E^ ^- '_^ Si^-~ :^ :.'a* ^^ Museum o/-y^ <<^ ^/. V ^ ^:l 1869 THE LIBRARY Gift HEA Title II-C Grant ^>-^ ^il'iin-r^ ■ »g - -"> # ■'^mm *0 ^ THE History of Birds : / THEIR VARIETIES AND ODDITIES COMPRISING ORAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS Nearly all Known Species of Birds, with Fishes and Insects, the World over, and Illustrating their Varied Habits, Modes of Life, and Distinguishing Pecu- liarities by Means of Delightful Anecdotes and Spirited Engravings. Prepared after Laborious Personal Research ; with the Aid of the G-reat "Works of Cuvier, Buffon, "Wood, Dallas, Nuttall, Bonaparte, Agazzis, Jardine, Brewer, and many others ; BY EEV. W. BIE'GLEY, A.M. OVER SOO SPIRITED ILLUSTRATIONS. PHILADELPHIA : EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING CO. COPYRIGHTED, ACCORDING TO AC7 OF CCNGR&SS, CONTENTS. PAOE ON THE STUDY OP NATURE 13 BIRDS 27 Pies 78 Passerine Birds 143 Gallinaceous Birds 245 Waders 303 Swimmers 357 FISHES 411 Apodal Fish 411 Jugular Fish 418 Thoracic " 421 Abdominal " 435 Chondropterygious Fish 456 INSECTS 471 Coleopterous Insects 471 Hemipterous " 491 Lepidopterous " 502 Neuropterous " 511 Hymenopterous " 514 Dipterous " 530 Apterous *' 535 (5) INDEX OF SUBJECTS. A. PAGE Adjutant 316 Albatross 389 Amazon Ant 513 Anchovy 450 Angler 467 Ant Eater 513 Ants 513 Aphides 519 Aphis 500 Apteryx 300 Auks 380 Avocet 346 B. Barbel 468 Bedbugs 534 Bees 522 Beetles 471 Bird of Paradise 118 Bittern 317 Blackbird 152 Blennies 469 Bluebird 197 Boat-bill 314 Bob-o-link 1 54 Booby 398 Bombardier 487 Borers 478 Bugs 498 PAOB Bullfinch 166 Bull-comber 471 Bunting 167 Bustards 286 Butterfly 503 Buzzard 36 C. Canary-finch 173 Carabus 487 Carp 451 Carrion Crow 103 Cassowary 298 Cat-bird ] 95 Cedar or Cherry Bird 210 Centipedes 553 Cerambyx or Capricorn 484 Chactodon 426 Chafiinch 143 Chaja 308 Chatterer 2I 1 Cheese-mite 459 Chick-a-dee 209 Chigoe 540 Chub 452 Cicadae 495 Coal Tit 208 Cochin-china 264 Cochineal 501 Coccinella 432 (7) 8 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. PAGE Cock 258 Cockatoos 92 Cock-chafer 472 Cockroach 491 Codfish 418 Condor 28 Coot 352 Corn-weevil 483 Corvorant 395 Crab 549 Crane 303 Crane-fly 530 Craw-fish 557 Creeper 1 35 Cricket 493 Cross-bill 161 Crow-blackbird 156 Crows 99 Cuckoo 121 Curculio 483 Curlew 319 Cynips 504 D. Dabchick 354 Dace 453 Darter 402 Day-fly 511 Dermestes 478 Devil-fish 468 Divers 404 Dodo 301, 302 Dog-fish 462 Doree 422 Dorking Fowl 265 Dotterel 334 Dragon-fly 511 Ducks 357 Dunlin 330 E. PAQE Eagle 38-50 Earwig 489 Eel 411 Eider Duck 364 Emu 300 Esculent Swallow 220 F. Falcon 38 Fieldfare 99 Finch 169 Flamingo 361 Flatfish 423 Flea 539 Flounder 426 Fly 511-531 Flying-fish 443 Fly-catcher 176 Fowls 258 G. Gad-fly 460 Gadwall or Grey 370 Gall-insect 514 Gallinule 341 Gannet 396 Garganey 369 Gentil Falcon 59 Glow-worm 485 Gnat 533 Goat-sucker 74 Godwit 322 Goldfinch 172 Goldfish 454 Goosander 366 Goose 360 Goshawk 60 Grayling 440 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 9 PAGE Grebe, or Gaunt 352 Greenfinch 163 Grouse • 273 Grosbeaks 161 Gudgeon 452 Guinea Fowl 272 Guillemot 389 Gulls 406 Gurnard 434 Gymnotus 413 H. Haddock 419 Hake-fish 420 Hawk 63 Hawkmoth 506 Hedge Accentor, or Sparrow. ... ] 95 Hen Harrier 60 Heron 303-310 Herring 445 Holibut 425 Hoopoe 223 Hornbill 97 Hornet 517 Humming Bird 137 I. Ibis 345 J. Jackdaw 108 Jager, Richardson's 408 Jay 109 K. King Bird 176 PAGE Kingfisher 132 Kinglet, Fiery-Crowned ] 96 Kite 59 Lady-bug 482 Lamprey 466 Lark 144 Lasher 469 Ling 420 Linnet 169 Loach 468 Lobster 552 Locust 492 Locust-eating Thrush 160 Loon 405 Louse 538 Lucanus 476 Lumpsucker 470 Lyre-bird 225 Lytta 488 M. Macaw 90 Mackerel 429 Magpie m Mantis 491 May-fly 510 Megapode 252 Merganser, hooded 410 Missel, or Misseltoe Thrush 150 Mocking-bird 157 Monk-fish 462 Moths 506 Mullet 441 Musk 374 Musquito .• 534 10 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. N. PAGE Nightingale 187 Nut-hatch 131 O. Oriole 113 Osprey 53 Ostrich 292 Ouzel, water 145 Oven bird 117 Owls 66-74 Ox-bird, or Dunlin 330 P. Papuan Podargus 75 Parrots 81 Partridge 280 Peacock 250 Pelicans 391 Penguins 384 Perch 428 Peregrine Falcon 64 Peristera 238 Petrel 385 Phalarope 356 Phasianella 240 Pheasant 253 Pigeons 226 Pike 440 Pill-chafer 475 Pilchard 448 Pintado Tribe 271 Pipit, meadow 184 Plaise 423-426 Plant-lice 499 Plovers 333 Porcupine, sea 470 Prawn 554 PAOB Ptarmigan 279 Ptinus 478 Purre 324 Q. Qua-bird 312 Quail 284 R. Kail 338 Rapacious birds 27 Raven 101 Ray 464 Red-breast 191 Redstart 148 " American 178 Remora 421 Rice-bird 154 Ring-dove 229 Roach 453 Robin 192 Rock-dove 243 Rook 105 Rose-chafer 474 Ruff, or Reeve 329 S. Salmon 435 Sawfly 514 Sandpiper 328 Wilson's 331 Sand-wasp 516 Scarabseus 471 Scorpion 548 Sea-horse 467 Shad 449 Shark 457-462 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 11 PAGE Shrike, great or cinereous 78 Shrimp 554 Silkworm 507 Silurus 469 Siskin 195 Skate 465 Skimmer 409 Skippers 486 Smelt 439 Snipe 319 Spanish-fly 488 Sparrow 170 Sparrow-hawk 62 Spheges 516 Spiders 542 Spider-fly 534 Spoonbill 348 Sprat 449 Stag-beetle 476 Starling 143 Stilt 334 Stork 304 Sturgeon 456 Sucking-fish 421 Surmullets 433 Swallows 212 Swan 357 Sword-fish 416 Sylphfe 480 Tailor-bird 203 Talpicoti 237 