and it is in rare cases only that rudiments of it are found (namely, in the diurnal Raptores). The oviduct is a coiled canal, the lower portion of which has strong, muscular walls, while internally the characters of its surface vary according to the substance which the glands of different regions add to the descending egg. The right oviduct is not so completely atrophied as is the ovary of the same side. This duct opens into the cloaca through which the egg passes to reach the outer world; as further development is so largely independent of the mother, the female organs offer no peculiarities of arrangement, or complexities of structure. All birds lay eggs, or, in other words, the born young are not carried about by the mother till the time of birth. The advantage of this to a flying animal is so obvious that we may pass at once to describe the egg of a common fowl. The shell, which consists of organic matter and lime-salts, is found to be formed of two layers; it is in the outer one only that pigment is found. Both layers are traversed by canals, through which air can pass only when the shell is dry; that is to say, the outer pores of the shell are closed under the influence of moisture. This may be seen by removing the outer layers, when air or water will pass in quite easily. These canals are said to be branched in the Ratite birds, and to be simple in the Carinatæ. The shell is lined by the shell-membrane, which, again, is made up of two layers. At the broad end of the egg these two layers are separated from one another, and so give rise to that air-chamber which is found in stale eggs, and increases in size as the egg grows older and the yolk evaporates. The shell-membrane is in direct contact with the white of the egg (albumen). This, in its fresh state, consists of fluid albumen, arranged in layers, which are separated from one another by networks of fibres, in the meshes of which, however, fluid albumen is also to be found. There are, further, two special sets of fibrous cords in the white of the egg; these extend somewhat along the long axis of the egg, though they do not reach to the shell- membrane. From their bead-like character they are known as
- 34. chalazæ (hailstones), buttheir more common English name is that of the “tread.” DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION OF A FOWL’S EGG. (bl) Blastoderm; (wy) White Yolk; (yy) Yellow Yolk; (vt) Vitelline Membrane; (w) Albumen; (ch) Chalazæ; (ach) Air-chamber; (ism) Internal Layer of Shell Membrane; (em) External Layer of ditto; (s) Shell. The “white” is separated from the yolk by the so-called vitelline (or yolk) membrane; the greater part of this yolk is known as the yellow yolk, and is made up of minute albuminous granules, but its outermost part is formed of a thin layer of a somewhat different substance, which goes by the name of the white yolk. The spheres of this latter are still smaller than those of the yellow yolk, and they are also found to form layers at various levels in it. At one point the white yolk becomes a good deal thicker, and forms, as it were, a pad for a small white disc, which, in ordinary circumstances, is always found uppermost when an egg is opened. This disc is formed of an encircling white rim, and within it there is a rounded transparent region, the centre of which is more opaque.
- 35. This region isknown as the blastoderm, and is that part of the egg from which the chick, with its organs and complicated vessels, muscles and bones is soon to be developed. In the laid egg, this blastoderm consists of two layers of cells, as do at a certain stage the eggs of all but the very simplest of animals. The dissection of a laying fowl will probably reveal the presence of eggs at an earlier stage, and from their study the following history has been made out: the ellipse-shaped egg, when about to leave the ovary, is a yellow body enclosed in a fine membrane, and possessing at one pole a small (germinal) disc; this disc contains a smaller germinal vesicle, and a still smaller germinal spot; when this body is ripe, it escapes from its enclosing capsule, and the germinal vesicle disappears. As the egg passes down the oviduct the albumen becomes deposited around it, and part of it is converted into the shell-membrane. The egg now becomes subjected to a thick, white fluid, which is gradually converted into the shell. While these additions to the substance of the egg are going on, the germinal disc undergoes the remarkable process known as segmentation, in which it becomes divided into two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two (and so on) masses, which arrange themselves in two distinct layers, the presence of which has been already noted in the laid egg. This is not the place in which it is possible to follow out the various future changes undergone, but the condition of the young birds on escaping from the egg is widely different in some of the larger groups of birds. Some young birds, on their exclusion from the egg, are able to shift for themselves, and are covered with down; while others are born naked and helpless, and require food from their parents for some time after they are hatched. Of the first section, an ordinary chicken is a familiar example, while a young Thrush or a Sparrow illustrates the second. There are, however, manifest exceptions to this rule, as in the Herons, for instance, where the young are densely clothed with feathery down, but are helpless for a long time after they are hatched.
