greater tern.—Two outer tail feathers black, and half white; bill and legs crimson; the former tipped with black; crown and area of the eyes black; rest of the head, neck, tail, and body, white beneath; back and wings cinereous; outer tail feathers black on the outer edge. There is a variety with black legs, and the outer tail feathers entirely white. The weight of this species is about four ounces and a quarter; and its length fourteen inches. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. It frequents our flat, sandy, or thinly shores, and lays three or four eggs, of the size of a pigeon's, of an olivaceous brown, and spotted and blotched with dusky; among stones, without making any nest. It is noisy and restless, constantly on wing, in search of insects and small fish; in pursuit of which it darts into the water with great force, seizes its prey, and instantly returns; for, though web-footed, it is not observed to swim or dive. It is commonly known by the name of the sea swallow, and, in some parts, by that of the gull rooster, from its persecuting the smaller gulls, and obliging them to disgorge. In New England it is called mackerel gull, and at Hudson's bay it is known by the name of black-head. The young birds are mottled with brown and white, and are, most probably, the brown tern described by Ray and other ornithologists.

White tern.—White; bill and legs black; length between two and three inches. Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope.

Black-headed tern.—Body hoary; head and bill black; legs red; size of the preceding. Inhabits Europe.

Leffler tern.—Body white; back hoary; front and eye-brows white; bill yellow, tipped with black; irises brown; cap black; a black band through the eyes; legs yellow; eight inches and a half long. Inhabits Europe and America. It has the habits of the common species, but is far less numerous. It lays two eggs, of a very pale brown, spotted all over with cinereous and dusky, and placed in a small depression among the flingle, without any nest.

Black tern.—Body black; back ash-coloured; belly white; feet red; bill black; male with a white spot on the chin; wings and tail cinereous; vent and lower tail coverts white; length ten inches. Inhabits Europe and America, and has all the actions and manners of the other species, but seems to prefer fresh-water insects and fish to marine. It feeds on the verge of pools, in swampy places, and often remote from the sea. In the fenny parts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire it is called ear-swallow. Though very plentiful about the reedy pools of the Romney marshes, it keeps to the edges of the stagnant water, and is rarely seen on the adjoining sea shore, till after the breeding season, and even then not very commonly. It lays three or four eggs about the size of those of a magpie, of an olive brown colour, blotched and spotted with brown and black.

Gen. 44. Rynchos, Skimmer.

Bill straight; upper mandible shorter than the under, the latter truncated at the apex; tail forked and shorter than the wings; nostrils linear, and the back toe small.

Black skimmer, or cut-water.—Blackish; white beneath; bill red at the base; the lower mandible grooved; front and chin white; wings with a transverse white band; two middle tail feathers black, the next edged with white; legs red; twenty inches long. Inhabits Asia and America. This bird is ever on the wing, sweeping the surface of the water, dipping in its bill, or at least the under mandible, to scoop out the smaller fishes on which it feeds. In stormy weather it frequents the shores, and is contented with oysters and other shell-fish.

ORDER IV. GRALLÆ.

Bill subcylindrical, and somewhat obtuse; tongue entire and fleshy; legs naked above the knees; the characters feet are commonly furnished with four toes, of which three stand forwards, and one backwards, sometimes wholly unconnected, and at other times half connected by a web. Some species, too, have only three toes; their legs are long, that they may seek their food in marshy and swampy places, for which reason they have also a long neck, and, for the most part, a long bill. Their bodies are oval, and somewhat compressed, and their tail is generally short. They build chiefly on the ground and in marshy places, and feed principally on fishes and water insects. They are all more or less migratory, and such as inhabit the more northern countries of Europe, universally leave them at the approach of winter.

Gen. 45. Phænicopteros, Flamingo.

Bill bare; toothed and bent as if broken; nostrils linear; the feet four-toed and palmated, the membranes semicircular on the fore part; hind toe not connected.

The birds of this genus combine the anseres with the grallæ. They have the neck and legs long; the bill strong and thick, the upper mandible carinated above, and denticulated at the margin, the under one compressed and transversely fulcated; the nostrils above covered with a thin membrane, and communicating with each other; the back-toe very small, and the web which connects the fore-toes, reaching to the nails.

Red flamingo.—Flag feather black. This singular Ruler bird is scarcely so big as a goose, but has the neck and legs in a greater disproportion to the body than any other bird; the length from the end of the bill to that of the tail being four feet, and two or three inches; but, to the end of the claws, sometimes more than six feet; the bill is four inches and a quarter long, and of a structure different from that of any other bird, the upper mandible being very thin and flat, and somewhat moveable, the under thick and both bending downwards from the middle; the end, as far as the curvature, is black, and the rest reddish-yellow; a flesh-coloured cere extends round the base of the bill to the eye; the neck is slender and of an immoderate length; the tongue, which is large and fleshy, fills the cavity of the bill, has a sharp cartilaginous tip, and is furnished with twelve or more hooked papillae on each side, which bend backwards. The bird, when in full plumage, which it does not acquire till the third year, is of a most beautiful deep scarlet, except the quills, which are black. The flamingo affects the warmer latitudes; and, in the old continent, is not often met with beyond the 45th degree north or south. It is met with everywhere on the African coast and adjacent islands to the Cape of Good Hope, and sometimes on the coasts of Spain and Italy, and even on those of France that lie on the Mediterranean, having been found at Marseille and for some way up the Rhone. It is seen also on the Persian side of the Caspian sea, and from thence along the western coast as far as the Wolga. They breed in the Cape de Verd islands, particularly in that of Sal, constructing a nest Grallae. of mud in the shape of a hillock, with a cavity at top, in which the female generally lays two white eggs, of the size of those of a goose, but more elongated. The hillock is of sufficient height to admit the bird's sitting on it conveniently, or rather standing, as the legs are placed one on each side at full length. Sometimes the female will deposit her eggs on the projecting part of a low rock, if otherwise adapted to the above-mentioned attitude. The young are not able to fly till they are grown, but they can previously run with amazing swiftness. In this immature state, they are sometimes caught and easily tamed. In five or six days, they become familiar, and even eat out of the hand, and drink a great quantity of sea water. It is, however, difficult to rear them, as they are very liable to pine from want of their natural subsistence, which chiefly consists of small fish and water insects. These they take by plunging the bill and part of the head into the water, and from time to time trampling the bottom with their feet, to disturb the mud, and raise up their prey. In feeding they are said to twist the neck in such a manner, that the upper part of their bill is applied to the ground. Except in the breeding season, flamingos are generally observed in great flocks, and at a distance appear like a regiment of soldiers, being often ranged alongside of one another on the borders of rivers. When the Europeans first visited America, they found these birds on the shores tame and gentle, and no way distrustful of mankind. We learn from Cateley, that when the fowler had killed one, the rest of the flock, instead of attempting to fly, only regarded the fall of their companion in a kind of fixed astonishment; so that the whole flock were sometimes killed in detail, without one of them attempting to make its escape. They are now, however, extremely shy, and one of their number acts as sentinel, while the rest are feeding. The moment that this guard perceives the least danger, he gives a loud scream, like the sound of a trumpet, and instantly all are on the wing, and fill the air with their screams. The flamingo, when at rest, stands on one leg, the other being drawn up to the body, with the head placed under the wing on that side of the body on which it stands. Its flesh is esteemed tolerable eating, and that of the young has been compared to partridge. Pliny, Martial, and other writers of antiquity, have celebrated the tongue as a morsel of exquisite relish.

Chili flamingo.—Quill feathers white; bill covered with a reddish skin; head subcerebrated; measures five feet from the bill to the claws. Inhabits Chili; frequents only fresh waters, and is extremely shy.

Gen. 46. PLATAEA, Spoonbill.

Bill long and thin, the tip dilated, orbicular and flat; nostrils small at the base of the bill; tongue short and pointed; feet four-toed and semipalmated.

White spoonbill.—Body white; chin black; hind head somewhat crested. Bill black, brown or spotted; tongue heart-shaped; irides gray; lores, orbits, and naked dilatable chin black; quill feathers sometimes tipped with black; legs black. This species admits of two varieties, of which the first has the wings varied with black and white, and the legs yellowish, and the second has the body all white, and the legs flesh coloured. The white or common spoonbill weighs about three pounds and a half, and measures two feet eight inches in length. It inhabits from the Ferozilles to the Cape of Good Hope; but rarely occurs in England. It lives on grass, carices, the roots of reeds, serpents, frogs, mussels, and other shell-fish, but especially on fishes, which it often seizes from other birds. It makes its nest in high trees, near to the sea, and lays three or four white eggs, sprinkled with a few pale red spots. The flesh, especially of the young bird, tastes like that of a goose.

Red-cate spoonbill.—Body rosy-coloured; tail coverts scarlet; bill cinereous white, with a furrow parallel with the edge; face and chin naked and whitish; legs gray. This species also frequently appears of a blood red hue; the neck white; collar black; and tail feathers flecked. Two feet three inches long. Inhabits South America and Jamaica. Figured in Latham's Synopsis.

Dwarf spoonbill.—Body brown above; white beneath. Size of a sparrow. Inhabits Guiana and Surinam.

Gen. 47. PALAMEDEA, Screamer.

Bill conical, the upper mandible hooked, nostrils oval; feet four-toed, cleft, a very small membrane connecting the toes at the root.

Horned screamer.—Wings with two spines at the curvature, front horned; bill and legs black; irides golden; body blackish above, white beneath; wings reddish beneath; spines strong, sharp, horny, triangular, yellow; horn on the front recurved, round, whitish; three inches long; hind toe straight. Three feet four inches long. Inhabits the fenny parts of South America; making a large nest of reeds, in the shape of an oven, on the ground, and laying two eggs the size of those of a goose. It is remarked, that they are always met with in pairs, and if one dies, the other mourns to death for the loss. On hearing the least noise, or seeing any one, even at a distance, they rise from the ground and make a loud screaming noise. They feed principally on herbs, seeds, and reptiles. The flesh of the old bird is tough and ill tasted; but that of the young, though very dark, is frequently eaten by the natives.

Crested screamer.—Wings unarmed; front crested. Size of a heron. Inhabits Brazil.

Gen. 48. MYCTERIA, Jabiru.

Bill a little bending upwards and sharp-pointed; upper mandible triangular; front bald; nostrils linear; tongue small or wanting; feet four-toed and cleft.

American jabiru.—White; quill and tail feathers purplish-black; bill long, stout and black; head and neck bald, two thirds of the neck blackish, the rest red; hind head cinereous; legs long, stout and blackish. Nearly six feet long. Inhabits the savannas of South America; is migratory and gregarious, makes its nest in large trees, lays two eggs, and tends the young till they can descend to the ground. The colour of the young birds is gray; the second year it changes to rose colour, and the third to pure white. They are very wild and voracious, and destroy great quantities of fish. The flesh of the young birds is said to be good eating, but that of the old is hard and oily.

Indian jabiru.—White; band over the eyes, lower part of the back, quill and tail feathers black; bill blackish; Gen. 49. CANCROMA, Boatbill.

Bill gibbous, and shaped like an inverted boat; nostrils small, and placed in a furrow; tongue small; toes divided.

Crested boatbill.—Crested; cinereous; belly rufous; crown and lermule on the neck black; bill brown; lores naked and blackish; crest long, pendulous and pointed; legs yellowish-brown; toes connected at the base. The body is sometimes spotted with brown. Twenty-two inches long. Inhabits South America; perches on trees which overhang the water, and darts down on the fish as they swim underneath. It likewise feeds on crabs.

Gen. 50. SCOPUS, Umbre.

Bill thick, compressed, long and straight; nostrils linear and oblique; feet with four unconnected toes.

Tufted umbre.—With a crest; bill brown, with a longitudinal furrow on each side, in which are placed the nostrils; lower mandible narrower towards the end, and a little truncated; crest thick, tufted and lax; body brown; tail obscurely barred; legs length and brown. Female not crested. Twenty inches long. Inhabits Africa.

Gen. 51. ARDEA.

Bill straight, pointed, long, somewhat compressed, with a furrow from the nostrils towards the tip; nostrils linear; tongue sharp; feet four-toed, cleft; toes connected at the base.

The birds of this numerous genus have long feet and necks, and live on amphibious animals and fishes.

A. Crested, and bill scarcely longer than the head.

Crowned heron or crown bird.—Crest bristly and erect; temples with two naked wattles; bill brownish; irides gray; crown covered with short silky feathers; crest circular, yellowish, tipped with black; temples and wattles red; body bluish ash; wing coverts white, the greater ones reddish, those next the body blackish; tail and greater quill feathers black, the secondary bay; legs dusky. The female is black, where the male is bluish-ash, has no wattles on the throat, and the long feathers on the breast less conspicuous. This beautiful species, the balearic crane of Ray, and the crowned African crane of Edwards, is two feet nine inches long; and inhabits Africa, particularly the coast of Guinea, as far as the cape de Verd islands. At the latter it is said to be very tame, and so familiar as to come into the court-yards to feed with the poultry. It is supposed to feed chiefly on worms and vegetables, often sleeps on one leg, runs very fast, and not only flies well, but continues on wing for a long time together. The flesh is said to be very tough.

Demoiselle heron, demoiselle of Numidia, or Numidian crane.—A tuft of long, white, pendant feathers behind each eye; bill yellowish; the base greenish, tip red; irides red; head and tips of the primary quill feathers black; feathers of the breast long and pendulous; crest over the eyes turned back; and pendulous; body bluish-ash; crown cinereous; head, neck, throat, breast and legs black. The wind-pipe does not, as in the generality of birds, go straight forwards into the lungs, but first enters a cavity in the keel of the breast bone, for about three inches, when it returns, after making a bend forwards, and then passes into the chest. This elegant species is about the size of the common crane; and three feet three inches long. It is found in many parts of Africa and Asia, but most plentifully about Bithynia, the ancient Numidia, and Tripoli. It also occurs at Aleppo, and in the southern plain, about the Black and Caspian seas, and not unfrequently beyond Lake Baikal, about the rivers Selenga and Argun, but never ventures to the northward. It affects marshes and rivers, subsisting chiefly on fish. In the Crimea it builds its nest in open plains, generally in the vicinity of the salt lakes. The young birds are brought to market by the Tartars, and are so susceptible of domestication, that they even afterwards breed in the farm yards. From the gentleness of its manners and the elegance of its form, it is often kept in menageries. In confinement, it often assumes strange and uncouth attitudes, and seems occasionally to imitate dancing; and Keyser mentions one in the gallery at Florence, which had been taught to dance to a certain tune, when played or sung to it.

B. Cranes; head bald.

Common crane.—Hind head naked and papillose; cap and quill feathers black; body cinereous; innermost tail feathers jagged; bill greenish-black; front covered with black down; hind head red, with a few scattered hairs, and a cinereous area beneath; temples and upper neck white; legs black. There is a variety with the body white; and the lower part of the neck and quill feathers black; bill greenish black; front covered with black down; hind head red, with a few scattered hairs, and a cinereous area beneath; temples and upper neck white; legs black. Weighs near 10 pounds; length five feet. Inhabits Europe and Asia, and annually migrates in flocks to the southern parts of Asia and Africa, in autumn. The course of their flight is discovered by the loud noise which they make; for they soar to such a height as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye. Like the wild geese, they form themselves into different figures, describing a wedge, a triangle, or a circle. It is said that formerly they visited the fens and marshes of England, in great numbers; but they seem now, in a great measure, to have forsaken our island. They are seen in France in the spring and autumn; but generally only as passengers. They make their nests in marshes, and lay two bluish eggs. They feed on reptiles of all kinds, and on several sorts of vegetables, particularly green corn; among which, if a flock alights, it makes great havoc. Like other large birds, the crane has much difficulty in commencing its flight.

Siberian crane.—White; temples and front naked, Gigantea; red, wrinkled; ten first quill feathers thinning black; bill and legs red. Stands four feet and a half high. Inhabits the marshy flats of Siberia, and feeds on reptiles, worms, and small fish. C. Storks; orbits naked.