Tarantula 548 Tatler 348 Teal 373 Tench 452 Termes 535 Tern 409 PAGE Thornback 466 Thoracic Fish 421 Thrush J 50 Thunny Fish 431 Tick 541 Titmice 204 Torpedo 464 Toucan 93 Trogon 223 Trout 437 Trumpeter 290 Turbot 423 Turkey 245-252 Turnstone 330 U. Umber 440 V. Vinago 244 Vireo, red-eyed ] 80 Vultures 31-36 W. Wagtail 1 89 Warbler, garden ] 49 Warblers 1 98 Wasp 517 Waxwing, or chatterer 211 Weevil 483 Whame-fly 532 Wheat-ear 148 Whidah 167 12 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. Whip-poor-will 75 Whiting 419 Widgeon 371 Wolf-fish 413 Woodcock 323 Wood-pecker 128 Wren 193 Wryneck 130 ON THE STUDY OF NATURE. There is no division of the animal world in which wc are more led to admire the wisdom of the Supreme Being, than in the different feathered tribes. The.T struc- ture and habits of life are wonderfully fitted for the various functions they have to perform. Their bodies are clad with feathers, which form an envelope much lighter than hair. These lie over each other close to the body, like the tiles of a house ; and are arranged from the fore-part backward, by which means the animals are enabled the more conveniently to cut their way through the air. For this purpose also the head is small and the bill somewhat wedge-shaped ; the neck is long, and easily movable in all directions ; and the body slender, sharp on the under side, and flat or round on the back. The bones likewise are hollow, and very light compani- tively with those of terrestrial animals. For the purpose of giving warmth to tb»| body, a short and soft down fills up all the vacant spaces between the shafts of tho feathers. Birds are enabled to rise into and move from place to place in the air, by meanii of the members that are denominated wings. The muscles by which the wings ar«» move are exceedingly large ; and have been estimated, in some instances, to consti. tute not less than a sixth part of the weight of the whole body. When a bird is on the ground, and intends to fly. he takes a leap, stretches his wings from the body, and strikes them downward with great force. By this stroke the body is thrown into an oblique position. That part o fthe force which tended upward is destroyed by the weight of the bird ; and the horizontal force serves to carry him forward. The stroke being completed, he moves tip his wings. These being contracted, and having their edges turned upward, meet with little resistance from the air. Wheu they are sufficiently elevated, the bird makes a second stroke downward, and the impulse of the air again moves him forward. These successive strokes act as so many leaps taken in air. When the bird wants to turn to the right or left, he strikes strongly with the opposite wing, and this impels him to the proper side. The tail acts like the rudder of a ship ; except that it moves him upward or downward, instead of sideways. If the bird wants to rise, he raises his tail ; and if to fall, he depresses it ; whilst he is in an horizontal position, it keeps him steady. A bird, by spreading his wings, can continue to move horizontally in the air for some time, without striking them; because he has acquired a sufficient velocity, and his wings, being parallel to the horizon, meet with but little resistance. When he begins to fall, he can easily steer himself upward by his tail, till the motion he had acquired is nearly spent ; he must then renew it by two or three more strokes of his wings. On alighting, he expands his wings and tail full against the air, that they may meet with all the resistance possible. The centre of gravity in birds is somewhat behind the wings; and, to counterbal- ance this, most of them maybe observed to thrust out their head and neck in flying. This is very apparent in the flight of Ducks, Geese, and several other species of water-fowl, whose centre of gravity is further backward than in the land birds. In the Heron, on the contrary, whose long head and neck, although folded up in flight, overbalance the rest of the body, the long legs are extended, in order to give the propti counterpoise, and to supply what is wanting from the shortness of the tail. The feathers of birds would perpetually imbibe the moisture of the atmosphere ; and, during rain, would absorb so much wet, as to impede their flight, had not the wisdom of Providence obviated this inconvenience by a most effectual expedient. They are each furnished on the rump with two glands, in which a quantity of uncti- ous matter is constantly secreting. 'J'his is occasionally pressed out by the bill, aj d used for the lubrication of the feathers. The birds that share, as it were, the hall i- tations of man, and live principally under cover, do not require so great a suppl/, and therefore are not provided with so large a stock of this fluid, as those that rove abroad, and reside in the open element. It is on this account that poultry, when wet, make the ruffled and uncomfortable appearance that we observe. (13) 14 FUNCTIONS OF BIRDS. As birds are continually passing among the hedges and thickets, their etjes are de- feiidt'd from injury by a^ membrane, which can at pleasnre be drawn over the whole eye like a curtain. This is neither opo.que nor wholly pellucid, but is somewhat transparent. In birds we find that the .s/V///Ms much more piercing, extensive, and exact, than in the other orders of animals. 