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in every way resembles it in shape, but is only about half the size. The latter is well known as a bird of passage. They fly two by two, and when their way lies over land, they continue to go faster by night than by day. In the Kingdom of Naples, and in the South East of France, they are taken in prodigious numbers; sometimes one hundred thousand having been caught in one day within the space of a few miles.

The Peacock is a bird unrivalled for beauty among all the feathered tribes. Its head is adorned with a crest of shining green and gold; its body is of various brilliant colours; but its tail displays the greatest beauty, and, when erected, forms a circular fan of the most resplendent hues, and all studded with eyes, which he appears to delight in exhibiting in all its loveliness. This bird is a native of India, and is said to have been first introduced into Europe by Alexander the Great. So early as the days of Solomon we find among the articles imported from the East, Apes and Peacocks. When Alexander was in India, he found them flying wild in vast numbers, and so great was his admiration of their beauty, that he imposed a severe fine and punishment upon all who should kill or disturb them. The Greeks, indeed, were so much struck with the beauty of this bird, when first brought among them, that every person paid a fixed price for seeing it; and several people came to Athens, from Lacedemon and Thessaly, purely to satisfy their curiosity.

Next to the Peacock, the Pheasant is one of the most beautiful of birds, as well for the vivid colour of its plumes, as for their happy mixtures and variety. It is far beyond the power of the pencil to draw any thing so glossy, so bright, or points so finely blending into each other. We are told that when Croesus, King of Lydia, was seated on his throne, adorned with royal magnificence, and all the barbarous pomp of Eastern splendour, he asked Solon if he had ever beheld any thing so fine. The Greek philosopher, no way moved by the objects before him, or taking a pride in his native simplicity, replied, that after having seen the beautiful plumage of the pheasant, he could be astonished at no other finery.

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X.-Birds of the Crane kind.

BETWEEN the classes of land-birds that shun the water, and of water-fowl that are made for swimming and living on it, nature has formed this tribe of birds, that seem to partake of a middle nature; which, with divided toes, seemingly fitted to live upon land, are at the same time furnished with appetites, that chiefly attach them to the waters. These can properly be called neither land-birds nor water-fowl, as they procure all their sustenance from watery places, and yet are unqualified to seek it in those depths where it is often found in greatest plenty.

The Crane is a tall slender bird, with a long neck and long legs, standing upwards of three feet high. The top of the head is covered with black bristles, and the back part is bald and red. The plumage in general is ashcoloured. They are migratory birds, and fly at an in. conceivable height, in flocks of fifty or sixty together, arranged in a wedge-like form; their note, which is the loudest of all birds, being often heard in the clouds when the birds themselves are unseen. When at rest they support themselves upon one foot, and while a part feed, the others stand like sentinels upon duty.

The Stork is likewise a bird of passage, and resembles the Crane in outward formation and size, except that it is something more corpulent. The differences are very slight, such as the colour, which in the Crane is ash and black, but in the Stork is white and brown. But the habits of the two are quite opposite. The Crane has a loud piercing voice; the Stork is silent, and produces no other noise than the clacking of its under chop against the upper. The Crane feeds mostly upon vegetables and grain; the Stork preys entirely upon frogs, fishes, birds, and serpents; the Crane avoids towns and populous places; the Stork lives always in or near them. The Stork indeed is remarkable for its sociable qualities. There are few towns on the continent in low marshy situations which have not the Stork as an inmate among them. In Holland in particular, they build on the tops of the houses, and may be seen resting familiarly in the streets. They are easily tamed, and become very familiar. An anecdote

is told of one which joined with some children in playing at hide and seek in a garden, and took its turn in the game with as great regularity as any of its playmates.

The Heron bears a strong resemblance to the Stork and Crane, but is less in size, being about three feet long and five feet in expanse of wing. It is a well-known bird; frequents ponds and fresh-water streams, wading as far as it can go into the water, where, waiting the approach of the fish, it darts upon them with inevitable aim.

The Bittern is a bird not so big as the Heron, differing from it chiefly in colour, which is in general of a palish yellow, spotted and barred with black. Of all the notes of water-fowl to be heard at night from the unfrequented stream, whether the loud scream of the wild goose, the croaking of the mallard, or the various sounds of others of less power, none is so dismally hollow as that of the Bittern, "booming from the sedgy shallow." It is like the interrupted bellowing of the bull, but hollower and louder, and may be heard at the distance of a mile.