White stork.—White; orbits and quill feathers black; bill, legs and skin red; greater wing coverts black. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa. Is about the size of a turkey; and measures three feet three inches in length. Feeds on fish and reptiles, and in several countries is protected for its use in destroying serpents. Vast numbers annually resort to some parts of Holland, and even as far north as Russia, to breed, but rarely visit England. They observe great exactness in the time of their autumnal departure from Europe to more favoured climes. They pass a second summer in Egypt, and the marshes of Barbary; pairing in the former country, and rearing a second brood. Before each of their migrations, they rendezvous in amazing numbers, and are for a while much in motion among themselves, till, after making several short excursions, as if to try their wings, they all on a sudden take flight with great silence, and with such speed as in a moment to be out of sight. At Bagdad, hundreds of their nests are to be seen about the houses, walls and trees; and at Persepolis, the remains of the pillars serve them to build on, every pillar having a nest on it. Shaw mentions flights of them leaving Egypt, and passing over Mount Carmel, each half a mile in breadth. The good-natured Dutchmen provide boxes for them to build their nests in, on the tops of their houses, and resent any injury done to the birds as an offence committed against themselves. The stork is of a mild and affectionate disposition; and though it has a grave air, yet, when roused by example, is not averse from gaiety. "I saw," says Dr. Hermann, "in a garden where children were playing at hide and seek, a tame stork join the party, run its turn when touched, and distinguish the child whose turn it was to pursue the rest, so well, as, along with the others, to be on its guard."—To this bird the ancients ascribed many of the moral virtues, as temperance, vigilance, conjugal fidelity, and filial and parental piety.

Black stork.—Brown; breast and belly white. Two feet nine inches long. Inhabits Europe and Asia. Feeds on fish and reptiles; is timid, and retires into thick woods and inaccessible fens.

D. Herons; middle claw inwardly serrated.

Gigantic heron.—Glaucoous above; dirty white beneath; bill a little triangular. This is a large species, measuring from tip to tip of the wings, nearly 15 feet. The bill is of an enormous size, and 16 inches round at the base. The head and neck are naked, except a few straggling curled hairs. The feathers of the back and wings are of a bluish-grey colour, and very stout; those of the breast long. The craw hangs down the fore part of the neck, like a pouch, thinly covered with down. The belly is covered with a dirty white down, and the upper part of the back and shoulders surrounded with the same. The legs and about half of the thighs are naked, and the naked parts are full three feet in length. The gigantic heron inhabits Bengal, and is sometimes found on the coast of Guinea. It arrives in the interior parts of Bengal before the period of the rains, and retires as soon as the dry season commences. Though its aspect is far from inviting, it is one of the most useful birds of these countries, in clearing them of snakes and noxious reptiles and insects. They sometimes feed on fish; and one of them will generally devour as much as would serve four men. On opening the body of an individual of this species, a land tortoise, 10 inches long, and a large black cat, were found entire within it, the former in the pouch, and the latter in its stomach. Being unacquainted at the sight of mankind, they are soon rendered familiar; and when fish or other food is thrown to them they catch it very nimbly, and immediately swallow it entire. A young bird of this kind, about five feet in height, was brought up tame, and presented to the chief of the Banumas, where Mr. Smeathman lived. It regularly attended the hall at dinner time, placing itself behind its master's chair, frequently before any of the guests entered. The servants were obliged to watch it carefully, and to defend the provisions by beating it off with sticks: yet notwithstanding every precaution, it would frequently snatch off something from the table, and one day purloined a whole boiled fowl, which it swallowed in an instant. It used to fly about the island, and roost very high among the silk cotton trees; from this station, at the distance of two or three miles, it could see when the dinner was carried across the court; when darting down, it would arrive early enough to enter with some of those who carried in the dishes. When fitting, it was observed always to rest itself on the whole length of the hind part of the leg. Sometimes it would stand in the room for half an hour after dinner, turning its head alternately as if listening to the conversation. These birds are found in companies, and, when seen at a distance, near the mouths of rivers, advancing towards an observer, it is said that they may be easily mistaken for canoes on the surface of a smooth sea, and when on the sand banks, for men and women picking up shell-fish on the beach.—From their immense gape, they have obtained the name of large throats, and from their swallowing bones, that of bone eaters or bone takers.

Night heron.—Crest on the hind head white, horizontal, of three feathers; back black; belly yellowish. The female has the head smooth and brown; belly brownish and white beneath; and the first quill feathers with a white spot at the tip. About 20 inches long. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. Only one instance occurs of its having been met with in England. It is pretty common in Russia, particularly on the Don, where it builds in trees, and is also met with at Africane during summer. It is said to lay three or four white eggs, and sometimes to build among the rocks. It has a very uncouth and rough voice, like that of a person straining to vomit.

Crested purple heron.—Hind head black; crest pendent, and composed of two long feathers; body olive above, purplish beneath. Two feet 10 inches long. Inhabits Asia.

African heron.—Crested; body cinereous; neck breast and belly ferruginous; chin white; neck with three black lines; bill and legs yellow; crest of three long feathers; feathers of the breast and rump mixed with ferruginous; a broad black line from the nape to the back, and another on each of the sides. About three feet long; and smaller than the common heron. Inhabits Asia and Africa, and has been twice found in England.

Common heron.—Hind head with a pendent crest; Major. body ash-coloured; line on the neck beneath and pectoral bar black. The female has the hind head smooth and Blue heron.—Hind head crested; body blue; bill and lores blue; legs green. In the female, the head and neck are dull purple; the chin and middle of the throat white, and the back lead colour. There is a subfertile variety blue green, with the chin and throat white. Another is varied with brown, yellow and cinereous; fleck black above; white beneath; and wings and tail greenish. From 16 to 18 inches long. Inhabits America. Found in Carolina in spring, and in Jamaica, and other islands of the West Indies, in winter. It has also been met with at Otaheite, and other islands of the South seas, where it is much respected.

Squacco heron.—Ferruginous; white beneath; hind Comata head with a long white pendent crest, edged with black. About 15 inches long. Inhabits Europe and Asia. A white variety, with a smooth head, the upper part, crown, breast and back, reddish, which inhabits Coromandel, has been once shot in England.

Bittern; in provincial English, bittour, bumpy co'st, Stellarius.

Butter bump and miredram.—Head smooth; body tefaceous above, with transverse spots; paler beneath, with oblong brown spots. About two feet and a half long. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America, afflicting the more temperate regions in winter, and migrating northwards in summer. Though not a plentiful species in Britain, it is occasionally found in the breeding season, in the less frequented reedy marshes, and swampy moors, well clothed with rushes, where it forms a nest on some lump, by collecting fedges or other coarse plants together. It lays four or five eggs of a light olive green colour, inclining to cinereous. At this season the male makes a singular bellowing noise, vulgarly supposed to be produced by the bird putting his bill into a reed. It is with difficulty roused from its lurking place, flies heavily, and frequently lights again at a small distance, so that it becomes an easy prey to the sportman. About sunset, it sometimes soars to a great height in the air, with a spiral ascent, making at the same time, a loud and singular noise. Its flesh is accounted a delicacy.

Greater bittern.—Head smooth; body white; bill tawny; legs black; bill six inches long; irides yellowish; lores green. Three feet six inches long. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. Is rare in England.

Wattled heron.—Back, wings, legs and crown black-blue; smooth head and neck white; body black beneath; bill and chin carunculated. Five feet long. Inhabits Africa.

Minute bittern.—Smooth head and upper part of the Exilis body reddish-bay; white beneath; sides of the neck rufous; wings and tail black. Twelve inches and a half long. Inhabits Jamaica.

Little bittern.—(Male). Head smooth; body brown; reddish beneath; tail feathers greenish-black; lores yellowish. (Female). Body brown; edges of the feathers reddish; reddish beneath; crown, back, wings and tail black; bill yellow-green; naked part of the face yellow; irides fawn; legs green brown. This beautiful species is scarcely larger than a fieldfare, and about 15 inches long, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail. The female lays four or five white eggs, of the size of those of the blackbird, and which are placed on... Grallae. a few dried flags on the ground. Inhabits Europe and Asia, but is rare in England.

E. Bill gaping in the middle.

Pondicery heron.—Gray-ash; quill feathers long and black; middle claw not ferrated; bill yellow, thick at the base, pointed at the tip, and a little bent in, gaping in the middle; space between the bill and toes feathered; legs yellow. Fourteen inches and a half long. Inhabits India.

Coromandel heron.—White; back, wings and tail black; upper mandible ferrated from the middle to the tip; bill yellow, thick at the base, and pointed at the tip; legs reddish-yellow; upper part of the head with black lines; lores and chin naked and black; irides red; toes connected at the base. Inhabits Coromandel, and feeds on fish and reptiles.

Scopaceous heron.—Brown; throat and breast streaked with white; chin and legs white; wings and tail copper-colour. Twenty-five inches long. Inhabits Cayenne.

Tantalus.

Gen. 52. TANTALUS, Ibis.

Characters. Bill long, subulated, roundish, somewhat arched; face naked; tongue short and broad; jugular pouch naked; nostrils oval; feet four-toed and palmated at the base.

Wood ibis.—Face bluish; bill reddish; legs, quill and tail feathers black; body white; bill nine inches long, yellowish-brown; irides reddish. The male has the head and neck naked, wrinkled and black-blue; and the female has the neck gray and downy. Three feet long. Inhabits New Holland and the warmer parts of America. Is stupid and slow in flight, sitting on trees, and feeding on herbs, seeds, fruits, fish, and reptiles. The flesh is good. Of this species there are two varieties, the first having the head and neck white, blended with yellow; the body black, and belly cinereous, and the second distinguished by white wing coverts, with a black blotch in the middle.

Gloppy ibis.—Head and neck black; legs green; body varied with gloopy-blue, blackish, green and claret; dark rufous beneath; quill and tail feathers green-gold; bill green. Thirteen inches and a half long. Inhabits Russia, and was once shot in Cornwall.

Black ibis.—Face, bill and legs red; body black. From 30 to 40 inches long. Inhabits Egypt.

Egyptian ibis.—Face red; bill pale yellow; quill feathers black; body reddish-white. This is a large bird, somewhat exceeding the flor's, and measures from 30 to 40 inches in length. The bill is seven inches long, the colour yellow, growing reddish towards the tip, slightly curved, and ending in a blunt point. The fore part of the head, all round as far as the eyes, is naked and reddish. The skin under the throat, is also bare and dilatable; the plumage reddish white, most inclining to red on the back and wings; quills and tail black; the legs long; and the thighs bare for three parts of their length. Haffelquill adds, that the irises are whitish, and the end of the bill and the legs black; and that it is found in Lower Egypt, in great plenty, in places just freed from the inundations of the Nile. It lives on frogs and insects, and is seen in gardens morning and evening, and sometimes so abundantly, that whole palm trees are covered with them. When at rest they sit quite erect, Grallae. their tail touching their legs. The same author believes it to be the ibis of the ancients; first, because it is common in, and peculiar to Egypt; secondly, as it eats serpents; and, thirdly, because the urns, which contain the remains of embalmed birds, found in the sepulchres along with the mummies, seem to contain birds of this size. Its figure represented Egypt, in the hieroglyphic writing of its inhabitants. In that country it is still called Pharaoh's bird, and builds in the palm trees.

Scarlet ibis.—Face, bill and legs red; body scarlet; Ruber. wings tipped with black. Twenty-one inches long. Inhabits South America. Sits on trees, but lays its greenish eggs on the ground. The young are at first black, then gray, whitish just before they fly, and afterwards grow gradually red.

White ibis.—This species is 22 inches long, and about Albus. the size of the whimbrel; the face, bill and feet reddish; Plate body white; tips of the wings green; the male and feccxcviii, male nearly alike. Native of Brazil, but towards the Fig. 2. end of summer migrates to the north, and is found in great numbers in the marshy lands of Carolina, feeding on fish and aquatic insects. Here they remain for about five weeks: the fat and flesh of the white ibis are said to be of a saffron colour, but though not much esteemed, is sometimes eaten.

Gen. 53. CORRIRA, Courier.

Bill short, straight, toothless; thighs longer than the Characters body; feet four-toed, palmated; hind toe unconnected.

Italian courier.—Ferruginous above; white beneath; Italica. two middle tail feathers white, tipped with black; bill pale yellow, black at the end, with a large gap; irides a double circle of bay and white. Lets than the curlew. Inhabits Italy, and runs swiftly.

Gen. 54. SCOLOPAX.

Bill roundish, obtuse, and longer than the head; nostrils linear; face covered with feathers; feet four-toed; hind toe consisting of many joints.

The birds of this and of the succeeding genus are with difficulty ascertained, being subject to differ in appearance from sex and age, and their colours shading into one another. The markings of their feet, however, are pretty constant, and therefore afford one of the best criteria.

Pigmy curlew.—Arched bill, and legs black; body Pygmaea. varied with ferruginous, brown, and white; white beneath; rump white; quill and outer tail feathers edged with white. Size of a lark. Inhabits Europe, and is very rare in England.

Common curlew.—Bill arched, blackish; legs bluish; Arquata. wings blackish, with snowy spots; lower mandible reddish at the base; body above, and breast streaked with dusky brown; chin, rump, belly, and vent, white; quill feathers black, spotted with white within; legs bluish; toes flat and broad. This species is subject to vary considerably in size, weighing from 20 to upwards of 30 ounces; the length of the largest being about 25 inches. Inhabits the moist and fenny places of Europe, Asia, and Africa. A rufous and black variety, with a smaller body, and longer bill, occurs in America. The curlew curlew is common on most of our coasts, in winter, when it is gregarious, and feeds on small crabs, and other marine insects and worms. In the spring it retires inland, and commonly to the more northern parts of the kingdom, to breed, resorting to the most retired situations on the heath-covered mountains, or in extensive and unfrequented marshes. It makes no nest; but deposits among the heath, rushes, or long grass, four eggs, of a pale olive colour, marked with brownish spots. The young make use of their legs as soon as they are hatched, but cannot fly for a considerable time. The flesh of this species is eatable, but is best in summer, when the bird feeds on frogs, worms, and water insects. In winter it is rank and fishy.

**Whimbrel.**—Bill arched, and black; legs bluish; back with rhomboid brown spots; rump white; lower mandible reddish at the base; body above, and breast brownish, with dusky brown streaks; chin, rump, belly, and vent, white; tail brown, with dusky bars; quill feathers black, spotted with white on the inside. About half the size of the preceding; but agreeing with it in appearance and habits. It is also more scarce in this country.

**Black snipe.**—Bill and legs red; body black. Inhabits the islands between Northern Asia and America.

**Nodding snipe.**—Bill black; legs greenish; body cinereous; crown and upper part of the back dusky red, and streaked; the lower white, spotted with black. Size of the common snipe. Inhabits Labrador, and is constantly nodding the head.

**Woodcock.**—Bill straight, reddish at the base; legs cinereous; thighs covered; head, with a black band on each side; upper mandible longer, reddish at the base; front cinereous; lower eyelid white; crown, neck above, back, and wing coverts, ferruginous, mixed with black and gray; chin pale ash; throat yellowish, with small dusky spots; body whitish beneath, with dusky lines; quill feathers dusky, with triangular rufous spots; tail rounded, cinereous at the tip; legs brownish. Length 15 inches; weight from 12 to 15 pounds. This well-known species is subject to great variety, and inhabits the northern countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa, migrating in winter to the more temperate regions. In Britain it seldom appears in numbers till about the middle of November; but some occasionally appear as early as the latter end of September, or beginning of October. They generally come to us with northerly or easterly winds, when the more northern countries become frozen; and if the frost in those parts where they breed is suddenly severe, large flights are sometimes met with on our coasts, where they remain for a day, to recruit their strength, and then disperse. In England they are not so plentiful as formerly, when the art of shooting flying was less practised. A great many, however, are yet to be found in the more uncultivated parts of Devonshire, Cornwall, and Wales, as well as in the north of Scotland; but they are nowhere so abundant as in the large tracts of woods in Ireland. In severe weather, they accumulate, from the moors and inland counties, to the woods in the west of England. It is one of the few winter birds that occasionally breed with us. It builds a nest of a few fibres, or dry leaves, on the ground, generally at the root of a tree, and lays four eggs, somewhat larger than those of a pigeon, of a yellowish-white, spotted and blotched with rufous brown and ash colour. Its usual food is insects and worms, for which it bores with its bill into moist places, feeding principally at night, when its call resembles that of the snipe. In some countries the woodcock remains the whole year, only moving, in the breeding season, from the plains to the mountains. In this country, it usually prepares for its departure about the middle of March, when flocks come down to the sea coast, and, if the wind is favourable, are soon out of sight; but if it be contrary, they linger till it change.