'I'he eye is large in proportion to the bulk of the head. This is a superiority conferred upon them not without a corres- ponding utdity ; it seems even indispensable to their safety and subsistence. Were this organ dull, or were it, in the least degree, opaque, the rapidity of their motion would expose them to the danger of striking against various objects in their flight. In this case their celerity, instead of being an advantage, would become an evil, and their flight would be restrained by the danger resulting from it. Indeed, we maj consider the velocity with which an animal moves, as a sure indication of the perfec- tion of its visioii. Birds respire by means of air-vessels, that are extended through their whole body^ and adhere to the under surface of the bones. These, by their motion, force the ait through the true lungs, which are very small, seated in the uppermost part of the chest, and closely braced down to the back and ribs. The use of this general diffu- sion of air through the bodies of birds, is to prevent their respiration from being Btopped or interrupted by the rapidity of their motion through a resisting medium. The resistance of the air increases in proportion to the celerity of the motion ; and were it possible for a man to move with swiftness equal to that of a Swallow, the resistance of the air, as he is not furnished with reservoirs similar to those of birds, would soon suffocate him. Some species of birds are confined to particular countries; others are widely dis- persed ; and several change their abode at certain seasons of the year, and migrate to climates better suited to their temperament or mode of life than those which they leave. Many of our own birds, directed by a peculiar and unerring instinct, retire, before the commencement of the cold season, to the southern districts, and again return in the spring. The causes usually assigned for migration are, either a defect of food, or the waut of a secure and proper asylum for incubation, and the nutrition of their offspring. It appears from very accurate observations, founded- on numerous experiments, that the peculiar notes, or sony, of the different species of Birds, are acquired, and are no more innate than language is in man. The attempt of a nestling bird to sing, may be compared with the imperfect endeavor of a child to talk. The first essay eeems not to possess the slightest rudiments of the future song; but, as the bird grows older, and stronger, it is not difficult to perceive what he is attempting. Whilst the scholar is thus endeavoring to form his song, when he is once sure of a passage, he commonly raises his tone; but when unable to execute the passage, he drops it. What the nestling is thus not thoroughly master of, he hurries over; lowering his tone, as if he did not wish to be heard, and as if he could not yet satisfy himself. A common Sparrow, taken from the nest when very young, and placed near a Linnet and Goldfinch, adopted a song that was a mixture of the notes of these two. Three nestling Linnets were educated, one under a Sky-lark, another under a Wood-lark, and the third under a Tit-lark ; and, instead of the song peculiar to their own species, they adhered entirely to that of their respective instructors. A Linnet taken from the nest when about three days old, and brought up in the house of Mr Matthews, an apothecary, at Kensington, having no other sounds to imitate, almost articulated the words " pretty boy ;" and a few other short sentences. The owner of this bird said, that it had neither the note nor the call of any bird whatever. It died in the year 1772. These, and other well-authenticated facts, tend to prove that Birds have no innate notes, but that, like mankind, the language they first learn after they come into the world, is generally that which they adopt in after life. It may, however, seem unac- countable, why, in a wild state, they adhere so steadily as they do to the song of their own species only, when the notes of so many others are to be heard around them. This evidently arises from the attention that is paid by the nestling bird to the instructions of its own parent only, and it is generally disregarding the notes of all the rest. Persons, however, who have an accurate ear, and have studied the notes of birds, can very often distinguish some that have a song mixed with the notes of other species. '^'he food of birds is of course very different in the differect kinds. Some are FUNCTIONS OF BIRDS. 