- 36. Finally, it mustbe stated that all birds possess an oil-gland (known as the uropygial), situated near the tail, with which they clean and dress their feathers. Attention has already been called to this gland in the foot note on p. 245. Before commencing the special part of the present article, it may be useful to give a slight sketch of the classification which it is proposed to follow throughout its course. CLASS AVES. DIVISION I. CARINATÆ: CARINATE BIRDS. ORDER I.—ACCIPITRES: BIRDS OF PREY. SUB-ORDER I.—FALCONES: FALCONS. Family I.—Vulturidæ Vultures. „ II.—Falconidæ Hawks. Sub-Family I.—Polyborinæ Caracaras. „ II.—Accipitrinæ Long-legged Hawks. „ III.—Buteoninæ Buzzards. „ IV.—Aquilinæ Eagles. „ V.—Falconinæ Falcons. SUB-ORDER II.—PANDIONES: OSPREYS. SUB-ORDER III.—STRIGES: OWLS. Family I.—Bubonidæ Owls proper. „ II.—Strigidæ Barn Owls. ORDER II.—PICARIÆ: PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I.—ZYGODACTYLÆ: CLIMBING BIRDS. Family I.—Psittaci Parrots. a. Psittaci proprii. Sub-Family I.—Camptolophinæ Cockatoos. „ II.—Androglossinæ Fleshy-tongued Parrots. „ III.—Conurinæ Conures. „ IV.—Platycercinæ Parrakeets. „ V.—Strigopinæ Owl Parrots. b. Psittaci orthognathi. „ VI.—Trichoglossinæ Brush-tongued Parrots. Family II.—Cuculidæ Cuckoos.
- 37. „ III.—Indicatoridæ Honey-guides. „IV.—Musophagidæ Touracoes. „ V.—Picidæ Woodpeckers. „ VI.—Rhamphastidæ Toucans. „ VII.—Capitonidæ Barbets. SUB-ORDER II.—FISSIROSTRES: WIDE-GAPING BIRDS. Family I.—Galbulidæ Jacamars. „ II.—Bucconidæ Puff Birds. „ III.—Alcedinidæ Kingfishers. „ IV.—Bucerotidæ Hornbills. „ V.—Upupidæ Hoopoes. „ VI.—Meropidæ Bee-eaters. „ VII.—Momotidæ Motmots. „ VIII.—Coraciadæ Rollers. „ IX.—Trogonidæ Trogons. „ X.—Caprimulgidæ Goatsuckers. „ XI.—Cypselidæ Swifts. „ XII.—Trochilidæ Humming-birds. ORDER III.—PASSERIFORMES: PERCHING BIRDS. SECTION A.—ACROMYODI: SINGING BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I.—TURDIFORMES: THRUSH-LIKE. BIRDS. GROUP I.—COLIOMORPHÆ: CROW-LIKE. PASSERES. Family I.—Corvidæ Crows. Sub-Family I.—Corvinæ Crows proper. „ II.—Fregilinæ Choughs. „ II.—Paradisiidæ Birds of Paradise. „ III.—Orioliidæ Orioles. „ IV.—Dicruridæ Drongos. „ V.—Prionopidæ Wood-shrikes. GROUP II.—CICHLOMORPHÆ: THRUSH-LIKE PASSERES. Family VI.—Campophagidæ Cuckoo-shrikes. „ VII.—Muscicapidæ Flycatchers. „ VIII.—Turdidæ True Thrushes. Sub-Family I.—Turdinæ Thrushes. „ II.—Sylviinæ Warblers.