**Little woodcock.**—Bill straight; legs brownish; front cinereous; hind head black, with four transverse yellowish lines; chin white; body above black, waved with light tawny; yellow beneath. Eleven inches and a half long. Inhabits America. Its flesh is reckoned exquisite.

**Great snipe.**—Legs and crown black, the latter with a pale divided line down the middle, a pale streak above and beneath the eyes; body varied above, white beneath; bill like that of the woodcock; lower feathers of the body, except the middle of the belly, edged with black; quill feathers dusky; tail feathers reddish, and except the two middle ones, with black lines. Weighs about eight ounces; length 16 inches. Inhabits Siberia, and very rarely England.

**Common snipe.**—Bill straight, tuberculated; legs brown; body varied with blackish and tawny, white beneath; front with four brown lines; crown, bill, ocular band, and wings black; chin pale rusty; tail feathers black at the base; rump variegated. The weight of this species is about four ounces, and the length nearly 12 inches. It is met with, in marlily situations, in almost every part of the world, and is very plentiful in our own island. In very wet times it resorts to the hills; but more generally frequents the marshes of the plains, where it can penetrate the earth with its bill, in quest of worms. Some few remain with us the whole year, and breed in the more extensive marshes and mountainous bogs. The nest is made of the materials around it, as coarse grass, or heath, and placed on a dry spot, near a splat or swampy place, the eggs, like that of the lapwing, being much pointed, and invariably placed with their smaller ends inwards. In the breeding season the snipe changes its note entirely. The male will keep on the wing for an hour together, mounting like a lark, uttering a shrill piping note, and then descend with great velocity, making a bleating sound, like that of an old goat, which is alternately repeated round the spot pecked by the female, especially while she is fitting on her nest. The young ones run off soon after they are freed from the shell; but they are attended by the parent birds, until their bills have acquired a sufficient firmness to enable them to provide for themselves. When undisturbed in its retreats, the snipe walks leisurely, with its head erect, and keeps moving the tail at short intervals. But it is rarely observed in this state of tranquillity, being extremely watchful, and perceiving the sportsman, or his dog, at a great distance, and either concealing itself among the variegated withered herbage, so similar in appearance to its own plumage, that it is almost impossible to discover it, or, as happens more frequently, springing and taking flight beyond the reach of the gun. When first disturbed it utters a kind of feeble whistle, and generally flies against the wind, turning nimbly in a zig-zag direction, and sometimes soaring almost out of sight. From its vigilance and manner of flying, it is very difficult to shoot; but some sportsmen can draw it within range of their fowling-piece, by imitating its cries, and others are contented to catch it in the night by springs. The snipe is much esteemed as a delicious and well-flavoured dish; and though it is very fat it rarely disagrees even with the weakest stomach.

Jack-snipe, jadock, or gil.—Bill straight, tuberculated; body variegated; legs greenish; lores brown; rump varied with violet; bill black; body variegated with tawny, black, violet, and glossy green; head with pale yellow and black lines, reaching from the bill to the hind head; breast spotted; belly and vent white. Eight inches and a half long. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. Is found in the same places with the preceding, but is more solitary and rare. It will lie among rushes, or other thick covert, till in danger of being trampled on, and, when roused, seldom flies far. It comes to us later than the common snipe, and is never known to remain in this country during the breeding season. It is as much esteemed as the snipe, and is cooked in the same manner.

Greenhank.—Bill straight, the lower base red; body beneath snowy; legs greenish; bill black; the lower mandible bending a little upwards; eyebrows and lower part of the back white; head, neck, and back, pale cinereous; shafts of the feathers spotted with brown; quill feathers dusky, spotted with white on the inside; tail white, with dusky lines; legs very long. Weight about six ounces; length 14 inches. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. Is sometimes seen, in small flocks, on our coasts, in winter; as also in the marshes and fens contiguous to the sea. Some few are supposed to remain with us all the summer, and to breed in our fens. The greater part, however, retire northward to breed, and are found in Sweden, Russia, and Siberia. Their flesh, like all the rest of this genus, is well-flavoured, and reckoned good eating.

Redhank, or pool-snipe.—Bill straight, red; legs scarlet; secondary quill feathers white; bill black towards the tip; irides reddish-brown; head and neck cinereous above; back and shoulders greenish-brown; wing coverts cinereous, mixed with dusky and brown, and spotted with whitish; secondary quill feathers, except the two inner ones, white towards the tip; primary dusky, the four or five inner ones tipped with white; line over the eyes white; a dusky spot between the bill and eyes; short dusky streaks on the chin and throat; under part of the body and rump white, with small dusky spots; each of the tail feathers with 12 or 13 transverse black lines. Weighs about five ounces, and is 12 inches long. Inhabits Europe and America. Is not uncommon in some parts of England, rearing the greater part of the year in the fen countries, where it breeds and rears its young. It lays four eggs, which are whitish, tinged with olive, and marked with irregular spots of black, chiefly on the thicker end. When disturbed it flies round its nest, making a noise like a lapwing. It is not so common on the sea shores as several of its congeners, and is of a solitary disposition, being mostly seen alone, or only in pairs.

Spotted snipe, red-legged godwit, or spotted redhank.—Blackish, with white spots; white beneath; lines on the breast and bands on the lateral tail feathers blackish; legs red. Size of the greenhank. Inhabits Europe, frequenting the banks of rivers, and feeding on the smaller shell-fish and other vermes. Seldom visits Britain.

Lesser godwit, jadreka snipe, or stone plover.—Bill inclining a little upwards at the point, red at the base; body gray brown, varied with rufous; white beneath; quill feathers white at the base, the four first without spots; tail white at the base; irides whitish; cheeks reddish; back brown; quill feathers blackish; feathers round the bill reddish-white. Seventeen inches long, and weighs nine ounces. Inhabits the north of Europe, and is gregarious; but seldom occurs in Britain.

Red godwit, or red-breasted godwit.—Bill a little recurved, yellowish; legs black; body reddish-rufous beneath; bill blackish at the tip, head, neck, breast and body, ferruginous above, and, except the neck, streaked with black; lower part of the back and rump rufous white; greater quill feathers black without, the base white within; secondary and tail feathers half black and half white. Weight about 12 ounces; length 18 inches. There is a variety with the head and neck cinereous, and the chin and belly white. Inhabits Europe and America, and is gregarious, but rarely seen with us.

Common or gray godwit.—Bill straight, reddish-yellow; legs greenish; head and neck reddish; three of the quill feathers black, with a white base; a broad white streak from the bill to the eye; body reddish-brown above; feathers with a dusky spot in the middle. Subject to very considerable variety both in size and plumage. In general, it weighs from seven to twelve ounces, and measures from 15 to 16 inches. It inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa; continues with us the whole year, and retires to the fens in spring for breeding. In the winter it is found on our shores, particularly at the mouths of large rivers and inlets, where the mud and sand become bare at low water, and where it feeds on insects. It is much esteemed by epicures as a great delicacy, and sells very high. It is caught in nets, to which it is allured by a flake, or stuffed bird, in the same manner, and at the same season as the ruffs and reeves.

Godwit.—Brown, edged with whitish; neck whitish; Leucophaea. with small brown spots; chin and belly white; quill feathers with black bands; bill a little turned up, brown, with a purple base; tail feathers white; the two middle ones wholly, the rest barred with brown on the outer side. Sixteen inches long. Inhabits Europe. Regarded by some ornithologists as only a variety of the egoccephala.

Cineraceus godwit.—Legs long, cinereous; head, neck, and back varied with cinereous and white; chin and breast white, spotted with ash; bill thicker than in the greenhank; tail with cinereous lines. Size of the greenhank. Inhabits Lincolnshire; but is very rare, and seems to be imperfectly known.

Cambridge godwit.—Legs orange; bill red; body Cantabrigi-brown ash above, white beneath; wing coverts brown, edged with white and barred with black; quill feathers blackish, white within; the secondary barred with white. Larger than the redhank. Was shot near Cambridge, and first described by Pennant. Gen. 55. Gen. 55. Tringa, Sandpiper.

Bill roundish, as long as the head; nostrils furall, li- near; tongue slender; feet four-toed; hind toe of one joint, and raised from the ground.

The birds of this genus frequent the plains and shores, and hardly touch the ground with their back toe.

Ruff and reeve.—Bill and legs rufous; three lateral tail feathers without spots; face with flesh-coloured gra- mulations; bill sometimes black or yellowish; irides ha- zel; back of the neck with a large tuft of feathers, which fall off in moulting season. Female pale brown; back spotted with black; tail brown; the middle fea- thers spotted with black; breast and belly white. The ruffs, or males, are so very variable in their markings, that two are seldom found alike. Buffon mentions that Klein compared above 100 ruffs together, and found on- ly two that were similar. About one foot long. Inha- bits Europe and Siberia. The male does not acquire the ornament of his neck till the second season, and be- fore that time, is not easily distinguished from the fe- male, except by being larger. After moulting, at the end of June, he loses his ruff and the red tubercles of his face; and from that time, till the spring of the year, he again, in plumage, looks like his mate. These birds leave our island in the winter, and are then supposed to associate with other congenerous species. In the spring, as soon as they arrive again in England, and take up their abode in the fens where they were bred, each of the males (of which there appears to be a much greater number than of females) immediately fixes on a particu- lar dry or grassy spot in the marsh, about which he runs round and round, until it is trodden bare, withering, appa- rently, to invite the female to take joint possession, and be- come an inmate. As soon as a single female arrives, and is heard or observed by the males, her feeble cry seems to rouse them all to war; for they instantly begin to fight; and their combats are described as being both dexterous and of long continuance, the female, at the end of the battle, remaining the prize of the victor. It is at the time of these battles, that they are caught in the greatest numbers in the nets of the fowlers. They are also at other times caught by day nets, and are drawn together by means of a stuffed reeve, which is placed in some suitable spot for that purpose. The ruff is much prized as a delicious dish, and is sought after with great eagerness by the fowlers who live by catch- ing them and other fen birds, for the markets of the me- tropolis, &c. Before they are offered for sale, they are commonly put up to feed, for about a fortnight, on boil- ed wheat, and bread and milk, mixed with hemp-feed, to which sugar is sometimes added; in consequence of which mode of treatment they soon get very fat. In the beginning of May the female makes her nest in a dry tuft of grass, in the fens, and lays four white eggs, marked with rusty spots.

Lapwing, pewit, bearded plover, &c.—Legs red; crest pendent; breast black; bill black; irides hazel; crown thinning black; crest on the hind head four inches long; cheeks and sides of the neck white; a black line beneath each eye; throat black; hind part of the neck mixed with white, ash colour, and red; back and fea- pulvers glossy green; some of the feathers with ferrug- inous tips; lesser wing coverts thinning black, blue and green; greater quill feathers black, the four first with a white spot at the end; lesser black on the upper half, white on the lower; belly white; vent and tail coverts orange; outer tail feathers white; the rest on the lower half black, tipped with dirty white; upper white. Weighs between seven and eight ounces. Is found in most parts of Europe, as far north as Iceland; and in the winter is met with in Persia and Egypt. The chief food of the lapwings is worms; and sometimes they may be seen in flocks nearly covering the low marshy grounds in search of these, which they draw with great dexterity from their holes. When the bird meets with one of those rolls of earth that are thrown out by the perforations of the worm, it first gently removes the mould from the mouth of the hole, then strikes the ground at the side with its foot, and steadily and attentively waits the re- sult; while the reptile, alarmed by the shock, emerges from its retreat, and is instantly seized. In the evening, the lapwings pursue a different plan, running along the grass, and feeling under their feet the worms, which now come forth, invited by the coolness of the air. Thus they obtain a plentiful meal, and afterwards wash their bill and feet in the small pools or rivulets. They remain in this country the whole year. The female lays four olive-coloured eggs, spotted with black, on the dry ground, near some marsh, on a little bed of dry grass which she prepares. She sits about three weeks, and the young are able to run within two or three days after they are hatched. The parent exhibits the greatest at- tachment to them, and has recourse to very amusing ar- tifices to allure boys and dogs from approaching them. In place of waiting the arrival of the enemies at the nest, the boldly rushes out to meet them. When as near as the dare venture, she rises from the ground with a loud screaming voice, as if just flushed from hatching, though, probably, at the same time, not within 100 yards of her nest. She then flies with great clamour and apparent anxiety, whining and screaming round the invaders, striking at them with her wings, and some- times fluttering as if she was wounded. To complete the deception, she becomes still more clamorous as she retires from the nest. If very near, she appears alto- gether unconcerned; and her cries cease in proportion as her fears are increased. When approached by dogs, she flies heavily, at a little distance before them as if maim- ed, still clamorous and bold, but never offering to move towards the quarter where her young are stationed. The dogs pursue, in expectation every moment of seizing the parent, and by this means actually lose the young; for the young cunning bird, having thus drawn them off to a proper distance, exerts her powers, and leaves her astonished pursuers to gaze at the rapidity of her flight. These birds, when tamed, clear gardens of worms and snails. Their flesh and eggs are both reckoned delicacies for the table. In winter they join in large flocks, but are then very shy.

Gambet, gambet sandpiper, or red-legged horsemans.—Gambetta. Bill and legs red; body variegated with pale yellow, and cinereous; white beneath; bill tipped with black; irides yellowish-green; wing-coverts and scapulars cine- reous, and edged with yellow; first quill and tail fea- thers dusky, the latter edged with yellow. About the size of the greenshank. Inhabits the northern parts of Europe and America, but seldom occurs in France or England. **ORNITHOLOGY**

*Wheatear sandpiper.*—Blackith-thigh; chin and middle of the belly white; base of the bill and legs red. Eight inches and a half long. Inhabits Glamorganshire and Caerphillyshire.

*Turton's Hebridean sandpiper,* or *sea-dottrel.*—Legs red; body black, varied with white, and ferruginous; breast and belly white; bill black, a little turned up at the tip; cheeks and neck black above; tail black in the middle, and white at the ends. Female more dusky; head varied with brown and whitish; neck blackish above. Though these are the usual characteristics, the species is very subject to varieties. About the size of a thrush; length nine inches and a half, and weight rather more than four ounces. Inhabits the sea coasts of Europe and America. Though not known to breed with us, it visits some of our shores in August, and departs in spring. The name has been given it from its manner of turning up the stones in search of worms and marine insects. It makes a flight net on the dry ground or land, and lays four olive-colored eggs, spotted with black. This species is not uncommon in the north of Scotland.

*Striated sandpiper.*—Base of the bill and legs yellow; tail feathers white, barred with brown; most of the quill feathers white. Nearly 11 inches long. Inhabits Europe and North America. Feeds on shell-fish and mollusca, which it searches for at the ebb of the tides, and on insects which it catches, hanging over the water like a swallow.

*Spotted sandpiper.*—Base of the bill and legs flesh color; all the body spotted; eyebrows and double band on the wings white; bill dusky; body above greenish-brown, white, with dusky spots beneath; two middle tail feathers greenish-brown, the rest white, with dusky lines. Female without spots beneath. About the size of a thrush, and eight inches long. Inhabits Europe and North America; is migratory, and is sometimes, though rarely, found in Britain.

*Ash-colored sandpiper.*—Cinerous above, white beneath; legs dusky green; head spotted with black; neck with dusky streaks; back and wing-coverts with concentric black semicircles, varied with cinereous and white; tail coverts black and white; tail cinereous, edged with white; breast spotted with black; membrane surrounding the toes narrow and toothed. Length about 10 inches; weight from four ounces and a quarter to five and three quarters. This species, like most of the tribe, is subject to considerable variety. It inhabits Europe and America; visits some parts of our coasts, in large flocks, in winter, and departs about the latter end of March or beginning of April.