15 altogether carnivorous ; others, as many of the web-footed tribes, live on fish ; Eome on insects and worms, and many on fruits or grain. The extraordinary powers of the gizv.ard in the graminivorous tribes, in comminuting their hard food, so as to jirc- pare it for digestion, are such as almost to exceed credibility. In order to ascertain the strength of these stomachs, the Abbe Spallanzani made many cruel, though at the same time curious and not uninteresting experiments. Tin tubes full of grain were forced into the stomachs of Turkeys ; and, after remaining twenty hours, were found to be broken, compressed, and distorted in a most irregular manner. The stomach of a Cock, in the space of twenty-four hours, broke off the angles of a piece of rough, jagged glass ; and, on examining the gizzard, no wound or laceration appeared. Twelve strong tin needles were firmly fixed into a ball of lead, with their p&iuts projecting about a quarter of an inch from the surface ; thus armed, it waa covered with a case of paper, and forced down the throat of a Turkey. The bird retaiaed it a day and a half without exhibiting the least symptom of uneasiness. "When the Turkey was killed, the points of nearly all the needles were found to be broken off close to the surface of the ball Twelve small lancets, very sharp both at the points and edges, were fixed in a similar ball of lead. These were given in the same manner, to a Turkey-cock, and left eight hours in the stomach ; at the expiration of which time that organ was opened, but nothing appeared except the naked ball ; the twelve lancets having been all broken to pieces. From these facta it was concluded, that the stones so often found in the stomachs of many of the feathered tribes, are highly useful in assisting the gastric juices to grind down the grain and other hard substances which constitute their food. The stones themselves, also, being ground down and separated by the powerful action of the gizzard, are mixed with the food, and no doubt contribute to the health as well as to the nutri- ment of the animals. All birds are oviparous, or produce eggs, from which, after the process of incuba- tion, the young are extruded. These eggs difi'er in the different species, in number, figure, and color. They contain the rudiments of the future oflspring ; for the maturation and bringing to perfection of which, in the incubation, there is a bubble of air at the large end, betwixt the shell and the inside skin. It is supposed that, from the warmth communicated by the sitting bird to this confined air, its spring is in- creased beyond its natural tenor, and, at the same time, its parts are put into motion by the gentle rarefaction. Hence pressure and motion are communicated to the parts of the q^^ ; and these, in some unknown manner, gradually promote the for- mation and growth of the young one, till the appointed time of its exclusion. 'J'he nse of that part of the e^g called the treddle, is not only to retain the different liquids in their proper places, but also to keep the same part of the yolk uppermost ; which it will effectually do, though the ^gg be turned nearly every way. The mechanism seems to be this : the treddle is specifically lighter than the white in which it swims ; and being connected with the membranes of the yolk, at a point somewhat out of the direction of its axis, this causes one side to become heavier than the other. Thus the yolk, being made buoyant in the midst of the white, is, by its own heavy side, kept with the same part always uppermost. The nests of birds are, in general, constructed with astonishing art ; and with a degree of architectural skill and propriety, that would foil all the boasted talents of man to imitate. Mark it well, within, witbout : No tool had he that wrought ; no knife to cut, No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert. No glue to join ; his little beak was all. And yet, how neatly finish'd ! What nice hand, With every impletnent and means of art, And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot. Could make me such another? Fondly then We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill Instinctire genius foils. In most of the species both the male and female assist in this interesting operation. They each bring materials to the place : first sticks, moss, or straws, for the founda- tion and exterior : then hair, wool, or the down of animals or plants, to form a soft and commodious bed for the eggs, and for the bodies of their tender young, when betehcd. The outsides of the nests bear in general so great a resemblance in color 16 • FUNCTIONS OF BIRDS. to the surrounding foliap^e or branches, as not easily to be discovered ev^u by pet- Bons who are in search of them. This is one of those numerous and wonderful contrivances which compel us to believe that every part of the creation is under the ])rotection of a superintending Brtne, whose goodness knows no bounds. Without this, what can we suppose it ia that "instigates a creature which may never before have had young, to form a nest, hollow, for the purpose of containing eggs ; (things that as yet it knows nothing of ;) and of concentrating a necessary proportion of heat for the incubation ? Without this, what can we suppose it is that dictates the necessity of forming £he outside of this nest with coarse materials, as a foundation, and of lining its interior with more delicate substances? How do these animals learn that they are to have eggs, and that these eggs will require a nest of a certain size and capacity? Who is it that teaches them to calculate the time with such exactness, that they never lay their eggs before the receptacle for them is finished? No one can surely be so blind aa to observe all this, and not to perceive the superintendence of a beneficent wisdom influencing every operation. The classification of birds is principally founded on their habits of life ; and on the formation of their external parts, particularly of their bills. The grand diYia\CD is into LAND BIRDS and water birds. LAND BIRDS. 