Short communications 1531995

It has been reported that salivary gland development of avian species is related to diet (Grasee 1950, Pisanó & Barbieri 1967, Farner & Ziswiller 1972). Hence, grani-vorous birds that feed on dry food possess better devel-oped salivary glands than do rapacious species. On the other hand, in birds having access to naturally well-lubricated foods, the buccal glands show little develop-ment (Forstner 1978, McLelland 1979). Nevertheless, Avila et al. (1989) and Samar et al. (1987, 1988, 1993) have demonstrated a considerable develop-ment of buccal and lingual glands in the chick embryo and in the adult chicken. The same authors have de-scribed in the Lorikeet Myiopsitta monacha the presence of buccal glands with a well-structured conformation and intraepithelial acini within the tongue of this species (Samar et al. 1992). To analyse the existence of the buccal salivary glands and their probable functional role, an histological and cytochemical analysis was undertaken on two seabirds, the Magellanic Penguin Spheniscus magellanicus, which feeds on fish, crustaceans and cephalopods (Vigi