*Brown sandpiper.*—Pale brown, spotted with black above, white beneath; fore part of the neck streaked with black; tail cinereous; wing-coverts edged with whitish; bill and legs black. Size of a jack-snipe. Inhabits England, but is very scarce.

*Black sandpiper.*—White, varied with gray and brown spots above, with oblong brown and black spots beneath; two middle tail feathers all black. Size of a thrush. Inhabits England, chiefly in Lincolnshire.

*Gray phalarope,* or *great coot-footed tringa.*—Bill fulvulate, and bent in at the tip; feet pinnate; breast varied with white; bill black; front white; crown dusky; neck pale ash above; back, rump, and shoulders dove-color, with dusky spots; wing-coverts and quill feathers brown; breast and belly white; tail dusky, edged with cinereous; legs black; membrane round the toes indented. Size of the common purre; weight one ounce. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. Congregates about the borders of the Caspian sea, and is not common in Britain. In stormy weather, it swims in numbers on lakes; but in fine weather, is solitary among the fens.

*Red phalarope,* or *cock footed tringa.*—Bill sub-fulvulated, bent in at the tip; feet pinnate; breast cinereous; sides of the neck ferruginous; bill black; band through the eyes blackish; bar on the wings white; rump with blackish bands. The female is gray above, rufous beneath, with the eyebrows and base of the tail reddish, and the rump white; bill yellowish; band above the eyes reddish; bar on the wings white, and the rump spotted with blackish. Eight inches long. Inhabits northern Europe and America; but is rarely met with in our own country. These birds go in pairs, and catch insects in the water with their bill. They do not dive, and are but bad swimmers. The female makes her nest on dry ground, and lays four eggs.

*Alpine sandpiper,* or *dunlin.*—Brown tellaceous; breast blackish; tail feathers whitish-ash; legs brownish; belly white; two middle tail feathers a little longer. Weighs from nine to eleven drams; length of the largest eight inches. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America, and is not uncommon on our own coasts during great part of the year. The female lays four eggs, of a dirty white, blotched with brown round the thicker end, and marked with a few small spots of the same colour on the smaller end.

*Green,* or *wood sandpiper.*—Bill dotted at the tip; legs greenish; back brown green; belly and outer tail feathers white; bill greenish; crown and hind head dusky ash; rump variegated; eyebrows white. Inhabits Europe, North America, and Siberia. This elegant species weighs about three ounces and a quarter; length full 10 inches. It is by no means plentiful in Britain, and, except in pairing time, lives solitary. It is never seen near the sea; but frequents rivers, lakes, and other fresh waters. It runs on the shores, or skims the surface of the water. It utters a cry as it rises, and sometimes dives when pursued by the buzzard. It feeds on the fry of small fishes and worms. Though its flesh tastes somewhat of musk, it is considered as a great delicacy. It comes to us about the middle of September, and leaves us as late as the end of April, when it departs northward to breed.

*Skore sandpiper.*—Smooth bill, and legs cinereous; quill feathers brown, the shaft of the first frothy. Near 11 inches long. Inhabits Europe; and is ranked by some ornithologists among British birds.

*Greenwich sandpiper.*—Body varied above; neck cinereous beneath; belly, vent, and sides of the rump cinereous; white; bill black; legs greenish; crown brown, streaked with black; neck ash-colored beneath; back and wing-coverts brown ferruginous, edged with whitish; hind part of the back, rump, and lesser wing-coverts cinereous; tail cinereous, the feathers waved towards the tip, which is pale rusty. Size of the preceding, but very rare. The circumstance of one having been shot near Greenwich, has given rise to the trivial name.

*Sea,* or *selinger sandpiper.*—Varied above with gray and black, white beneath; legs yellow; middle of the back... back violet; throat and tail dusky; four outer tail feathers very short, and edged with white. Size of a flake. Inhabits Norway and Iceland. A small flock of this species, consisting of 10 or 12, was once observed, some years ago, near Bexhill, on the 9th of December.

**Common sandpiper.**—Bill smooth; legs livid; body cinereous, with black stripes, white beneath; bill brown; irides hazel; head brown, with black streaks; eyebrows white; neck cinereous above; back and wings greenish-brown, with numerous, narrow, dusky lines; quill feathers brown, and, except the first, with a white spot within; tail rounded, and glossy-green brown. Weight about two ounces; length seven inches and a half. Inhabits Europe and America. Visits this country in the spring, chiefly frequenting our lakes and rivers, on the borders of which it makes a nest composed of moss and dried leaves, and most commonly placed in a hole in the bank. It lays four or five eggs of a dirty white, marked with dusky and cinereous spots, mostly at the larger end. When disturbed, it makes a piping noise as it flies; and, when running on the ground, the tail is constantly in motion. In autumn it is liable to be much infested with the *hippopotamus hirundinis*.

**Knot.**—Bill broad; legs ash-coloured; primary quill feathers ferruginous; outermost tail feather white, without spots; bill dusky ash; irides hazel; lores dusky; eyebrows and band on the wings white; body cinereous above, white beneath; lower wing-coverts tipped with white; chin and breast with minute spots; belly and vent with dusky lines; rump with brown femoralics. Nine inches long, and weighs four ounces and a half. Inhabits Europe and America. In Lincolnshire, and the other fenney districts of England, it is caught, in great numbers, by nets, into which it is decoyed by carved wooden figures to represent itself. It is also fattened for sale, and esteemed by many equal to the ruff in the delicacy of its flavour. The season for taking it is from August to November, after which the froth compels it to disappear. This bird is said to have been a favourite dish with Canute king of England; and Camden remarks that its name is derived from his.

**Stint, purree, or wanderling.**—Bill and legs black; lores white; body and rump gray and brown; head and neck pale cinereous above, with brown streaks; back and wing-coverts brownish-ash, the greater tipped with white; throat white, mixed with brown; breast and belly white; two middle tail feathers more dusky, the rest edged with white; the legs are sometimes brown. The country people frequently call it *ox-lark, ox-eye, leaf-snipe, sea-lark*, or *wagtail*. It is nearly eight inches in length, and weighs about an ounce and three quarters. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. During winter it is found on all our coasts, appearing in vast flocks, and especially affecting the flat sandy shores and inlets. They leave us in April, though it is suspected that some remain with us all the year. These birds run nimbly near the edges of the flowing and retiring waves, and are almost perpetually wagging their tails, while they are, at the same time, busily employed in picking up their food, which consists chiefly of small worms and insects. On taking flight, they give a kind of scream, and skim along the surface of the water with great rapidity, as well as with great regularity, not flying directly forward, but performing their evolutions in large semi-circles, alternately approaching the shore and the sea in their sweep, the curvature of their course being indicated by the flocks appearing suddenly and alternately in a dark or in a snowy-white colour, as their backs or their bellies are turned to or from the spectator.

**Little sandpiper.**—Bill and legs brown; body reddish buff beneath; outer tail feathers with a white shaft; rump variegated; tail tipped with black; greater wing-coverts and quill feathers brown, tipped with white; tail dusky; breast and belly white. About the size of a hedge-sparrow, and between five and six inches long. Inhabits Northern Europe and Nootka Sound; and has been once or twice killed in England.

**Gray sandpiper.**—Bill black; legs greenish; body Squatarola gray, white beneath; head, back, and wing-coverts, edged with greenish-ash; cheeks and chin with oblong dusky spots, and with the belly and rump white; tail barred with black and white. Weight about 7 ounces; length 12 inches. Inhabits Europe and America. Is not plentiful on our shores, seldom more than five or seven being seen in a flock, and all of them retiring northward to breed. In Siberia and Carolina, it is said to be found in large flocks.

**Red, or Aberdeen sandpiper.**—Bill and legs brown; body Squatarola ferrugineous beneath; secondary quill feathers edged with white; body thickly sprinkled with black and ferruginous above; wing-coverts white on the outer edge; rump and vent whitish, the former waved with black, the latter with a few black streaks; quill feathers black, with white shafts; tail feathers cinereous, with white shafts. From eight to ten inches long. Inhabits the north of Europe and America. Sometimes appears in great flocks on the coasts of Essex and the north of Scotland. In summer it frequents the neighbourhood of the Caspian sea, and also the river Don. It is perpetually running up and down on the sandy banks, picking up insects and small worms, on which it feeds.

**Gen. 56. Charadrius, Plover.**

**Bill roundish, obtuse, straight; nostrils linear; feet formed for running, three toed.**

The birds of this genus frequent the mouths of rivers, and the neighbourhood of torrents, and seem to enjoy rainy weather. From this last circumstance is derived their French name *pluvier*, and the English *plover*.

**Ring plover, ring dotterel, or sea lark.**—Breast black; front blackish, with a white band; crown brown; legs yellow; upper half of the bill orange, lower black; irides hazel; body gray-brown above, white beneath; eggs bluish-white, with small round purplish spots. Of this species there is also a gray variety, with the collar and belly white; and another gray-ash, with the front and collar white, and the lower half of the tail black, tipped with rusty; the former inhabiting Spain, and the latter America. The more common sort is a native of both Europe and America, and is a well known visitant of our shores in summer; usually arriving in spring, and migrating in autumn, or at least retiring to the more inland parts of the country. It weighs about two ounces, and is between seven and eight inches long. It pairs early in May, and makes no nest, but lays four eggs in a small cavity in the sand, just above high-water mark. They are of a cinereous brown, marked all over with small black and ash-coloured spots. It is to be remark- that these and other birds which lay invariably only four eggs on the ground, place them so as to occupy the least possible space, that is, with their small ends touching each other as a centre. The ringed plover is greatly attached to its young, and will practise various deceptions to save them from men and dogs; sometimes fluttering along the ground as if crippled, and sometimes seeming to tumble head over heels repeatedly, till it has enticed its enemy to a distance from its young, and then it flies off.

**Nobby plover.**—Bands on the breast, neck, front, and cheeks white; tail pale yellow, with a black bar; legs yellow. Between nine and ten inches long. Inhabits America. Is very restless and clamorous.

**Dotterel.**—Breast ferruginous; band over the eyes, and line on the breast white; legs black; bill black, depressed in the middle; front mixed with dusky and gray; hind head black, temples and chin white; upper part of the neck, back and wings, gray-brown; line across the breast white; middle of the belly black, reddish-white below; greater quill feathers brown, and some of them edged with white; tail olive brown, with a dusky band near the end, and tipped with white. The female is distinguished by a dusky band over the eyes, and brown crown. The crown of this species is sometimes varied with white, gray-brown, and yellowish; the body beneath yellowish, mixed with white; the two middle tail feathers brown, and the lateral ones white. Weight between four and five ounces; length nearly ten inches. Inhabits Europe, and makes this island a resting place in its migratory flights to and from its breeding place. It is seen on some of our downs, heaths, and moors, from April to the beginning of June; returns again in September, and remains till November. On the Wildfire downs, it resorts to the new fown corn or fallow-ground, for the sake of worms and beetles, its principal food. In the autumn it flies in flocks of five, six, or more. It is a stupid bird, and easily shot, but much esteemed for the delicacy of its flesh.

**Long-legged plover, or long shanks.**—White; back and wings black; bill black, longer than the head; legs red, and very long; bill black, slender, tapering to a sharp point, the upper mandible a little longer than, and bent over, the lower; irides red; neck dusky spots above. There is a variety with white and black wings, and the tail feathers white. This extraordinary species is certainly the longest legged bird, in proportion to its bulk, hitherto known; the length from the apex of the bill to the end of the tail being thirteen inches, and from that to the end of the toes, five inches more. It is rare in Britain, and in many parts of Europe, so that its manners are very imperfectly known. According to Latham, it is common in Egypt, being found there in the marshes in October. Its food is said to consist principally of flies. It is likewise plentiful about the salt lakes, and often seen on the shores of the Caspian sea, as well as by the rivers which empty themselves into it, and in the southern deserts of Independent Tartary. It is also often met with in the warmer parts of America, and sometimes in Jamaica.

**Hooded plover.**—Bill and feet red; face naked, having a yellowish carunculated membrane; head and part of the neck black; hind head furnished with a few short pointed feathers hanging like a crest; beneath white; body above rufous gray; under part white. Ten and a half inches long. Native of Senegal.

**Gen. 57. Recurvirostra, Avocet.**

Bill depressed, subulate, recurved, pointed, flexible at the tip; feet palmated, four toed, hind toe not connected, very short, and placed high up; nostrils narrow, pervious; tongue short.

Of this singular genus there are only three species, of which the first inhabits Europe.

**Scooping avocet.**—In provincial English, butter-flip, avocetta, feooper, yelper, picarint, crooked bill, cobler's awl, &c. Variegated with white and black; bill three inches and a half long; irides hazel; c. own black, a white spot behind and beneath the eyes; rest of the head, neck, back, exterior part of the wings, lesser quill feathers, tail, and under part of the body white; inner scapulars and greater quill feathers without and at the tips black; legs bluish, and very long membrane connecting the toes indented. Resides in the temperate parts of Europe; weighing thirteen ounces, and measuring, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, eighteen inches. It breeds in the fens of Lincolnshire, and on Romney Marsh, in Kent. The female lays two white eggs, tinged with green, and marked with large black spots. In winter these birds assemble in small flocks of six or seven, and frequent the shores, particularly the mouths of large rivers, in search of worms and marine insects, which they scoop out of the mud or sand. They seem to be particularly fond of the cancer pulex, or locust. By means of their long legs, they run over shores that are covered five or six inches with water. In their movements they are lively, alert, volatile, and difficult to catch. When the female is frightened off her nest, the counterfeiters lament; and, when a flock is disturbed, they fly with their necks stretched out, and their legs extended behind, over the head of the spectator, making a shrill noise, and uttering a yelping cry of twit, twit, all the time.

**American avocet.**—Head and neck reddish; back black, white beneath. Fourteen inches long. Inhabits North America and New Holland.

**White avocet.**—White; lower wing coverts brownish; bill orange; legs brown. Fourteen inches and a half long. Inhabits Hudson's bay.

**Gen. 58. Haematopus.**

Bill compressed, the tip an equal wedge; nostrils linear; tongue a third part as long as the bill; feet formed characters for running, three toed, cleft.

**Sea pie, or pied oyster catcher.**—Bill, eyelids, and legs red, the former sometimes tipped with black; irides scarlet; body sometimes totally black; frequently the head, neck, and body above, black; white beneath; a small white spot under the eyes; breast with a white semicircular band; middle wing coverts at the tips, and greater, entirely white; quill feathers spotted with white on the inside; tail from the middle to the base white, lower half black; claws black. Weight seventeen ounces, length fifteen inches. Inhabits almost every sea shore, but seems never to quit the coast. Congregates in small flocks in winter, and chiefly subsists on marine insects. feet and shell-fish, especially on oysters, which it seizes with great dexterity. It makes no nest, but deposits its eggs on the bare ground, above high-water mark. The eggs are generally four, of an olivaceous brown, blotched with black, and somewhat larger than those of the lapwing. The male is very watchful at the time of incubation, and on the least alarm, flies off with a loud scream, and the female instantly runs from her eggs to some distance, and then takes wing. It is a shy bird, but becomes bolder when the young are hatched. The latter are capable of running as soon as they quit the egg, and are led by their parents to their proper food. The young are easily tamed.

Gen. 59. Glareola, Pratincole.

Bill strong, short, straight, and hooked at the tip; nostrils at the base of the bill, linear and oblique; gap of the mouth large; feet four-toed, toes long, slender, connected at the base by a membrane; tail forked, consisting of twelve feathers.

Aurifrons pratincola.—Gray-brown above; collar black; chin and throat white; breast and belly reddish-gray. Very subject to vary in its plumage. Inhabits the heaths of northern Europe. About nine inches long. Feeds on worms and aquatic insects; is very restless and clamorous, and lays about seven eggs.

