. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Vol: 87 102 Bulletin The bird was normal in every way except for the bill in which the lower mandible was approximately 22 millimetres shorter than the upper, that is to say it was about half as long (see photograph). This appeared to be a congenital condition as there was no indication that the lower mandible. had ever been damaged in any way. The tip of this mandible was quite blunt and perfectly rounded. Apart from being slightly oiled under one wing the bird was in perfect condition, and was seen to catch fish, so that the bill deformi
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Vol: 87 102 Bulletin The bird was normal in every way except for the bill in which the lower mandible was approximately 22 millimetres shorter than the upper, that is to say it was about half as long (see photograph). This appeared to be a congenital condition as there was no indication that the lower mandible. had ever been damaged in any way. The tip of this mandible was quite blunt and perfectly rounded. Apart from being slightly oiled under one wing the bird was in perfect condition, and was seen to catch fish, so that the bill deformity appeared to have no detrimental effect. I have not come across any previous records of bill deformities in this species. I am not aware of any discussion on the genetics responsible for the occurrence of what may be termed "short lower bill" in birds, but Harrison & Kear (1962) report the similar condition of "short upper beak" in wildfowl embryos that had failed to hatch, and in which it was sometimes associated with acrania or meningocoele. The condition of "short upper beak" is well known in poultry and in at least one instance has been traced to a recessive gene. References: Harrison, Jeffery G. and Kear, Janet (1962) "Some Congenital Abnormalities in the Beaks and Skulls of Wildfowl". Veterinary Record 74, pp. 632-633. Systematic notes on austral African sandgrouse by P. A. Clancey Received 22nd February, 1967 Of the four species of sandgrouse occurring in the South African Sub- Region, all of which are variably polytypic, three are represented by two or more races in the area. Recent studies of the variation in these three. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original British Ornithologists' Club. London : British Ornithologists' Club
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