The Spoonbill is about the size of the Heron, and in structure resembles the Stork. Some are of a snowy white, and others of a beautiful rose colour, or a delightful crimson. The bill, which in this bird is so very particular, is about seven inches long, and running out broad at the end like a spoon; whence it has derived its name.

The Avosetta is chiefly found in Italy. It is about the size of a pigeon, is a pretty upright bird, and has extremely long legs for its size. But the most extraordinary part of its figure is the bill, which turns up like a hook, in an opposite direction to that of the Hawk or the Parrot.

The Flamingo is the most remarkable of all the Crane kind, the tallest, the bulkiest, and the most beautiful. The body, which is of a beautiful scarlet, is no bigger than that of a swan, but its legs and neck are of such an extraordinary length, that when it stands erect, it is six feet six inches high. The legs and thighs, which are not much thicker than a man's finger, are about two feet eight inches high; and its neck near three feet long. Their manner of feeding is very singular; the bird thrusts down its head, so that the upper convex side of the bill shall only touch the ground, and in this posture the ani

mal appears, as it were, standing upon its head. In this manner it paddles and moves the bill about, and seizes whatever fish or insect happens to offer. This extraor dinary bird is now chiefly found in America, but it was once known in all the coasts of Europe. At present the Flamingo is not only one of the scarcest, but of the shiest birds in the world; but when first discovered in America it suffered itself to be approached and shot at, When the fowler had killed one, the rest of the flock, far from attempting to fly, only regarded the fall of their companion in a kind of fixed astonishment; another and another shot was discharged, and thus the fowler often levelled the whole flock, before one began to think of escaping.

XI.-Water-Fonl.

THE Birds belonging to this class have feet and legs adapted for swimming. For this purpose these are placed very far back, and consequently they are all, to a greater or less extent, awkward in their movements on land; their toes being also connected by a membrane; whence the whole order are termed web-footed. They are divided into four families :-Birds with short wings; birds with lengthened wings; birds with feet completely webbed; and birds with plated or scaly beaks.

In the first family are to be found the Grebe, Guillemot, and Auk tribes:-in the second, the Stormy Petrel, the Albatross, and the Gull tribe :-in the third, the Pelican, the Cormorant, and the Gannet, or Solan Goose: -and, in the fourth, the Swan, the Goose, and Duck tribes.

The whole of the birds in the first family are so admirably adapted for pursuing their prey, that they have acquired the name of Divers; and so great is their activity that they frequently elude the shot of the sportsman by suddenly diving on seeing the flash of the gun.

The Grebe is about the size of a Duck; its plumage white and black; and its legs are remarkably short, and placed so far back, that in standing it is compelled to assume an upright attitude. They frequent the meres of Shropshire, Cheshire, and Lincolnshire, and breed among

reeds and flags in a floating nest kept steady by the reeds of the margin. The female is said to be very attentive to her young, sometimes carrying them on her back, or under her wing.

The Guillemot is distinguished by having no posterior toe. It is common upon all our coasts. By the older writers it is mentioned under the name of the Booby, and the method of taking them at St Kilda, where they appear in Spring in large flocks, seems to justify this appellation. A person covered with a white sheet is lowered at night to some projecting rock, when the Guillemots, attracted by his dress, alight upon or near him, in such numbers that several hundreds are sometimes caught in one night.

The Auk, or Puffin Auk, has a bill of a very extraordinary form, being flattened on both sides, short, much arched, and about as high at the base as it is long. It is about the size of a pigeon. Sir A. de Capelle Brooke describes a very curious method of taking these birds at the North Cape. "The Puffins sitting together in prodigious numbers in holes and clefts of the rocks, are taken by means of small dogs trained to the sport. One of these dogs is sent into the recess, and seizes the first bird he comes to by the wing. This, to prevent it eing carried away, lays hold with its strong beak of the bird next to it, which in like manner seizes its neighbour, and the dog continuing to draw them out, a long string of these birds falls into the hands of the fowler."

The feathered tribes which belong to the second family are all noted for their great power of wing, and, in most instances, for their rapacity; the stronger species are constantly at war with the weaker, and carry on a perpetual system of plunder.

The Stormy Petrel is of the size of a swallow, and of a sooty black colour. They follow ships in great numbers, and their presence is considered the forerunner of a storm, when they may be heard screaming with apparent delight as they hurry past the ship with great velocity. By sailors they are called Mother Carey's Chickens.

The Albatross, or Man-of-War Bird, is the largest of all aquatic birds, frequently larger than a Swan. They are extremely voracious, often gorging themselves to such a degree as to be unable to escape from their pursuers.

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