1. Rapacious Birds {accipitres), have their bill hooked ; and on each side of tha opper mandible there is an angular projection. They consist of Vultures, Eagleti or Hawks, and Owls. These birds are all carnivorous, and associate in pairs; «ind the female is generally larger and stronger than the male. 2. Pies [piece). These have their bills sharp at the edge, compressed at the sides, and convex on the upper surface. The principal genera are Shrikes, Crows, Rolhirs, Orioles, Grackles, Humming-birds, Parrots, Toucans, Cuckoos, Woodpeckers, Horn- bills, and Kingfishers. Some of them associate in pairs, and others congreg8,te. They live on various kinds of food ; and usually build their nests in trees, the maU feeding the female during the process of incubation. 3. Passerine Birds (passeres), have a conical, sharp-pointed bill. To this order belong the Finches, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Thrushes. Fly-catchers, Swallows, Laika, Wagtails, Titmice, and Pigeons. While breeding they live chiefly in pairs; and th» nests of several of the species are of curious and singular construction. The greate* number of them sing. Some of them subsist on seeds, and others on insects. 4. Gallijiaceous Birds {^(jallince). The bills of these birds have the upper mand: ble considerably arched. Pheasants, Turkeys, Peacocks, Bustards, Pintadoes, and Grouse, all belong to this order. They live principally on the ground ; and scratch the earth with their feet for the purpose of finding grain and seeds. They usually associate in families, consisting of one male and several females. Their nests are artlessly formed on the ground ; and the females produce a numerous ofispring WATER BIRDS. 5. Waders (grallce). These have a roundish bill, and a fleshy tongue; and the legs of most of the species are long. The principal genera are the Herons, Plovers, Snipes, and Sandpipers, which live for the most part among marshes and fens, and feed on worms and other animal productions. They form nests on the ground. 6. Swimmers (anseres). The bills of these birds are broad at the top, and covered with a membranaceous skin. The tribes best known are the Ducks, Auks, Pen- guins, Petrels, Pelicans, Guillemots, Gulls, and Terns. They live chiefly in th« water, and feed on fish, worms, and aquatic plants. Moat of the species are poly, gamons, and construct their nests among reeds or in moist places. The females la| many eggs. FUNCTIONS OF FISHES. 17 FISHES. Were we "acquainted with no other animals than those which inhabit the land, and breathe the air of our atmosphere, it would appear absurd to be told that anj race of beings could exist only in the water : we should naturally conclude, from the effect produced on our own bodies when plunged into that element, that the powers of life could not there be sustained. But we tind, from experience, that the very depths of the ocean are crowded with inhabitants, which, in their construction, modes of life, and general design, are as truly wonderful as those on the land. Their history, however, must always remain imperfect, since the element in which they live is beyond human access, and of such vast dimensions, as to throw by far tho greater part of them altogether out of the reach of man. That they are in every respect, both of external and internal yonformatioa, well adapted to their element and modes of life, we are not permitted to doubt. The body is, in general, slender, flattened at the sides, and always somewhat pointed at the head. This enables them, with ease, to cut through the resisting medium which they inhabit. Some of them are endowed with such extraordinary powers of pro- gressive motion, that they are able not only to overtake the fastest sailing vessels, but, during the swiftest course of these, to play round them without any apparently extraordinary efforts. Their bodies are in general covered with a kind of horny scales, to keep them from being injured by the pressure of the watei. Several of them are enveloped with a fat and oily substance, to preserve them from putrefaction, and to guard them from oxticme cold. They breathe by means of certain organs that are placed '■n eacli ide of the neck, and called gills. In this operation they fill their mouth with water, which they throw backward, with so much force as to lift open the great flap, and force it out behind. And in the passage of this water, among tlie feather-like pro- cesses of the gills, all, or at least the greatest part, of the air contained in it, is left behind, and carried into tho body to perform its part in the animal economy. In proof of this fact, it has been ascertained that, if the air be extracted from water into which fish are put, they immediately come to the surface »nd gasp as if for breath. Hence, distilled water is to fish what the vacuum formed by an air-pump is to most other animals. This is the reason why, in winter, when a fish-pond is en- tirely frozen over, it is necessary to break holes in the ice, not that the fish may come to feed, but that they may come to breathe. Without such precaution, if the pond be small, and the fish be numerous, they will die from the corruption of the water. Fishos are nearly of the same specific gravity with water, and swim by means of