Senegal pratincola.—Bill, legs, and whole body brown. Nine inches and a half long. Inhabits near the Senegal, and also Siberia.

Spotted pratincola.—Brown, spotted with white; lower part of the belly and vent reddish-white, with black spots; bill and legs black. Size of the aurifrons. Inhabits Germany.

Gen. 60. Fulica.

Bill convex; upper mandible arched over the lower at the edge; lower gibbous near the tip; nostrils oblong; front bald; feet four-toed and sub-pinnated.

Birds of this tribe frequent waters and feed on worms, insects, and small fish. They have a compressed body; the bill thick, and bent in towards the tip; the upper mandible reaching far up the forehead, and the wings and tail short. They are divided into gallinules or water hens, and coots. The former have the feet cleft; the upper mandible membranaceous at the base, and the wings concave; while the latter have the toes surrounded by a falcated membrane; the mandibles equal; nostrils oval, narrow and short.

A. Feet cleft. Gallinule.

Common gallinule, or moor hen.—Front tawny; bracelets red; body blackish; bill red, with a greenish tip; irides red; body footy above, mixed with olive; cinereous beneath; outer edge of the wings and lower tail-coverts white; legs greenish; toes flat and broadish. Weighs from 14 to 16 ounces; length 14 inches. Inhabits Europe and America, and is a very common species, being found in most fedgy and flow rivers, or streams of water, and frequently in ponds abounding in weeds, where it can lie concealed. It feeds principally on insects, seeds, and vegetable productions of various sorts, in quest of which it frequently quits the water. It runs fast, and is equally expert in swimming and diving, but flies heavily, and with its legs hanging down. As it runs or swims, it is continually flitting up the tail, when the white underneath is very conspicuous. The nest is made of flags or rushes, and placed near the surface of the water, on some branch of a tree or bush, and sometimes on the stump of an old willow. The eggs are commonly five or six, but sometimes nine or ten, of a light yellowish brown, marked with rufi-coloured spots. The young are hatched in about three weeks, and instantly take the water. This species breeds twice or thrice in the course of a season. Its flesh is reckoned delicious.

Purple gallinula.—Front red; bracelets many; body Porphyrio green; violet beneath. Fifteen inches long. Common in most temperate and warm countries. Is docile and easily tamed. Stands on one leg, and lifts the food to its mouth with the other. Feeds on fish, roots, fruits, and seeds.

B. Feet pinnated. Coot.

Common, black, or bald coot.—Front flesh-coloured; bracelets greenish-yellow; body blackish; bill yellowish-white; front, except in pairing time, white; legs yel-CCGXCIX: lowish-green; outer edge of the wings white. There are several varieties. Length 18 inches; weight from 20 to 30 ounces. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and America. It occurs in Great Britain at all seasons of the year, and is not supposed to migrate to other countries, but changes its stations, and to remove from the pools, where the young have been reared to the larger lakes, where flocks assemble in the winter. The female commonly builds her nest of a great quantity of coarse dried weeds, well matted together, and lined within with softer and finer grasses, in a bush of rushes surrounded by the water. She lays from 12 to 15 eggs at a time, and commonly hatches twice in a season. Her eggs are about the size of those of a pullet, and of a pale brownish-white colour, sprinkled with numerous small dark spots, which, at the thicker end, seem as if they had run into each other, and formed bigger blotches. As soon as the young quit the shell, they plunge into the water, dive, and swim about with great ease, but they still gather about the mother, and take shelter under her wings, and do not entirely leave her for some time. They are first covered with a footy-coloured down, and are of a shapeless appearance; and, while in this state, before they have learned by experience to shun their enemies, they are often sacrificed to the rapacity of the pike, the kite, moor-hawk, &c. A female of this species built her nest in Sir William Middleton's lake at Bellay, in Northumberland, among the rushes, which were afterwards loosed by the wind, so that the nest was driven about, and floated on the surface of the water; notwithstanding which, she continued to sit as usual, and brought out her young on her moveable habitation. The common coot swims and dives with great ease, but is a bad traveller, and may be said not to walk, but to splash and waddle between one pool and another, with a laboured, ill-balanced, and awkward gait. During the day it usually skulks among the rushes or other water plants, rarely venturing abroad, except in the dusk, or at night, in quest of herbage, seeds, insects, and fishes. The sportsman and his dog can seldom force it to spring from its retreat, as it will rather bury itself in the mud than take wing, or, if it be very closely pursued, and compelled to rise, it gets up with much flustering and apparent difficulty.

Greater coot.—Front white; bracelets red; body blackish. Has much the appearance and manners of the last, but is larger and blacker. It is found both in England and Scotland. The French eat it on meagre days.

Crested coot.—Blue black; naked front and crown red; caruncle red; bill; erect; bracelets red, green, and yellow; bill whitish, with a red base; legs dusky. Eighteen inches long. Inhabits China and Madagascar.

Gen. 61. VAGINALIS, Sheath-bill.

Bill strong, thick, conical, convex, and compressed; upper mandible covered above with a moveable horny sheath; nostrils small, placed before the sheath; tongue round above, flattened beneath, and pointed at the tip; face naked and papillose; wings with an obtuse excrescence under the flexure; legs strong; four toes; naked a little above the knees; toes rough beneath; claws grooved.

White sheath-bill.—Bill black at the base; sheath a horny-yellow or black plate, nearly covering the nostrils; face naked; and in the adult bird, befit with white, or pale orange warts; a brown or blackish wart above the eyes, larger than the rest; feathers white; excrescence on the wings blackish; legs two inches long, and generally reddish. The only species of the genus; about the size of a pigeon. From 15 to 18 inches long; inhabits New Zealand and the South seas, and feeds on shell-fish and carcasses.

Gen. 62. PARRA, Jacana.

Bill tapering, somewhat obtuse; nostrils oval, in the middle of the bill; front covered with lobated caruncles; wings spinous.

Chilean jacana.—Claws moderate; legs brown; hind-head subcrested. Inhabits Chili. Size of a jay, but has longer legs; feeds on worms and insects; is noisy, and defends itself by the spurs on the wings. Builds in the grass, and lays four tawny eggs, speckled with black.

Cheesnut jacana.—Hind claws very long; legs greenish. Ten inches long; inhabits watery places in South America, and utters almost uneasily, a shrill disagreeable cry.

Faithful jacana.—Toes long; legs tawny; hind head crested; bill dirty white; upper mandible like that of the dunghill cock; a red membrane on both sides at the base of the bill extending to the temples, in the middle of which are the eyes; irides brown; hind head with about 12 blackish feathers; three inches long, forming a pendent crest; rest of the neck covered with thick black down; body brown; wings and tail blackish; wing-spurs two or three, and half an inch long; belly light black; thighs half bare; toes so long as to entangle each other in walking. About the size of a cock, and stands a foot and a half from the ground. Inhabits the rivers and inundated places near Carthage, in America; feeds on herbs; has a clear and loud voice, a slow gait, and easy flight. The natives keep one of these birds tame to wander with the poultry, and defend them against birds of prey, which it does by means of the spurs on its wings. It never defects the charge committed to its care, and brings them home at night. It will readily fulfill itself to be handled by grown up persons, but not by children.

Gen. 63. RALLUS, Rail.

Bill thickish at the base; attenuated on the back towards the tip; compressed; a little incurved and pointed; tongue rough at the tip; body compressed; tail short; feet four-toed and cleft.

The birds of this genus have the bill a little inflected; small nostrils; tongue rough; and the tail very short.

Land rail, crake, corn crake, daker hen, &c.—Wings reddish-brown; bill and legs brownish; irides hazel; feathers of the body reddish-brown; the upper ones black in the middle; chin very pale; belly whitish-yellow. About nine inches and a half long. Inhabits the fedge parts of Europe and Asia. From its appearing at the same time with the quail, and frequenting the same places, it is sometimes called king of the quails. Its well-known cry is first heard as soon as the grass becomes long enough to shelter it, and continues till the grass is cut; but the bird is seldom seen, as it skulks in the thickest parts of the herbage, and runs so nimbly through it, winding and doubling in every direction, that it is difficult to come near it. When hard pushed by the dog, it sometimes stops short and squats down, by which means its too eager pursuer overhoots the spot, and loses the trace. It seldom springs but when driven to extremity, and generally flies with its legs hanging down, but never to a great distance. As soon as it alights, it runs off, and before the fowler has reached the spot, the bird is at a considerable distance. It is a migrative species, appearing with us about the latter end of April, and departing in October. On its first appearance, and till the female begins to fit, the male is frequently heard to make a singular kind of noise, much resembling that of a comb when the finger is drawn along the teeth of it, and which has been used as a decoy. When they first arrive, they are very lean, but before their departure, become excessively fat, and are much sought after for the delicacy of their flesh.

Water rail, brook ouzel, bitcock, velvet runner, &c.—Aquaticus. Wings gray, spotted with brown; flanks spotted with white; bill orange beneath; bill black, reddish at the base; irides red; feathers of the upper part of the body olive-brown, and black in the middle; the lower ones cinereous; those of the lower part of the belly and vent edged with rufous; quill feathers dusky; lower tail-coverts white; tail feathers short, black; the two middle ones at the tip, the rest edged with ferruginous; legs dusky-red. Length about 12 inches; weight four ounces. Inhabits watery places in Europe and Asia. Though not very plentiful, it is sometimes found in various parts of Great Britain, in low situations, about water courses and rivulets, where it seeks shelter among fedge-ruthes and reeds, and is seldom put to flight, depending chiefly on its legs for safety. When roused, it flies only a small distance, and that in a heavy and awkward manner, with its legs hanging down. It runs nimbly, and frequently flirts up its tail. The nest is made made of fedge and coarse grass among the thickest aquatic plants, or in willow beds. The female lays five or more eggs, rather larger than those of a blackbird, very smooth, and of a pure white. This bird continues with us all the year, and by many is erroneously believed to be the land rail metamorphosed in the autumn, without knowing perhaps that the latter leaves this country at that season, and that the difference of the bills alone constitutes an essential distinction.

Spotted gallinule, or spotted water-hen.—Two middle tail feathers edged with white; bill and legs pale olive; bill greenish-yellow; irides hazel; head brown, spotted with black; line over the eyes pale gray; neck above, and flanks brown-ash, with small white spots; back and wing-coverts olive with black stripes, and near the edges of the feathers with white spots; the greater with white stripes and lines; cheeks, chin, and throat pale gray, with brown spots; breast brown, with white spots; belly varied with cinereous and white; vent ochre-yellow. The weight of this elegant species is about four ounces; length nine inches. Inhabits Europe and North America; is migrative and scarce in England, and seems to have the manners and habits of the preceding.

Black rail.—Black; bill red at the base, brown at the tip; legs brown, or red. Nine inches long. Inhabits Africa.

Dwarf rail.—Striped with ferruginous and black; body black beneath, with narrow white bands; throat and breast buffish. Size of a lark. Inhabits near the salt lakes of Dunria.

Gen. 64. Psophia, Trumpeter.

Characters. Bill cylindrical, conical, convex, somewhat pointed; the upper mandible longest; nostrils oval and pervious; tongue cartilaginous, flat, and fringed at the tip; feet four-toed and cleft.

Gold-breasted trumpeter. Black; back gray; breast glossy-green; orbits naked, red; bill yellowish-green; legs strong, tall, brownish ash or green; the back to a round protuberance beneath, at a little distance from the ground; tail very short; feathers of the head downy; of the lower part of the neck squamiform; of the shoulders ferruginous, lax, pendulous, and silky; scapulars long and hanging. The agami of voyagers and others. Nearly 22 inches long, and about the size of the common domestic fowl. Inhabits South America, particularly the interior of Guiana in considerable troops. In its native haunts is not distrustful of man, and is susceptible of domestication in an eminent degree, acquiring many of the social habits of the dog. It emits from the lungs a harsh and uncommon noise, not unlike that of a child's trumpet. It stands on one leg, and sleeps with its neck drawn in between the shoulders.

Undulated or African trumpeter.—Crest of the hind head short, whitish; that of the breast long, black, and pendent. Size of a goose. Inhabits Africa.

ORDER V. GALLINÆ.

Bill convex; the upper mandible arched and dilated at the edge over the lower; nostrils half covered with a convex cartilaginous membrane; tail feathers more than 12; feet cleft, but connected at the innermost joint; claws broad; toes scabrous below, and formed for scratching up the ground. In most species the males have spurs on the legs. They live chiefly on the seeds of plants, but likewise eat insects, grubs, and worms, which are macerated in their crop. They are polygamous, and build rude nests, for the most part on the bare ground, the female laying many eggs at a time. They collect their young about them by a particular cry when they feed them, and lead and protect them till they moult. They are easily tamed, and are useful on account of their flesh, their eggs, and their feathers.

Gen. 65. Otis, Bustard.

Bill somewhat convex; nostrils oval and pervious; tongue bifid, pointed; feet formed for running; three-toed; tall; naked above the thighs.

Great bustard.—Wave spotted, with black and rufous; whitish beneath; head, (of the male) and each side of the throat crested; head and neck cinereous; quill feathers black; tail with rufous and black lines, and from 18 to 20 feathers; pouch beginning under the tongue, and reaching to the breast; long, capacious, and fit to hold near seven quarts of water; legs dusky. The male weighs from 20 to 30 pounds, and the female about 10 or 12; length about four feet. Inhabits the open plains of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is the largest of British birds, and is now almost extinct in our island. It makes no nest, but the female lays her eggs in some hole in the ground, in a dry corn field. The eggs are two in number as big as those of a goose, and of a pale olive-brown marked with spots of a deeper colour. If during her absence from the nest, any one handles, or even breathes on the eggs, she immediately abandons them. Bustards feed on green corn, the tops of turnips, and various other vegetables, as well as on worms; and they have also been known to eat frogs, mice, and young birds of the smaller kind, which they swallow whole. They are remarkably shy and timid, carefully avoiding mankind, and being easily driven away in whole herds by the smallest dog. They are slow in taking wing, but run with great rapidity; and the young are even sometimes couried and taken by greyhounds. Though not properly migratory, they leave their usual haunts in very severe winters, when the downs are covered for any length of time with snow, and repair to the more inclosed and sheltered situations, in small flocks, and even stray to a great distance. In the Crimea they are seen in large flights, especially during winter, when the wings and crop feathers are sometimes so encumbered with ice, that the bird is unable, in the snow, to take the run previous to flying, in consequence of which many are caught by the hand, or by means of dogs, and brought to market alive. The flesh, particularly of the young, when kept a little time, is excellent.

Arabian bustard.—Ears with erect crests. Size of the preceding. Inhabits Asia and Africa.

Little bustard, or field duck.—Head and throat smooth; bill gray-brown; crown black, with rufous bands; temples and chin reddish-white, with small dark spots; neck (of the male) black, with a white collar; body above varied with black, rufous, and white; beneath and outer edge of the wings white. About the size of a pheasant; length 17 inches. Inhabits Southern Europe and Asia. A few instances are on record of its having been found in England. In France, it is frequently served at table as a delicacy, though the flesh be blackish. In June it lays from three to five eggs, of a glossy green, and the young are able to fly in August.

White-eared bustard.—Black; back cinereous; ears white; in the male the bill and legs are yellow; the crown is cinereous, and the wings are marked with a large white blotch; the neck behind, and thighs above the knees, have a white collar; the tail feathers 14; the female is cinereous, and the thighs and belly black. Length 22 inches. Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Ruffed bustard.—Yellowish, spotted with brown; feathers of the neck long, whitish, with black shafts; quill feathers black, with a white spot in the middle. Size of a capon. Inhabits Africa and Arabia.

Thick-kneed bustard, stone curlew, or Norfolk plover.—Gray; two first quill feathers black, white in the middle; bill sharp pointed; legs cinereous; bill black; legs greenish-yellow; lower eyelid naked, pale yellow; a yellow line above and beneath the eyes; a brown line from the bill, under the eyes to the ears; knees thick, as if swollen; belly and thighs white. Weight about 17 ounces; length 18 inches. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa. With us it is a migrative species, making its first appearance the latter end of April, or beginning of May, when the male is heard to make a very loud shrill noise, particularly in the dusk of the evening. It chiefly frequents large corn fields, heaths, or warrens, in open hilly situations; makes no nest, but lays two light-brown coloured eggs, blotched and streaked with dusky, on the ground. Its food chiefly consists of insects and worms, and sometimes also of mice, frogs, and toads. In the autumn, these birds assemble in small flocks preparatory to their departure, and are seldom seen after the beginning of October. When flying, they stretch out their feet straight behind, like the heron. The young are hardly to be distinguished from the stones in which they generally harbour.