- 38. Family IX.—Timeliidæ BabblingThrushes. Sub-Family I.—Troglodytinæ Wrens. „ II.—Brachypodinæ Bulbuls. „ III.—Timeliinæ Babblers. „ IV.—Cisticolinæ Grass-warblers. „ V.—Miminæ American Babblers. Family X.—Laniidæ Butcher-birds. „ XI.—Vireonidæ Greenlets. „ XII.—Paridæ Titmice. GROUP III.—CERTHIIMORPHÆ: CREEPERS. GROUP IV.—CINNYRIMORPHÆ: HONEY SUCKERS. SUB-ORDER II.—FRINGILLIFORMES: FINCH-LIKE BIRDS. Family I.—Motacillidæ Wagtails. „ II.—Mniotiltidæ American Warblers. „ III.—Cærebidæ American Creepers. „ IV.—Diceidæ Flower-peckers. „ V.—Ampelidæ Chatterers. „ VI.—Hirundinidæ Swallows. „ VII.—Tanagridæ Tanagers. „ VIII.—Fringillidæ Finches. „ IX.—Icteridæ Hang-nests. SUB-ORDER III.—STURNIFORMES: STARLING-LIKE BIRDS. Family I.—Ploceidæ Weavers. „ II.—Sturnidæ Starlings. „ III.—Artamidæ Wood-swallows. „ IV.—Alaudidæ Larks. SECTION B.—MESOMYODI: SONGLESS BIRDS. Family I.—Menuridæ Lyre-birds. „ II.—Pteroptochidæ Bush-wrens. „ III.—Dendrocolaptidæ Spine-tails. „ IV.—Formicariidæ American Ant-thrushes. „ V.—Pittidæ Old-World Ant-thrushes. „ VI.—Tyrannidæ Tyrant-birds. „ VII.—Cotingidæ American Chatterers. „ VIII.—Pipridæ Manakins.
- 39. „ IX.—Eurylæmiidæ Broadbills. „X.—Phytotomidæ Plant-cutters. ORDER IV.—COLUMBÆ: PIGEONS. ORDER V.—GALLINÆ: GAME-BIRDS. Family I.—Cracidæ Curassows. „ II.—Opisthocomidæ Hoatzins. „ III.—Phasianidæ Pheasants. „ IV.—Meleagridæ Turkeys. „ V.—Tetraonidæ Grouse. „ VI.—Pteroclidæ Sand-grouse. „ VII.—Turnicidæ Hemipodes. „ VIII.—Megapodidæ Megapodes. ORDER VI.—GRALLÆ: WADING BIRDS. Family I.—Rallidæ Rails. „ II.—Scolopacidæ Snipes. „ III.—Charadriidæ Plovers. „ IV.—Otididæ Bustards. „ V.—Gruidæ Cranes. „ VI.—Psophiidæ Trumpeters. ORDER VII.—HERODIONES: HERONS. Family I.—Ardeidæ Herons proper. „ II.—Ciconiidæ Storks. „ III.—Plataleidæ Spoonbills. „ IV.—Phænicopteridæ Flamingoes. ORDER VIII.—ANSERES: GEESE. Family I.—Palamedeidæ Screamers. „ II.—Anatidæ Ducks. ORDER IX.—STEGANOPODES: PELICANS. Family I.—Fregatidæ Frigate-birds. „ II.—Phæthontidæ Tropic-birds. „ III.—Pelecanidæ Pelicans. ORDER X.—GAVIÆ: SEA-BIRDS. Family I.—Laridæ Gulls. „ II.—Procellariidæ Petrels. ORDER XI.—PYGOPODES: GREBES. ORDER XII.—IMPENNES: PENGUINS.
- 40. ORDER XIII.—CRYPTURI: TINAMOUS. DIVISIONII.—RATITÆ: STRUTHIOUS BIRDS. DIVISION III.—SAURURÆ: LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS. It has been already stated that birds are divisible into three great sections, and attention is now directed to those which have a keel to the sternum, and which are good flyers—the Carinate Birds (CARINATÆ).