their fins and tail. The muscular force of the latter is very great. Their direct motion is obtained by moving the tail from one side to the other, with a vibrating motion ; and, by strongly bending the tail sideways, this part of their body acts like the rudder of a ship, and enables them to move in an opposite direction. The tiuH of a fish keep it upright, especially the belly-fins, which act like feet ; without these it would float with its back downward, as the centre of gravity lies near the back. In addition to the fins and tail, the air-bladder is of material assistance to fish in swimming, as it is by means of this that they increase or diminish the specific gravity of their bodies. When, by their abdominal muscles, they compress the air contained in this bladder, the bulk of their body is diminished, their weight compared with that of the water, is increased, and they consequently sink. If they want to rise, they relax the pressure of the muscles, the air-bladder again acquires its natural size, the boiy is rendered more bulky, and they ascend towards the surface. This bladder lies in the abdomen, along the course of the back-bone. In some fish it is single, and in others double. The air appears to be conveyed into it from the blood, by means of vessels appropriated to that purpose, and it can be discharged thence either into the stomach or the mouth. Those fish which are destitute of air-bladders have much less facility in elevating themselves in the water than any others. Tha 18 FUNCTIONS OF FISHES. greater number of them, consequently, remain at the bottom, unless the form of their body enables them to strike the water downwards with great force. This the Skate, the Thornback, and other species of Rays do with their large pectoral fins, which are of such size and strength as almost to resemble wings ; and the mode in which these fish elevate themselves iu the water, is precisely the same as that which ia employed by birds in flying. The teeth of fish are usually situated in their jaws : in some species, however, there are teeth on the tongue and palate, and even in the throat. These are generally sharp-pointed and immovable ; but in the Carp they arc obtuse, and in the Pike so movable as to appear fixed only to the skin. The tomjue is in general motionless and fleshy. Being furnished with nostriL- and olfactory uerves, there can bu little doubt that fishes possess the sense of smelling. The hones of these animals are formed of a kind of intermediate substance, between true bones and cartilages. The back-bonp extends through the whole length of the body, and consists of vertebriB, strong and thick toward the head, but weaker and more slender as they approach the tail. The ribs are attached to the processes of the vertebrae, and enclose the breast and abdomin. Several fish, as the Raya, have no ribs ; and others, as the Eel and Sturgeon, have very short ones. In many of the species there are small bones between the muscles, to assist their motion. The sight of fishes is perhaps the most perfect of all their senses. The eye, in general, is covered with the same transparent skin that covers the rest of the bead ; the use of which is probably, to defend this organ in the water, for none of the species have eyelids. The globe of the eye is somewhat depressed in front, and it ia fiirEished behind with a muscle, which serves to lengthen or flatten it, as the animal may require. The crystalline liuinur, which in quadrupeds is flattened, is in fishes nearly globular. The eyes of fish are usually ihoaght to be immovable, but this does not appear to be the case : those of some species are known to turn in th« sockets. In fishes the organ of he iring is placed at the sides of the skull ; but differing in this respect 'Vom that in qiiudnipeds and birds, it is entirely distinct and detached from it. In some fishes, as those of the Ray kind, the organ of hearing is wbol'j Burrounded by the parts containing the cavity of the skull : in others, as the Salmon and Cod, it is partly within the skull. In its structure this organ is by no meang so complicated as in quadrupeds and other animals that live in the air. Some genera, as the Rays, have the external orifice very small, and placed upon the upper surface of the head ; but in others there is no external opening whatever. The fooil of these animals is extremely various. Insects, worms, or the spawn of other fish, sustain the smaller tribes ; which, in their turn, are pursued by larger foes. Some feed on mud and aquatic plants, but by far the greater number sub^i«t on animal food only, and they are so ravenous as often not to spare even those of their ow kind. Innumerable shoals of some species pursue those of others through vast tracts of the ocean ; from the vicinity of the pole sometimes even to the equator. In these conflicts, and in this scene of universal rapine, many species must have become extinct, had not the Creator accurately proportioned their means of escape, their production, and their numbers, to the extent and variety of the dangers to which they are exposed. The smaller species are consequently not only more nu- merous and prolific than the larger, but their instinct impels them to seek for food and protection near the shore, where, froiu the shallowness