Gen. 66. Struthio.

Bill subconical; nostrils oval; wings short, unfit for flight; feet formed for running.

Black ostrich.—Feet with two toes; head small; bill horn-colour; irides hazel; eyelids fringed, head and greater part of the neck bald, flesh-coloured, with a few scattered hairs; feathers of the body lax, black, and decomposite; the webs on each side equal; quill and tail feathers snowy, waved, and long, with a sprinkling of black on the edge or tip; chest callous; wing spurs two, one at the end of the wing, and one on the spurious wing; thighs and flanks naked; feet strong, gray-brown; toes connected at the base, the outer very short, and unarmed. The ostrich stands so very high as to measure from seven to nine feet, from the top of the head to the ground; from the back, however, it is seldom more than three or four feet, the rest of its height being made up by its extremely long neck. In the sandy and burning deserts of Africa and Asia, the black ostriches are seen in such large flocks, as sometimes to have been mistaken for distant cavalry. Their strong jointed legs, and cloven hoofs, if we may use the expression, are well adapted both for speed and defence. Their wings and all their feathers are insufficient to raise them from the ground. Their voice is a kind of hollow mournful lowing; and they graze on the plain with the quagga and the zebra. In the interior parts of southern Africa they frequently make great havoc in the corn fields, destroying the ears of wheat so effectually, that in a large tract of land, it often happens that nothing but the bare straw is left behind. In running, they have a proud and haughty look, and even when closely pursued, never appear to be in great haste, especially when the wind is with them, and they can easily accelerate their progress by flapping their wings, so as to outstrip the swiftest horse. But if the weather be hot and calm, or if the birds have by any accident lost a wing, the difficulty of outrunning them is not of great. The ostrich is one of the few polygamous birds found in a state of nature, one male being generally seen with two or three, and frequently with five females. It has been commonly believed that the female, after depositing her eggs in the sand, and covering them up, allows them to be hatched by the heat of the climate, and leaves the young to shift for themselves. Recent travellers have, however, assured us, that no bird whatever has a stronger affection for her offspring, and that none watches her eggs with greater fidelity. It is true, that during the intense heat of the day, when incubation is less necessary, she sometimes forsakes them, but she always carefully broods over them by night. Kolben affirms that this species fit on their eggs like other birds, and that the males and females take this office by turns, as he had frequent opportunities of observing. Nor is it more true, that they forsake their young as soon as excluded from the shell. On the contrary, the old ones are very industrious in supplying them with grass and water, are careful to defend them from harm, and will even themselves encounter every danger in their defence. All the females which are attached to one male, deposit their eggs in the same place, to the number of ten or twelve each, about the size of a child's head. These they hatch all together, the male also taking his turn of sitting on them. Thus from sixty to seventy eggs have sometimes been found in one nest, and Linnæus erroneously assigned them to one female. The term of incubation is six weeks. The nest appears to be merely a hole in the ground, formed by the birds trampling the earth for some time with their feet. If the eggs are touched by any person in the absence of the parents, they immediately discover it by the scent, at their return, and not only desert from laying any more in the same place, but trample to pieces with their feet all those that have been left. On this account the Africans are very careful in taking part of the eggs away not to touch any of them with their hands, but always fetch them out of the nest with a long stick. Within the eggs are frequently discovered a number of small oval-shaped pebbles, of the size of a marrow-fat pea, of a pale yellow colour, and exceedingly hard. These eggs are reckoned a great delicacy, and are prepared in various ways. From their large size, one of them is sufficient to serve two or three persons at a meal. The ostrich itself is chiefly valuable for its plumage; and the Arabs have reduced the chase of it to a kind of science. They hunt it, we are told, on horseback, and begin their pursuit at a gentle gallop; for should they, at the outset, use the least rashness, the matchless speed of the game would immediately carry it out of their sight, and in a very short time, beyond their reach. But when they proceed gradually, it makes no particular effort to escape. As it does not go in a direct line, but runs first on one side, and then on the other, its pursuers save much ground by rushing directly onward. In a few days at most, the strength of the animal is exhausted, and it then either turns on the hunters, and fights with the fury of despair, or hides its head, and tamely receives its fate. Frequently, also, the natives conceal themselves in ostrich skins, and thus are enabled to approach near enough to surprise them. Some persons breed up these birds in flocks, for they are tamed with very little trouble, and may be rendered very useful in a domestic state. Besides the valuable feathers which they cast, the eggs which they lay, their skins, which are used by the Arabians as a substitute for leather, and their flesh, which many esteem excellent food, they are sometimes made to serve in place of horses. It is pleasant to observe with what dexterity they play and frolic about in a tame state, particularly in the heat of the day, when they will strut along the sunny side of a house, with great majesty, perpetually fanning themselves with their expanded wings, and seeming, at every turn, to admire and be enamoured of their own shadows. They are very tractable and familiar towards persons who are acquainted with them, but are often fierce towards strangers, whom they frequently attempt to push down by running furiously on them, and when they succeed thus far, they not only peck at their fallen foe with their bill, but strike at him violently with their feet. While thus engaged, they sometimes make a fierce hissing noise, and have their throat inflated, and mouth open; and at other times, make a kind of cackling noise. During the night they often utter a doleful or hideous cry, somewhat resembling the distant roaring of a lion, or the hoarse tone of a bear or an ox, as if they were in great agony. They will swallow with the utmost voracity rags, leather, wood, iron, or stone, indiscriminately. "I saw one at Oran (says Dr Shaw), that swallowed, without any seeming uneasiness or inconvenience, several leaden bullets, as they were thrown upon the floor, scorching hot from the mould." Mr Adanson mentions two ostriches which afforded him a fight of a very extraordinary nature. They were so tame, that two little blacks mounted both together on the back of the largest. No sooner did he feel their weight, than he began to run as fast as possible, and carried them several times round the village, as it was impossible to stop him otherwise than by obstructing the passage. To try their strength, he directed a full-grown negro to mount the smallest, and two others the largest. This burden did not seem at all disproportionate to their strength. At first they went at a pretty sharp trot, but when they became heated a little, they expanded their wings, as if to catch the wind, and moved with such fleetness that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. "Most people (observes M. Adanson) have, one time or other, seen a partridge run, and consequently must know that there is no man whatever able to keep up with it: and it is easy to imagine, that if this bird had a longer step, its speed would be considerably augmented. The ostrich moves like the partridge, with this advantage; and I am satisfied that those I am speaking of would have distanced the fleetest race-horses that were ever bred in England. It is true, they would not hold out so long as a horse, but they would undoubtedly be able to go over the space in less time. I have frequently beheld this flight, which is capable of giving one an idea of the prodigious strength of an ostrich, and of shewing what use it might be of, had we but the method of breaking and managing it as we do a horse."

Emu or cassowary.—Feet three-toed; helmet and Cassarius, dewlaps naked; bill and legs black; gape very large; irises topaz; eyelids fringed; nostrils nearly at the tip of the bill; eyes large; helmet horny, reaching from the base of the bill to the middle of the crown, three inches high, the fore part blackish, the hind part yellow; temples and neck bald, wrinkled, and reddish, with a blue or purple tinge, and covered with a few scattered hairs; two pendent caruncles, partly red and partly blue one each side of the neck; chest on which it refts callous; feathers brownish-black, lax, generally two from one shaft; no tail; wings consisting of about five naked fulvy shafts; claws straight. Five feet and a half long. Inhabits within the torrid zone in Asia; is a fierce and bold bird; kicks with its feet like a horse, grunts like a hog, feeds on vegetables, which it swallows whole; lays greenish eggs, more oblong than those of the black ostrich; runs very swiftly, and is incapable of flying.

New Holland cassowary.—Feet three-toed; crown New Holland flat; flanks serrated behind. Seven feet two inches long. Inhabits New Holland.

American ostrich.—Feet three-toed, and a round cal- Rheas behind. Nearly the height of a man. Inhabits South America; feeds on fruits, flesh, and flies, defends itself with its feet, and calls its young by a kind of hiss.

Gen. 67. Didus, Dodo.

Bill narrowed in the middle, with two transverse Characters, wrinkles; each mandible bent in at the tip; nostrils oblique, near the edge of the middle of the bill; face naked beyond the eyes; legs short and thick; feet cleft; wings unfit for flight; no tail.

Hooded dodo.—Black, waved with whitish; head Ineptus, hooded; feet four-toed; bill strong, large, bluish, with a red spot; the upper mandible yellowish at the tip, the lower bulging near the tip; gape very large; irises whitish; plumage soft; belly whitish; head large, black, as if covered with a cap; feathers of the rump curled, inclining to yellow; legs yellowish; claws wanting. This uncouth species is rather bigger than a swan, and nearly three feet in length. It inhabits the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon in the Indian ocean. According to Herbert, it seldom weighs less than 50 pounds; has a slow pace; the body round and fat; and the stomach so strong as to digest stones. It is, however, seldom met with that its true history is little known.

Solitary dodo.—Varied with gray and brown; feet Solitarius, four-toed; eyes black; spurious wings, terminating in a round protuberance. The female with a white protuberance, resembling a teat on each side of the breast. Size of a turkey. Inhabits the island of Rodrigue, where it is not uncommon, though seldom more than two two are found together. It makes its nest in by-places, of leaves of the palm, a foot and a half in thickness, and lays one egg, bigger than that of a goose. The male fits in his turn, and does not suffer any bird to approach within two hundred yards of the spot when the hen is fitting. The incubation lasts seven weeks. Some months elapse before the young can shift for itself. The old ones in the mean time treat it with affection and tenderness, and are faithful to each other afterwards, though they may occasionally mix with others of their kind. The young bird, though timid, is stupid enough to allow a person to approach it; but when grown up, it is more shy, and will not be tamed. They are chased in the winter season, viz. from March to September, being then fat, and the young birds are much esteemed for the table.

Gen. 68. Pavo, Peacock.

Bill convex and strong; head with a crest of feathers turning forwards; nostrils large; rump feathers long, broad, expanse, and covered with eye-like spots.

Crested peacock.—Head with a compressed crest; spurs solitary. It is impossible to describe the beauties of this well-known species in adequate terms. Its matchless plumage, as Buffon observes, seems to combine all that delights the eye in the soft and delicate tints of the finest flowers, all that dazzles it in the sparkling lustre of the gems, and all that astonishes it in the grand display of the rainbow. Its head is adorned with a tuft, consisting of 24 feathers, whose slender shafts are furnished with webs only at the ends, painted with the most exquisite green, mixed with gold. The head, throat, neck, and breast, are of a deep blue, glopped with green and gold; the back of the same, tinged with bronze; the scapulars and lesser wing-coverts are of a reddish cream-colour, variegated with black; the middle coverts deep blue, glopped with green and gold; the greater coverts and purplish wing are of a reddish-brown, as are also the quills, some of which are variegated with black and green; the belly and vent are black, with a greenish line. But the distinguishing character of this bird is its train, which rises just above the tail, and when erected, forms a fan of the most resplendent hues. The two middle feathers are sometimes four feet and a half long, the others gradually diminishing on each side. The shafts, which are white, are furnished from their origin nearly to the end with parted filaments of varying colours, ending in a flat valve, which is decorated with what is called the eye. This is a brilliant spot, enamelled with the most enchanting colours, yellow, gilded with various shades, green, running into blue and bright violet, varying according to its different positions, the whole receiving additional lustre from the centre, which is a fine velvet black. When pleased or delighted, and in sight of his females, the peacock erects his tail, and displays all the majesty of his beauty, and he frequently turns slowly round, as if to catch the sunbeams in every direction, accompanied with a hollow murmuring voice. His cry at other times is very disagreeable, and often repeated. The peahen is somewhat less than the cock, and though furnished both with a train and crest, is destitute of those dazzling beauties which distinguish the male. She lays five or six eggs of a whitish colour, in some secret spot, where she can conceal them from the male, who is apt to break them; and she sits from 25 to 30 days, according to the temperature of the climate and the warmth of the season. Peacocks were originally brought from the distant provinces of India, and thence have been diffused over every part of the world. They are sometimes found in a wild state in many parts of Asia and Africa. The largest and finest are said to be met with in the neighbourhood of the Ganges, and on the fertile plains of India, where they grow to a great size. In colder climates, they require care in rearing; and do not acquire their full plumage till their third year. In former times they were considered as a delicacy, and made a part of the luxurious entertainment of the Roman voluptuaries. The females of this species, like the pheasant, have been known to assume the appearance of the male, by a total change of colour, which is said to take place after they have done laying. A white variety of peacock occurs not unfrequently, in which the eyes of the train are barely visible, and may be traced by a different undulation of shade on the pure white of the tail.

Iris peacock.—Brown; head subcrested; spurs two; bill blackish; the upper mandible, from the nostrils to the tip, red; irides yellow; crown black; face naked; temples white; neck thinning-brown, with black lines; upper part of the back, shoulders, and wing-coverts brown, with yellowish stripes; the feathers near the tip with a large purple gold spot; lower part of the back and rump spotted with white; body brown beneath, with transverse black streaks; quill feathers dusky; legs brown. Larger than a pheasant. Inhabits China.

Gen. 69. Meleagris, Turkey.

Bill conical, and incurved; head covered with spongy caruncles; chin with a longitudinal membranaceous caruncle; tail broad, and expanse; legs spurred.

American, or common turkey.—Front and chin carunculated; breast of the male tufted. Female without a spur. Upwards of three feet and half long. Inhabits America; and is very generally domesticated. In a wild state it lives in woods, and feeds on nuts, acorns, and insects. It roosts on the highest trees; is very irritable, and impatient of anything red. The cock utters with an inflated breast, expanded tail, red face, and relaxed frontal caruncle, making a singular inward noise, which, when it is uttered, shakes the whole body. The eggs are numerous and white, with reddish or yellow spots. The females lay them in spring, generally in some retired and obscure place; for the cock, enraged at the loss of his mate while she is employed in hatching, is otherwise apt to break them. They fit on their eggs with so much perseverance, that if not taken away, they will almost perish with hunger before they will entirely leave the nest. In a wild state, turkeys are gregarious, and associate in flocks, sometimes of about five hundred. They are very swift runners, but fly awkwardly; and about the month of March, they become too fat, that they cannot fly beyond three or four hundred yards, and are then easily run down by a horseman. The hunting of these birds forms one of the principal diversions of the Canadians. When the latter have discovered the retreats of the turkeys, which in general are near fields of nettles, or where there is plenty of any kind of grain, they send a well-trained dog into the midst of the flock. The birds no sooner perceive their enemy than they run off at full speed, and with such swiftness that they leave the dog far behind; he, however, follows, and as they cannot go at this rate for any length of time, at last forces them to take shelter in a tree, where they fit, spent and fatigued, till the hunters come up, and with long poles, knock them down one after another. Turkey cocks, among themselves, are very fierce and pugnacious, and yet, against other animals, are usually weak and cowardly. The disposition of the female is in general much more mild and gentle than that of the male; and when leading out her young family to collect their food, though so large and apparently so powerful a bird, she gives them very little protection against any rapacious animal that comes in her way, but rather warns them to shift for themselves. It deserves to be remarked, that though this species is reared with some difficulty, yet in its wild state it is found in great plenty in the forests of Canada, that are covered with snow for more than three-fourths of the year. It is easily hurt by hunger or rain. They are bred in great numbers in Norfolk, Suffolk, and some other counties, from whence they are driven to the London markets in flocks of several hundreds. The drivers manage them with great facility, by means of a bit of red rag tied to the end of a long stick, which, from the antipathy that these birds bear to that colour, effectually answers the purposes of a scourge. We need scarcely notice, that the flesh of the turkey is reckoned a delicate food. The Indians make an elegant clothing of the feathers, by twisting the inner webs into a strong double string with hemp, or the inner bark of the mulberry-tree, and working it like matting, so that the whole appears rich and glossy, and as fine as silk flax. The natives of Louisiana make fans of the tail; and of four tails joined together the French used formerly to form a parasol.