- 41. CHAPTER III. DIVISION I.—THECARINATE BIRDS (CARINATÆ). THE ACCIPITRINE ORDER—BIRDS OF PREY. VULTURES AND CARACARAS. The Birds of Prey—Distinctive Characters—The Cere—How the Birds of Prey are Divided—Difference between a Hawk, an Owl, and an Osprey—The three Sub-orders of the Accipitres—Sub-order FALCONES— Difference between the Vultures of the Old World and the Vultures of the New World—THE OLD WORLD VULTURES—Controversy as to how the Vultures reach their Prey—Waterton on the Faculty of Scent—Mr. Andersson’s, Dr. Kirk’s, and Canon Tristram’s Views in Favour of Sight —THE BLACK VULTURE—THE GRIFFON VULTURE—Its Capacity for Feeding while on the Wing—THE EARED VULTURE—One of the Largest of the Birds of Prey—Whence it gets its Name—THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE—A Foul Feeder—THE NEW WORLD VULTURES—THE CONDOR—Its Appearance —Power of Flight—Habits—THE KING VULTURE—THE TURKEY VULTURE—THE CARACARAS—Distinctive Characters—Habits—THE SECRETARY BIRD— How it attacks Snakes—Habits—Appearance—THE ÇARIAMA. THE first order of birds to be considered is the birds of prey (Accipitres). They are all remarkable for strong and sharply-hooked bills, and most of them have sharp and powerful talons. In the Eagles and Falcons these characters are developed in the highest degree, although many modifications of their structure take place in the order—the Vultures, for instance, and other carrion-feeding birds, not having such a hooked bill as the true Falcons and Eagles, while their feet are larger and more adapted for holding their prey than for striking it down in full career, as the Falcons do. In most of
- 42. the birds ofprey the female is larger than the male, and is much the more powerful bird. This fact is always recognised in falconry, especially in the short-winged Hawks, such as Sparrow-Hawks or Goshawks, whose females are always preferred, as possessing the greater power for holding ground game, such as Rabbits, Hares, &c. The difference in size is not very noticeable in the Vultures, but is unmistakable in the long-legged Sparrow-Hawks, Eagles, and Falcons. The form of the breast-bone, which plays such an important part in the classification of other birds, is a character of less value in the birds of prey, as it varies to a great extent even in those species which, by their habits and general structure, are most closely allied. Another character possessed by these birds is the distinct cere, which is present in all, though much hidden by bristles in the Owls: it is a waxy covering to the base of the bill, often hard, but generally fleshy in substance. Birds of prey are of three kinds: Hawks, Ospreys, and Owls. Under the first name is included every rapacious bird which is not an Osprey or an Owl, and, therefore, the first thing to find out is—how to tell an Owl from a Hawk. At one time it was supposed that all Owls came out by night and all Hawks by day, and so they were separated into two great divisions, which were called diurnal birds of prey[143] and nocturnal birds of prey.[144] Now, however, that the habits of birds are getting better observed, these divisions have to be abandoned as not being entirely true, for there are Owls which are quite at home in the daylight, when they hunt for their food like any other bird of prey, and at least one kind of Hawk is known, whose habit it is to feed on Bats in the evening. This is Andersson’s Pern,[145] a kind of Kite, allied to the Honey-kite of England. It is found only in the Damara Country, in South-western Africa, and in Madagascar. A far better way to distinguish Hawks from Owls is seen in the foot, as the latter have the outer toe reversible—that is to say, they can turn their outer toe backwards or forwards as they please. This is easily observed in the living birds; and any one examining a caged Owl in the Zoological Gardens will see that it sits with its toes in pairs—two in front and two behind. A Hawk cannot do this, all his
- 43. toes being arrangedas in a little perching bird, such as a Sparrow or a Canary, three in front and one behind. Then, again, Owls have no “after-shaft” to the feathers, a structure which most Hawks possess. The “after-shaft” is the small accessory plume, which springs from the under-side of the main feather. In some birds it is very large, in others small. It occurs on the body feathers only, and is never found in the quills or tail feathers (see p. 238). Lastly, in addition to the reversible outer toe, and the absence of an accessory plume or after-shaft, Owls may be distinguished from all other birds of prey, save one, by the proportions of their leg-bones. In the skeleton figured on p. 241 the three principal leg-bones are pointed out; and it is the length which the tarsus bears in proportion to the tibia that is here insisted on. In the Owls the tarsus is only about half the length of the tibia; this is never the case in a Hawk, in which these two bones bear different proportions the one to the other, according to the sub-family. Thus in Sparrow-Hawks and Harriers[146] the tibia and the tarsus are equal in length. In Eagles and Buzzards, Kites and true Falcons, the tibia is always much longer than the tarsus, but is never double its length, as it is in the Owls. The term “Hawk,” which has been employed throughout the foregoing sentences, is intended to apply to every bird of prey excepting the Owls, with the sole exception of the Osprey. The habits of the Osprey are noticed later on, but they may be briefly stated to be similar to those of a Sea- Eagle, its prey consisting entirely of fish, while its plumage and general appearance are also those of an Eagle, so that in many places it is popularly known as the “Fish Hawk,” or “Fishing Eagle;” but here the resemblance of the Osprey to the Eagle ends, and in its other characters it is very like an Owl. The tibia is more than double the length of the tarsus, as in the Owls; the feathers of the body have no after-shaft, as in the Owls, and the outer toe is reversible, as in the Owls. Possessing, therefore, as it does, some of the most prominent features of the Eagles, as well as some of the most striking peculiarities of the Owls, the Osprey holds an intermediate position between these two sub-orders of birds.