of the water, many of their foes are unable to pursue them. Fishes are in general oviparous : some few, however, produce their oSspring alive. The males have the inilt, and the females the roe, but some individuals of the Cod and Sturgeon tribes are said to contain both. The spawn of the greater number is deposited in the sand or gravel : many of the fish, however, which reside in the ocean, att-ach their ova to sea-weeds. The fecundity of these tribes far surpasses that of any other race of animals. In the spawn of a single Cod upwards of nine millions of eggs have been ascertained, and nearly a million and a half have been taken from the interior of a Flounder. The longevity of fish is far superior to that of other creatures; and there is reason to suppose that they are, in a great measure, exempted from disease. Instead of eufi'ering from the rigidity of age, which is the cause of natural decay in land animaht, their bodies continue to increase with fresh supplies ; and, as the body grows, the conduits of life seem to furnish their stores in greater abundance. How long these FUNCTIONS OF FISHES. 19 animals continue to live, has not yet been ascertained. The age of man seems not equal to the life of the most minute species. In the royal ponds of Marli, in Franco, there are some particular fish which, it is said, have been preserved tame since the time of Francis the First, and which have been individually known to the persona who have succeeded to the charge of them ever since that period. Fish, Hive land animals, are either solitary or gregarious. Some, as Trout, Salmon, Sc, migrate to considerable distances in order to deposit their spuwu. Of the gea-fish, the Cod, the Herring, and many others, assemble in immense shoals, and migrate in these shoals through vast tracts of the ocean. In the Gmelinian edition of the Systema Naturae, the Fishes are divided into six orders : 1. Apodal; with bony gills, and no ventral fins, as the Eels. 2. Jugular ; with bony gills, and ventral fins before the pectoral ones, as the Cod and Haddock. 3. Thoracic; with bony gills and ventral fins placed directly under the thorax, m the Turbot, Sole, Perch, and Mackerel. 4. Abdominal ; with bony gills, and ventral fins placed behind the thorax, as the Salmon, Pike, Herring, and Carp. 5. Braiichiostegous : with gills destitute of bony rays, as the Pike-fish and Lump* fieh. 6. Chs^ndropierygious ; with cartilaginous gills, as the Sturgeon, Shark, Skate, and Liamprey. „ 20 FUNCTIONS OF INSECTS. INSECTS. The insect division of the animal world received its name from the individuals of which it is composed having a separation in the middle of their bodies, by which they are cut, as it were, into two parts. These parts are in general connected by a ■lend«r ligament or hollow thread. Insects breathe through pores arranged along their sides ;* and have a scaly or bony skin, and many feet. Most of them are furnished with wings. They are desti- tute of brain, nostrils, and eyelids. Not only the place of the liver, but of all the secretory glands, is, in them, supplied by long vessels that float in the abdomen. The mouth is in general situated under the head ; and is furnished with transverse jaws, with lips, a kind of teeth, a tongue, and palate : it has also, in most instances, four or six palpi, or feelers. Insects have also movable antennae, which generally proceed from the front part of the head, and are endowed with a very nice sense of feeling. In a minute examination of this class by Professor Cuvier, neither a heart nor ar- teries have been detected ; and this gentleman says that the whole organization of insects is such as we might have expected to find, if we had previously known that they were destitute of such organs. Their nutrition, therefore, seems to be carried on by absorption, as is the case with the polypes, and other zoophytes.f Nearly all Insects (except Spiders, and a few others of the apterous tribe, which proceed nearly in a perfect state from the egg) undergo a metamorphosis, or change at three different periods of their existence. The lives of these minute creatures, in their perfect state, are in general so short that the parents have seldom an opportunity of seeing their living offspring. Con- ee(}uently, they are neither provided with milk, like viviparous animals, nor are they, like birds, impelled to sit upon their eggs in order to bring their offspring to perfec- tion. In place of these, the all-directing Power has endowed each species with the aatonishing faculty of being able to discover what substance is fitted to afford the food proper for its young; though such food is, for the most part, totally different frcim that which the parent itself could eat. Some of them attach their egy.'i to the bark, or insert them into the leaves of trees and other vegetable substances ; others form nests, which they store with insects or caterpillars that will attain the exact state in which they may be proper food for their young ones, when they shall awaken into life ; others bury their eggs in the bodies of other insects ; and others adopt very surprising methods of conveying them into the body, and even into the internal riijcera of larger animals. Some drop their eggs into the water, an element in which Ihey would themselves