**Horned turkey.**—Head with two horns; body red, with eye-like spots; bill brown; nostrils, front, and area of the eyes covered with black hair-like feathers; crown red; horns callous, blue, bent back; caruncle of the chin dilatable, blue, varied with rufous; legs whitish; spurred; tail feathers twenty. The female has the head covered with feathers, without horns or gular caruncle; feathers of the head and upper part of the neck black-blue, long, and decumbent; rest of the body, as in the male, red with eye-like spots; spurs more obtuse. Rather less than the preceding. Inhabits India.

**Gen. 70. Penelope.**

Bill naked at the base; head covered with feathers; chin naked; tail with twelve feathers; legs without spurs.

**Guan.**—Head with an erect crest; temples violet. Two feet six inches long. Inhabits Brazil and Guiana, where it is frequently tamed, its flesh being reckoned very delicate. It frequently utters a sound like the word jacu.

**Jacu or yacou.**—Blackish; crest and first quill feathers white. Size of a hen turkey. Inhabits Cayenne and Guiana. It erects its crest, expands its tail, and cries in a mournful tone, like a young turkey. It builds on the ground, is easily tamed, and is often domesticated.

**Marail turkey.**—Greenish-black; naked orbits; and legs red; throat somewhat naked, speckled with white.

Size of a common fowl, and not dissimilar in shape. Though not much known to naturalists, it is common in the woods of Guiana, at a distance from the sea. It is generally seen in small flocks, excepting at breeding-time, when it is only met with in pairs, and then frequently on the ground, or on low shrubs, at other times on high trees, on which it roosts during the night. The female makes her nest on some low bushy tree, as near the trunk as possible, and lays three or four eggs. When the young have been hatched for ten or twelve days, they descend with the mother, which scratches on the ground like a hen, and broods them, till they can shift for themselves. They breed twice a-year. The young birds are easily tamed, and seldom forsake the places where they have been brought up. Their cry is not unharmonious, unless they be irritated or wounded, when it is harsh and loud. Their flesh is much esteemed.

**Gen. 71. Crax, Curassow.**

Bill strong and thick; the base of each mandible covered with a cere; nostrils in the middle of the cere; feathers covering the head turned spirally forward; tail large, straight, and expandible.

**Crested curassow.**—(Male). Cere yellow; body Aleutian black; belly white; bill black or horny; cere reaching from the middle of the bill behind the eyes; crest erect, black, and three inches long; tail black and roundish, eleven inches long, feathers fourteen; spurs none. (Female.) Red; head bluish; crest white, tipped with black; bill cinereous; irides red; legs brown. Subject to much variety. Three feet long. Inhabits the mountainous woods of South America. Lives on fruits, roots or trees, and is often domesticated on account of its white and delicate flesh. They are frequently kept tame in our menageries, and readily mix with other poultry, feeding on bread and grain, but they are unable to bear the dampness of the grass of our meadows, which renders their toes subject to rot off. Dr Latham mentions an instance in which the whole of one foot was gone, and but part of one toe left on the other, before the creature died.

**Globicurassow, or curassow bird.**—Yellow; gibbosity globicera of the nostrils globular; body blackish-blue, lower part of the belly white; bill yellow, tipped with cinereous; gibbosity yellow, and very hard; irides red; orbits white; crest black, tipped with white; legs pale rusty. (Female.) Bill and legs cinereous; head and crown black; crest black, with a white band; some of the feathers of the neck tipped with white; throat, breast, back, and wings brown; upper part of the belly white, and some of the feathers tipped with black; vent yellowish-brown; tail black, with four transverse white bands. Size of the preceding. Inhabits Guiana.

**Gen. 72. Phasianus, Pheasant.**

Bill short and strong; cheeks covered with a smooth naked skin; legs generally with spurs.

The females produce many young ones at a brood, and take care of them for some time, leading them abroad, and pointing out food for them. The young are at first clad with a thick soft down. The nests of the whole tribe are formed on the ground. Common cock, or wild cock.—Comb on the crown, and two wattles on the chin comprifhed; ears naked; tail comprifhed and crested; feathers of the neck linear, long, and membranaceous at the tips; body, when wild, lefs than the common cock; comb large, indented, thinning-red; temples and line from the creft to the eyes naked and fhef-coloured, a clay-coloured spot of the shape of a man's nail, and covered with fhort feathers behind the eyes; feathers of the reft of the head and neck long, narrow, gray at the bafe, black in the middle, and tipt with white; feathers of the upper part of the body grayifh, with a white and a black fleck; breast red-dift; greater wing-coverts reddifh-chefnut, with tranfverfe black and white fleaks; tail coverts glafly-violet; middle tail feathers long and falcated; fpurs large and curved. The female without comb and wattles; head and neck gray; cheeks and chin whitish; body more dufky, and varied with brown, gray, and rufous; and wants the fpurs. Inhabits India in a wild ftate, is every where dometifed, and fubject to innumerable varieties in size and colour. His beaufiful plumage and undaunted spirit, as well as his great utility, have rendered him a favourite in all countries into which he has been introduced. The cock is very attentive to his females, hardly ever lofing fight of them. He leads, defends, and cherifhes them, collefts them together when they ftraggle, and feems to eat unwillingly till he fees them feeding around him. Whenever a strange cock appears within his domain, he immediately attacks the intruder, and if poffible, drives him away. The patience and perfeverance of the hen in the hatching, are truly extraordinary, but are too familiar to moft of our readers to require to be detailed. Though by nature timid, and apt to fly from the meaneft affaultant, yet, when marching at the head of her brood, she is fearless of danger, and will fly in the face of the fiercet animal that offers to annoy her. As the chickens reared by the hen bear no proportion to the number of eggs which he produces, many artificial schemes of rearing have been attempted. Chickens have long been hatched in Egypt by means of artificial heat. This is now chiefly practifed by the inhabitants of a village called Berne, and by thofe who live at a little diftance from it. Towards the beginning of autumn, thefe perfons spread themfelves all over the country, and each of them is ready to undertake the management of an oven. Thefe ovens are of different fizes, each capable of containing from forty to eighty thoufand eggs; and the number of ovens in different parts is about three hundred and eighty-fix. They are usually kept in exercife for about fix months; and as each brood takes up twenty-one days in hatching, it is eafy in every one of them to produce eight different broods of chickens in the year. The ovens confift only of a low arched apartment of clay. Two rows of shelves are formed; and the eggs are placed on them in fuch a manner as not to touch each other. They are flightly moved five or fix times in the courfe of twenty-four hours. All poffible care is taken to diffufe the heat equally throughout, and there is but one aperture, juft large enough to admit a man flopping. During the firft eight days, the heat is rendered great, but during the laft eight it is gradually diminifhed, till at length, when the young brood are ready to come forth, it is reduced almost to the ftate of the natural atmosphere. Every keeper of an oven obliges himfelf to deliver to his employer only two thirds of as many chickens as there have been eggs entrufied to him; and he is a gainer by this bargain, as it always happens, except from fome unlucky accident, that many more than that proportion of the eggs are productive. In this way it has been calculated that the Egyptian ovens give life annually to near a hundred millions of chickens. This ufeful and advantageous mode of hatching eggs was introduced into France by the ingenious and indefatigable Monfieur de Reaumur, who, by a number of experiments, reduced the art to certain principles, and applied it to the production of all kinds of dometifc fowls. The young brood are generally hatched a whole day before they take food, and then a few crumbs of bread are given for a day or two, after which time they begin to pick up grain and infeds for themfelves. In order to fave the trouble of attending them, capons are taught to watch them in the fame manner as hens. M. de Reaumur informs us, that he has feen above two hundred chickens at once, all led about and defended by only three or four capons. It is afiered that even cocks may be taught to perform this office, which they will continue to do all their lives afterwards. Among the endles varieties of this fpecies, the Englifh game cock stands unrivalled by thofe of any other nation for its invincible courage, and on that account is made ufe of as the instrument of the inhuman fport of cock-fighting. The Athenians allotted one day in the year to this barbarous paffion; and the Romans are faid to have learned it from them, and to have introduced it into this ifland. Henry VIII. was fo fond of the fport, that he caufed a commodious houfe to be erected for that purpofe, which, though now applied to a very different ufe, still retains the name of the cock-pit. The Chinefe, the Sumatrins, and others in the eaftern parts of the world, are fo addicted to this favage divertion, that, in the paroxyfms of their phreny, they will fometimes rifk not only the whole of their property, but their wives and children on the ifide of a battle. The cock, it is well known, is a watchful bird, and crows clapping his wings. The hen will lay eggs the whole year, provided she has plenty of food and cold water, gravel, and a warm place. After laying she has a peculiar note of triumph and exultation. Her heat is increafed while hatching, but if put into cold water, she ceafes to fit.

Courier pheafant.—Rufous, head blue; tail wedged; cheeks papilous; bill pale, horn colour; irides yellow; cheeks red, fpockled with black; in the old birds wrinkled and pendulous; a greenifh-black feathered line from the noftrils to beneath the eyes; reft of the head and neck green-gold, with a glofs of violet and blue; lower part of the neck, breast, back, and rump, flining tawny; quill feathers brown, with ochrous fpots; belly and vent white; tail feathers eighteen, with tranfverfe black bars; legs dufky, armed with fpurs. Female lefs, varied with brown, gray, rufous, and blackifh; cheeks feathered; and, after the has done breeding, puts on the appearance of the male. There are feveral varieties. This beaufiful bird is about nineteen inches long, and weighs from two pounds twelve ounces to three pounds four ounces. It is faid to have been brought from the ifland of Colchis. Gallinae. chis by the Argonauts; is a native of Africa, and very common in almost all the southern parts of the old continent, whence it was originally imported into Great Britain. Pheasants are much attached to the shelter of thickets and woods, where the grass is very long; but they also often breed in clover fields. They form their nests on the ground, and the females lay from twelve to fifteen eggs, which are smaller than those of the domestic hen. The nest is usually composed of a few dry vegetables put carelessly together, and the young follow the mother like chickens, as soon as they break the shell. The parents and their brood remain in the stubble and hedge rows, undisturbed, for some time after the corn is ripe. If disturbed, they seek the woods, and only come forth in the mornings and evenings to feed in the stubble. Though very fond of corn, they are often obliged to content themselves with wild berries and acorns. In confinement, the female neither lays too many eggs, nor hatches and rears her brood with so much care and vigilance as in the fields. In a new life will very rarely dispose her eggs in a nest, or sit on them at all; and the domestic hen is usually entrusted with the charge of incubation and rearing the young. The wings of the pheasant are very short, and ill adapted for considerable flights. As the cold weather approaches, these birds begin to fly at sunset among the branches of oak trees for roosting during the night; and thus they do more frequently as the winter advances, and the trees lose their foliage. The male birds at these times make a noise, which they repeat three or four times, and which the sportmen call cooing. The hens on flying up utter one shrill whistle, and then are silent. Poachers avail themselves of these notes, and, unless the woods are strictly watched, secure the birds with the greatest certainty. The crowing of the males, which begins in the first week of March, may be heard at a considerable distance. During the breeding season, the cocks will sometimes intermix with the common hen, and produce a hybrid breed. The pheasant does not appear to pair, for the female carefully hides her nest from the male; and where they are in plenty, and food provided for them, the two sexes are said in general not to feed together. In a domestic state, they are sometimes more or less mixed with white, and sometimes wholly so. A variety with a white ring round the neck, and whence called the ring pheasant, is not uncommon in some parts of England. This species rarely occurs in Scotland.

Argus pheasant.—Pale yellow, spotted with black; face red; hind head crested, blue; bill yellowish; orbits and whiskers black; front, chin, and throat red; hind-head and nape blue; wings gray, with eye-like spots; tail wedged, the colour of the wings; two middle feathers three feet long, with large eye-spots at the shaft; feet armed; size of a turkey. Inhabits Chinese Tartary and Sumatra. This is a most beautiful bird, though its colours are not brilliant. It is with great difficulty kept alive for any time after it has been caught in the woods. It seems to have an antipathy to the light, being quite inanimate in the open day; but when kept in a dark place, it appears to be perfectly at ease, and sometimes makes its call, which is rather plaintive, and not harsh like that of the peacock. The flesh resembles that of the common pheasant.

Impeyan pheasant.—Crested, purple, glossy green, black beneath; feathers of the neck with a changeable lustre of gold, copper, and green; tail entire, rufous; larger than a common fowl. Inhabits India, but not plentifully, being brought from the hills in the northern parts of Hindustan to Calcutta, as curiosities. Lady Impey attempted, with great probability of success, to bring over with her some of them to England; but after living in health on board the ship for two months, they caught a disorder from the rest of the poultry, similar to the smallpox, and died in consequence. They bear cold, but are impatient of heat. The cock was never observed to crow, but had a strong hoarse cackle, not unlike that of a pheasant.—Described and figured by Latham.

Crested pheasant.—Brown above; beneath reddish-white; vent rufous; head crested; orbits red, naked; tail wedge-shaped, and tipped with yellow; bill and unarmed legs black; feathers of the crest whitish-brown; beneath black; feathers from the hind head to the lower part of the neck have a white streak down the middle; covert of the wings at the tip and edge white; quill feathers rufous; tail ten inches long; length of body 22 inches. Native of New Spain. Frequent trees in the neighbourhood of water, and feeds on worms, insects, and serpents.

Painted pheasant.—Crest yellow; breast scarlet; secondary quill feathers blue; tail wedged; bill, irides, and armed legs, yellow; feathers of the crest silky, and hanging backwards; cheeks naked and flesh coloured; feathers of the hind head tawny, with black lines, and beneath these green ones; back and rump yellow; upper tail covert long, narrow, and scarlet; wing covert varied with bay and brown; scapulars blue; quill feathers brown, with yellowish spots; tail feathers varied bay and black, and 23 inches long. Female reddish brown; yellowish brown beneath; legs unarmed; less than the common pheasant; length two feet nine inches and a half. The native country of this beautiful species is China, where it is called Kin-ki. It bears confinement well, and will breed readily in that state. The eggs are redder than those of the common pheasant, and somewhat resemble those of the Guinea fowl. An instance of their breeding with the common pheasant is mentioned by Buffon. Edwards informs us, that some females of this species, kept by Lady Essex, in the space of five years gradually gained the male feathers; and we are told, that it is not unusual for the hen birds, when about four or five years old, to be neglected by the cocks, and gradually to gain the plumage of the males.

Superb pheasant.—Unarmed; rufous, varied with green and blue; caruncles of the front rounded; wattles awl-shaped; bill and body red; each side of the neck with long feathers turned back; crown green; the hind part with a folding blue crest; shoulders green, spotted with white; primary quill feathers blue; tail long, wedged, the feathers varied with blue and red; covert declined, and of various mixed colours; legs yellow. Inhabits China.

Gen. 73. Numidia, Pintado, or Guinea Fowl.

Bill strong and short; the base covered with a carunculated cere, receiving the nostrils; head horned, with a compressed coloured callus; tail short, bending down; body speckled. Common Guinea hen.—Caruncles at the gape double, and no gular fold; bill of a reddish horn colour; head blue; the crown with a conical, compressed, bluish red protuberance; upper part of the neck bluish ash, almost naked; lower feathered, verging to violet; body black, with round white spots; legs gray brown; gular caruncle of the male bluish; of the female red. There is a variety with the breast white, and another with the body entirely white; somewhat larger than the common hen. Inhabits Africa, and is domesticated in most parts of Europe, the West Indies, and America. It formed a part of the Roman banquets, and is now much esteemed as a delicacy, especially when young. The female lays a great number of eggs, which she frequently secretes till she has produced her young brood. The eggs are smaller than those of a common hen, and of a rounder shape, and are delicious eating. The Guinea hen is a restless and very clamorous bird, and has a harsh creaking note, which is peculiarly grating and unpleasant. Like the common domestic fowl it scurries the ground, and rolls in the dust to free itself from insects. During the night it perches on high places, and, if disturbed, alarms the neighbourhood by its unceasing cry. In its natural state of freedom it is said to prefer marshy places. It is easily tamed, but often abandons its young.