- 44. HEAD AND BILLOF SEA EAGLE. (After Keulemans.) (a) bony eye-shelf; (b) cere. The birds of prey, then, may be separated into three sub-orders: — (a). Outer toe not reversible; tibia varying in length in proportion to the tarsus, sometimes equal to it, but never double the length of the latter; body feathers with an after-shaft or accessory plume. (American Vultures excepted.) I. Hawks (Falcones).[147] (b). Outer toe reversible; tibia double the length of tarsus; body feathers without an after-shaft or accessory plume; plumage compact, as in an Eagle; no facial disk. II. Ospreys (Pandiones).[148] (c). Outer toe reversible; tibia double the length of tarsus; body feathers without an after-shaft; plumage soft and fluffy; a facial disk. III. Striges;[149] Owls. The Falcones, or Hawks, include in their number more kinds of rapacious birds than the other two sub-orders. All the Vultures, the Caracaras, the Harriers, the Sparrow-Hawks, the Buzzards, Eagles, Kites, and Falcons, together numbering some four hundred different species, are classified as Falcones. Only one species of Osprey is known, which is found nearly all over the world; and about two hundred different kinds of Owls remain to represent the STRIGES.
- 45. ORDER ACCIPITRES.—SUB-ORDER FALCONES. Thefirst sub-order is divided into two families, the first to be noticed being the Vultures (Vulturidæ), which is again sub-divided into two sections, the Vultures of the Old World (Vulturinæ) and the Vultures of the New World (Sarcorhamphinæ). THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE VULTURIDÆ.—THE OLD WORLD VULTURES (Vulturinæ). These Vultures are neither to be recommended for their habits nor for their personal appearance. In fact, in both these respects they are rather repulsive birds, but useful withal in hot climates, where they act as scavengers, and clear away much putrid matter and decaying substances, which but for their intervention would prove most offensive. They are all inhabitants of tropical, or at least of warm, countries; and it is only on rare occasions that they wander into the North of Europe or occur in the British Islands. Both the Old and the New Worlds have their Vultures, but the naturalist has no difficulty in telling at a glance to which hemisphere the bird he is looking at belongs, for all the Vultures of the New World have a hole through their nose—or, in other words, want the wall of bone which divides one nostril from the other; in the Vultures of the Old World this bony wall is present so that the nostrils resemble those of other ordinary birds.
- 46. BILL OF EGYPTIANVULTURE, TO SHOW FORM OF NOSTRIL. (After Keulemans.) Besides their perforated nostril, the American Vultures differ from the Old World species in having no after-shaft to the feathers, therein resembling the Owls. This character has led some naturalists to consider the New World Vultures as constituting a separate family, which bears the name of Cathartidæ; but although the absence of an after-shaft is a striking feature, yet the habits of the birds so closely resemble those of their Old World cousins, that it seems unnatural to separate them widely in any scheme of classification. The head of a Vulture, whatever locality he may be from, proclaims the nature of the bird at once, as it is always bare of feathers, or nearly so: sometimes a few scattered tufts of down are seen on the head and neck, but never any true feathers, as in the case of the other birds of prey. The Vultures feed on the ground, where they walk with comparative ease, their large feet being fitted for progression on the earth, and their toes not being prehensile or capable of bending to the same extent as in the other Hawks. This formation of the foot prevents them from striking down or snatching their prey, as an Eagle or a Hawk would do; and they do not carry food to their young, but devour the carcase or carrion where it falls, and then feed the nestlings by throwing up food from their crop. They are all birds of powerful flight, and are capable of sustaining a prolonged soar in the air without any apparent motion of the wings.
- 47. BILL OF TURKEYVULTURE, TO SHOW THE PERFORATED NOSTRIL. As to the way in which Vultures discover their prey, the opinion of naturalists has for a long time been divided, and controversy has waxed hot upon the subject, the question being whether the Vulture possesses a more than usually keen sense of sight, or whether his sense of smell is so powerful as to enable him to scent a decaying carcase at a greater distance than other birds can do. The experiments of various travellers seem to prove that both the senses of sight and smell are possessed by the Vulture in no ordinary degree; but the balance of evidence seems to prove that it is by their keen sight that they generally find their food. Supposing that an animal is wounded, and escapes from the hunter, his course is marked by a Vulture soaring high in the air; another circling far away on the horizon sees the first bird fly down, and follows in his track; and so on, until a large company is feeding on the carcase. This action of the Vultures is well described by Longfellow:—
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