soon be destroyed. In short, the variety of contrivances that are adopted by insects to ensure the subsistence of their offspring, are beyond enu- meration. From the eggs of all insects proceed what are called larvce, grubs, or caterpillars. These consist of a long body, covered with a soft, tender skin, divided into segments or rings. The motions of many of the larvae are performed on these rings only, either in the manner of serpents, or by resting alternately each segment of the body on the plane which supports it. Such is the motion of the larvae of Flies, emphati- cally so called, and of Wasps and Bees. Sometimes the surfaces of the rings are covered with spines, stiff bristles, or hooks, this is the case in Gad-flies. Crane-flies, and some others. The bodies of the larvae, in some orders of insects, have, toward the head, six feet, each formed of three small joints; the last of which is scaly, and terminates in a hook : this is usual in those of Beetles and Dragon-flies. The larvae jf Butterflies and Moths, besides six scaly articulated feet, have a variable number of other false feet, which are not jointed, but terminate in hooks disposed in circles * The Crab and Lobster tribes form an exception to this rule, for they respire by means of ^iUs. f He excepts the Crabs and Lobsters, which he arranges in a class by themselves, and denomi- nates Ci'^<ysah\s* most species of insects fix upon some convenient place, for the performance of this arduous operation. This is generally a. place where they are not exposed to danger ; for in their transformation, they have neither strength to resist, nor swiftness to avoid, the attack of an enemy. That Power which instructed the parents to deposit their eggs in a proper receptacle, directs the offspring to the most secure and appropriate situation for their future defenceless state. Some of them spin webs or cones, in which they enclose them- pf^lves; others undergo their change in decayed wood; and others conceal themselves beneath the surface of the earth. Preparatory to the transformation, they cease to take any food, and, for some days, continue in a state of inactivity. During thia time the internal organs are gradually unfolding themselves. When the completion is at hand, many of them may be observed alternately to extend and contract their bodies, in i>rder to disengage themselves from the caterpillar skin. The hinder parts are thos| first liberated: when this is done, the animals contract, and draw the skin up 1 /wards their head ; and, by strong efforts, they soon afterward pusb it entirely off. In their chrysalid slate they remain for some time, to all appearance, inanimate ; but this is only in appearance, for, on being taken into the hand, they will always be found to exhibit signs of life. It is singular that, in the changes of insects, the intestinal canal is frequently very difl'ereut in tke same individuals, as they. past through the three states. As soon as the animal, within the shell of the chrysalis, has acquired sirecgth sufficient to break the bonds that surround it, it exerts its powers, and appears to the world in a perfect state. For a little while it continues humid and weak ; but, as the humidity evaporates, its wing-s and shell become hardened, and it soon after- ward commits itself in safety to its new element. Some writers have conjectured that the antennoe or horns of insects are their organs of hearing ; for it is evident, from various experiments, that insects are possessed of this sense in a degree as exquisite as most other animals, although, from their minuteness, we perhaps may never discover by what means. The antenna;, however, seem little likely to answer the purpose of ears. These instruments, of apparently exquisite sensibility, appear adapted to very different purposes, but to purposes with which we may remain long unacquainted. 'J'he eyes of insects are formed of a transparent crustaceous set of lenses, so hard as to require no coverings to protect them. These, like multiplying glasses, have innumerable surfaces, on every one of which objects are distinctly formed ; bO that, if a candle te held opposite to them, it appears multiplied almost to infinity on their surfaces. Other creatures are obliged to turn their eyes ; but insects have always some or other of these lenses directed toward objects, from what quarter soever they may present themselves. All these minute hemispheres are real eyes, through which every thing appears topsy turvy, M. Leeuwenhoek, with the aid of a microscope, used as a telescope, looked through the eye of a Dragon-fly, and viewed the steeple of a church, which was two hnudred and ninety-nine feet high, and seven hundred and fifty feet from the place whore he stood. He could plainly see the steeple, though not apparently larger than the point of a fine needle. He also viewed a house ; and could discern the front. distinguish the doors and windows, and perceive whether the windows were open or shut. Mr. Hook computed that there were fourteen thousand of these lenses in the two eyes of a Drone; and M, Leeuwenhoek reckons twelve thousand five hundred and forty-four lenses in each eye of the Dragon-fly. The pictures of objects that are delineated on these, must be millions of times less than those formed