Gen. 74. Tetrao.

Near the eyes, a spot which is either naked, or papillose, or rarely covered with feathers.

The birds of this genus have a strong convex bill; grouse, partridges, and quails, agree in having a short convex bill. The grouse chiefly inhabits the colder regions, and is distinguished by small nostrils, hid under the feathers; an acute tongue; strong feet; and a pretty long tail. Partridges and quails are less in size; have a short tail; and their nostrils covered above with a callosus prominent margin. They inhabit the temperate and even the warmer climates. The tinamous are a tribe peculiar to Guiana, and approach the pheasant in manners. Their bill is longer and obtuse at the apex; the nostrils are placed in the middle; their gape is very wide; the throat thinly covered with feathers; the tail very short; the back-toe short, and useless for running. The female is larger than the male.

A. Spot over the eyes naked; legs downy. Grouse.

Wood grouse, cock of the wood, or capercailzie.—Tail rounded; arm-pits white; bill horn colour; spot above the eyes scarlet; irides hazel; nostrils covered with short feathers; feathers of the chin black, longer; head and neck cinereous, with fine transverse black lines; body bay, with blackish lines above; breast blackish green; belly and vent black, varied with white; tail feathers 18, each side spotted with white; legs robust and brown; toes pectinated at the edge. Of the female the bill is dusky; chin red; body with alternate red and black transverse lines above; breast with a few white spots, the lower part orange; belly spotted with pale orange and black, the feathers tipped with white; shoulders black, the feathers edged with black and pale tawny, and tipped with white; tail rufly, barred with black, and tipped with white. In size, this species is little inferior to a turkey, and sometimes weighs 12 or 13, but more frequently seven or eight pounds. The male Gallinga is two feet nine inches, and the female two feet two inches long. Inhabits the mountainous and woody parts of Europe and northern Asia. It is not uncommon in the pine-forests of Normandy, in Russia and Siberia, in Italy, and several parts of the Alps. In Scotland and Ireland it is nearly extinct. It feeds on the berries of the juniper and vaccinium, and on the seeds of the pine tribe and other trees. It is a solitary bird, except in the season of love, when, in the beginning of February, perched on the top of a tree, it calls the females about it with a loud voice, its tail expanded, its wings hanging down to its feet, its neck stretched out, and the feathers of its head erected. The female builds on the ground among mosses, and lays from eight to fifteen eggs. The flesh of this species is much esteemed, and its eggs are accounted preferable to those of every other bird. They are white, spotted with yellow, and larger than those of the common hen. The young follow the hen as soon as they are hatched, and sometimes with part of the shell attached to them.

Black game, black grouse, or black cock.—Violet Tetrix.

black; tail forked; secondary quill feathers white towards the base; bill black; body shining glaucous-black; wing coverts black-brown; four first quill feathers black, the rest white at the base; tail feathers from 16 to 18, black; legs black-brown; toes pectinated. Female less; the weight of an old cock is nearly four pounds, but that of the female is not often more than two. Length about 23 inches: there are several varieties. Inhabits mountainous and woody parts of Europe. In Britain it is chiefly confined to the northern parts of the kingdom, and especially to the Highlands of Scotland; population and culture having driven them from the south, except in a few of the more wild uncultivated parts, as in the New Forest in Hampshire, Dartmoor and Sedgemoor in Devonshire, and the heathy hills in Somersetshire contiguous to the latter. It also occurs in Staffordshire, North Wales, and the north of England. It feeds principally on the tops of heath and birch, except when the mountain berries are ripe, at which time it devours billberries and cranberries with the greatest voracity. In the month of April the male places himself on an eminence, at morning dawn, and invites the females by crowing and clapping his wings. The males are polygamous, and fight desperately for the females. They afterwards associate peaceably in small packs, are fond of woody, heathy, and mountainous situations; but occasionally visit the corn fields in autumn, retiring wholly to woods in the winter, and perching on trees. It is somewhat remarkable that they are killed by eating cherries or pears. The female forms an artless nest on the ground, and lays six or eight eggs, of a dull yellowish white colour, marked with numerous very small ferruginous specks, and with blotches of the same towards the smaller end. The young are hatched very late in summer. The young males quit their parent in the beginning of winter, and keep together in flocks of seven or eight till the spring. They do not acquire their male garb till towards the end of autumn, when the plumage gradually changes to a deeper colour, and assumes that of a bluish-black, which it afterwards retains.

Ptarmigan, white grouse, or white game.—Cinereous; Lagopus. toes downy; quill feathers white; tail feathers black, tipped Gallinæa: tipped with white, the middle ones white; body, in summer cinereous, varied with white and brown, in winter nearly all white; but in all seasons the lateral tail feathers are black, tipped with white; legs and toes covered with a thick wool like a hare's. From 14 to 15 inches long. Inhabits the Alpine parts of Europe and Siberia. In this country it is met with only on the summits of our highest hills, chiefly in the Highlands of Scotland, and sometimes, but rarely, on the lofty hills of Cumberland and Wales. As the snow melts on the sides of the mountains, it constantly ascends till it gains the summit, where it forms holes and burrows in the snow. These birds pair at the same time with the red grouse; the female lays eight or ten white eggs, spotted with brown, not in any regular nest but on the ground. In winter they fly in flocks, and are so little accustomed to the sight of man, that they are easily shot, or taken in a snare. They feed on the wild productions of the hills, as the buds of trees, the young shoots of pines, the heath, crow-berry, rhododendron, &c. They fly swiftly, fly heavily, are impatient of the sun and wind, and are unsuited to the climate of domestication. The flesh of the young is accounted a great delicacy. That of the full-grown birds has sometimes a bitter, but not unpalatable taste; it is also dark coloured, and, according to Buffon, approaches in flavour to that of the hare.

White grouse.—Orange, varied with black bands and white blotches; toes downy; tail feathers black, tipped with white, the middle ones entirely white; bill black; belly and legs white; claws broad and flat. Upwards of 16 inches long. Inhabits the woods of Europe and Asia, and, like the preceding, grows white in winter.

Pinnated grouse.—Back of the neck with supplemental wings, which are wanting in the female. The male is smaller than a partridge. Inhabits North America; feeds chiefly on acorns; and at sunrise erects his neck wings, and sings for the space of half an hour.

Hazel grouse.—Tail feathers cinereous, with black spots and a black band, except the two middle ones. Fourteen inches long. Inhabits the hazel woods of Europe; feeds on catkins; when terrified, erects the feathers of the crown.

Red grouse, or moorcock.—Transversely streaked with rufous and blackish; six outer tail-feathers blackish on each side; caruncle on the eyebrows lunated and scarlet; greater quill-feathers brown; tail feathers sixteen, the four middle ones the colour of the back, the rest blackish. Length fifteen inches; weight about nineteen ounces. This species is only to be met with in the extensive uncultivated wastes that are covered with heath, particularly the most mountainous situations, having been driven from the south by cultivation. It still occurs in the mountains of Wales, and in the moorlands of Yorkshire and the north of England, but is nowhere so plentiful as in the Highlands of Scotland, and in the waste moors of North Britain, in general. It is also found in the Western islands, and in the mountains and bogs of Ireland; but seems to be unknown on the continent of Europe, those mentioned by Buffon as natives of France, Spain, Italy, &c., either forming a distinct species, or at least a variety. Linnaeus did not seem to be acquainted with it, and Gmelin gave it as a variety of the ptarmigan. The red grouse never resort to woods, but confine themselves wholly to the open moors, feeding on the mountain and bog berries; and, in defect of these, on the tops of the heath. They pair in the spring; and the female lays from 8 to 14 eggs, much like those of the black grouse, but smaller, on the ground. The young keep with the parent birds till towards winter, and are called a pack, or brood. In November they flock together in greater numbers, sometimes to the amount of thirty or forty, and are then extremely shy and difficult to be shot.

B. Orbits granulated; legs naked.

Greek, or red partridge.—Bill and legs blood-red; Rufus. Chin white, surrounded with a black band, and spotted with white; feathers of the sides with a double black stripe; tail feathers fourteen, cinereous, the five outer rufous for the last half. Rather larger than the next species. Inhabits various parts of southern Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Greek islands. A variety called the Guernsey, or red-legged partridge, has sometimes been found on the Suffolk or Norfolk coasts. It is distinguished by a single black stripe on the feathers of the sides, and fifteen tail feathers, of which the five outer are rufous on each side. The red partridge frequently perches on a tree, and will breed in confinement, which the common one is never known to do.

Common partridge.—A naked scarlet spot under the eyes; tail ferruginous; breast brown; legs white; face yellowish; cap and neck waved ash; quill feathers brown, with ferruginous bands; tail feathers eighteen, lower part of the breast with two chestnut spots. Several varieties of this species are enumerated by ornithologists, but most of them appear to be accidental. Length about 13 inches; weight 15 ounces. Inhabits Europe and Asia, though chiefly in temperate regions, the extremes of heat and cold being equally unfavourable to it. They are nowhere in greater plenty than in this island, where, in their season, they contribute to our most elegant entertainments. They haunt corn fields, and are never found at any distance from arable land. They pair early in the spring; and the female is very prolific, laying from 12 to 20 eggs. It makes no nest, but scrapes a small hole in the ground, and throws into it a few contiguous fibres, on which to deposit the eggs. The old birds fit very close on the latter when near hatching. The incubation lasts three weeks, and the young birds learn to run as soon as hatched, frequently with part of the shell sticking to them. It is no uncommon thing to introduce partridges' eggs under the common hen, who hatches and rears them as her own; but, in this case, the young birds require to be fed with the larvae of ants, which are their favourite food, and without which it is almost impossible to rear them. They likewise eat insects, and, when full grown, feed on all kinds of grain and young plants. "The affection of the partridge for her young (says Mr Bewick), is peculiarly strong and lively; she is greatly afflicted in the care of rearing them by her mate: they lead them out in common, call them together, point out to them their proper food, and assist them in finding it by scratching the ground with their feet; they frequently sit close by each other, covering the chickens with their wings like the hen. In this situation they are not easily flushed; the sportsman, who is attentive to the preservation of his game, will carefully avoid giving any disturbance to a scene..." scene so truly interesting; but should the pointer come too near, or unfortunately run in upon them, there are few who are ignorant of the confusion that follows: the male first gives the signal of alarm by a peculiar cry of distress, throwing himself at the same moment more immediately into the way of danger, in order to deceive or mislead the enemy; he flies, or rather runs, along the ground, hanging his wings, and exhibiting every symptom of delirium, whereby the dog is decoyed, in the too eager expectation of an easy prey, to a distance from the covey; the female flies off in a contrary direction, and to a greater distance, but returning soon after by secret ways, she finds her scattered brood closely situated among the grass, and, collecting them with haste, she leads them from the danger, before the dog has had time to return from his pursuit."

b. Legs without a spur. Quail.

Green quail.—Green; bill and legs reddish; wings chestnut, speckled with black; bill a little bent at the tip; hind toe unarmed; tail and vent black. Between 11 and 12 inches long.

California quail.—Lead colour; crown with an upright crest; throat black, edged with white; belly yellowish brown, with black creolents. The female wants the black throat and whitish margin. Larger than the common quail. Inhabits California.

Natal quail.—Varied with yellowish, rufous, black, and gray; bill longer than in others of the genus. A very clamorous bird, which inhabits the woods in Java.

Chinese quail.—Body spotted with gray; throat black, with a white arch. From four to six inches long. Inhabits China and the Philippine isles, and is carried alive by the Chinese, in the winter, between their hands, for the purpose of warming them.

Common quail.—Body spotted with gray; eyebrows white; tail feathers with a ferruginous edge and crescent; bill black; head black, varied with rufous; a yellowish streak down the middle of the crown and neck; feathers of the neck rusty brown, varied with gray; the shafts with a longitudinal yellowish streak; body beneath dirty ochreous; throat and breast reddish; quill feathers gray-brown, with rufous bars on the outside; tail feathers twelve, with reddish and black lines; legs brownish. Seven inches and a half long. Inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa. When these birds migrate to and from the north, they are found in prodigious quantities in all the islands of the Archipelago. One hundred thousand, it is said, have been taken in one day on the west coast of the kingdom of Naples. A small portion only extend their flight to this country. With us they appear about the beginning of May, in our cultivated campaign districts, though not in such numbers as formerly. On their first arrival, the males are constantly uttering a whistling note, thrice successively repeated, which being imitated by a whistle or quail-call, they are easily enticed into a net. Before the revolution, great quantities used to be sent alive from France to the London market. In confinement they fatten, and seem to lose much of their fierce and pugnacious disposition. The female deposits eight or ten yellowish eggs, blotched, or spotted with dusky, on the bare ground, and usually with us among green wheat. The young birds follow the mother as soon as hatched, but do not continue long together; for they are scarcely grown up when they separate, or, if kept together, they fight obstinately, and frequently destroy one another. From this quarrelsome disposition it was, that the Greeks and Romans used them as game cocks; and that the Chinese, and some of the Italians are, at this day, addicted to the diversion of quail-fighting. After feeding two quails very highly, they place them opposite to each other, and throw in a few grains of feed between them, when the birds rush on each other with the utmost fury, striking with their bills and heels till one of them yields.

C. Orbits with a few feathers; legs naked, four-toed, and unarmed. Tinamou.

Cayenne tinamou.—Bill and legs brown; back ash-brown, varied with blackish stripes; chin cinereous; belly pale orange. Eleven inches long. Inhabits Cayenne and Guiana.

Great tinamou.—Legs yellowish-brown; bill black; crown rufous; body olive; back and tail with black spots. Eighteen inches long. Inhabits the woods of South America; roosts on the lower branches of trees; feeds on worms, insects, seeds and fruits; builds twice a year, at the root of a large tree, and lays from twelve to fifteen green eggs.

Little tinamou.—Bill and legs yellow; head and neck black; body brown above, rufous beneath; chin mixed with white; quill feathers brown. Nine inches long. Inhabits Guiana. Builds an hemispherical nest in the branches of trees.

ORDER VI. PASSERES.

Bill conical, pointed; nostrils oval, pervious, and naked.

The birds of this order have the feet formed for walking or hopping. They live, some at the time of breeding, and others constantly, in monogamy. Some which feed on the seeds of plants have a short bill, others that live on insects and worms are generally furnished with a longer bill. They nestle on trees, in bushes, in houses, and on the ground. They often build very artificial nests, and feed their young with their bill. This order includes all the fining birds; the males are the songsters. They are for the most part eatable.

Gen. 75. COLUMBA, Pigeon.

Bill straight, descending towards the tip; nostrils oblong, and half covered with a soft tumid membrane.

The birds of this genus have a weak and slender bill, short feet, and many of them red toes, divided to their origin. They extend their residence even to the arctic regions. They drink much, and not at intervals like other birds, but by continuous draughts like quadrupeds. Their note is plaintive or mournful. They form the connecting link between this and the preceding order; but are more nearly related to the passerine tribes, in being monogamous, in caring for each other by their bills, in the male and female alternately hatching, in both joining to feed the young, in laying but few eggs, and in their nidification. Of upwards of seventy species which belong to this genus, only five or six are natives of A. Tail even and moderate.

flock pigeon, or flock dove.—Bluish; neck above glossy green; double band on the wings, and tip of the tail blackish; throat and breast claret colour; claws black. Length 13 or 14 inches; weight 11 ounces. Inhabits Europe and Siberia; is wild in many places, but is kept in pigeon-houses everywhere, and is the parent stock whence all the varieties of the domestic pigeon are derived, and is on that account called the flock-dove. It builds in towers, in caverns of rocks, and in cliffs in unfrequented islands. On the approach of winter, it migrates southward. It is gregarious; lays two eggs, and breeds several times in the year.