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Natural history of
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SOJao;
This book must not be
taken from the Library
building.
30iaa'5§
NATURAL HISTORY
OF
BIRDS, FISH,
INSECTS, AND REPTILES.
EMBELLISHED WITH
UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.
IN SIX VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
AXD SOLD BT H. D. STMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW.
J 808.
Kniglit and Compton, Printers, Cloth Fair.
CONTENTS
OF
THE THIRD VOLUME.
Pags
Of small Birds of the Crane kind
1
The Curlezi)
-
- J7
Stone Curlew
-
- 18
Barker
-
- W
Woodcock
-
- 21
Godtcit
-
- 23
Greenshank
-
- 24
Redshank
-
ibid
Snipe
-
- 25
Sand-piper
-
- <2C)
K"!
-
- 27
Knot
-
- 28
Purro, or Stint
- -
ibid
Turnstone
-
- 29
Dunlin
_
ibid
Lapwing
-
^ibid
Green. Plover
-
- 50
Grey Plover
-
-. 32
Ringed Plover
-
' ibid
\ r^ r^ (\
Pazt
The Long-legged Plover - - 32
Dotterel - - -33
Frigate, or Man of War Bird ibid
Sea Lark - - - 35
Water Rail, or Ouzle - - 37
Of the Water Hen and its Affinities 3{)
The Olive, Sea-pie, or Oyster Catcher A3
J^ ha la rope - - - 44
Grebe - - - - 45
Of the Web-footed Fowl in general - 47
'J he Pelican - - - 53
Albatross - - -^ 63
Cormorant - - . - Qg
Shag - - - - 76
The Gannet or Soland Goose - 77
Of Gulls and their Affinities - S3
The Great Grey Gull - - yS
Brozcn Gull - - - 100
Brown-headed Gull - ibid
Black and White Gull - - 10 1
White Gull ^ - - - - 102
Skua Gull - - ibid
Wage I Gull - ^ . 103
Herring Gull - - \\^\(\
Tarrock and Kiltiit'ake Gulls - \(H
Pewit Gull, or Black Cap ibid
Guat Gull - - ^ 103
Petrels ■- - - ibid
Fulmar - . . ibid
[ ^ 3
Page
The Shearwater - - - 106
Stormy Petrel - • - ibid
Great Tern, or Sea^SwaUow - 108
Lesser Tern - - ibid
Black Tern - . - ibid
Striated Tern - - - 109
Penguin and its Affinities - ] 10
Magellanic Penguin - 113
Of the jhik, Puffin, and their Affinities 1 19
The great Northern Diver - - 120
Speckled Diver - - 121
Sea Diver - - - 122
Crested Diver - - - 123
Great Juk _ - _ ibid
Razor Bill - - - 124
Guillemot - - - 125
Lesser Guillemot - - ibid
Puffin - - - - 126
Gooseandcr - - - 135
Dun Diver - - - ibid
Med Breasted Merganser - ibid
Hoodtd Merganser - - 136
Smexc - - - . ibid
Of the Goose or Duck kind - - 137
Siian ' - - - 143
Cygnus, or Wild Swan - - J 52
Tame, or Mute Swan - - 154
Ci/gnoidcs - - ' ]o5
[ vl ]
Page
The Grey Lag
- 1.50
Tame Goose
- ibid
Bean Goose
- 168
Barnacle
- ibid
Race-horsey or Logger-head Goost
! 159
Snow Goose
- 160
Htd-breasted Goose
- 161
liuddy Goose
- ibid
Canadensis
- 162
Duck and its varieties
- \65
Wild Duck
- 168
Bochas
- 179
Eider Duck
- 180
Macula, or Scaup Duck
- 182
Sheldrake
- ibid
Spt'ctabilis
- 183
Nigra, or Scoter
- ibid
Ilook-billcd Drake
- 184
Mallard
- 185
Tufted, or black-crested Duck
- 186
Upright Duck
- 187
Muscovy Duck - •*
- 188
Madagascar Duck
- 189
Shoveller
- 190
Golden Fye
- 192
Pintail
- 193
Widgeon
- 19^
Great-headed Widgeon
- 193
Teal
- J9j
VI 1
Pag,
The French Teal
■ -
197
Chinese Teal
"
198
King-faher
-
199
Smyrna King-jisher
-
206
Large Bengal King-Jisher
-
207
Small Bengal King-Jisher
-
208
Avosetta
-
209
Crown Bird
-
213
Mexican Crown Bird
-
214
Carasow
-
215
Red Bird
-
217
, . Gaulding
-
218
Blus Gauldincr
-
219
Otis, or Tarda
-
221
Brasilian Night Bird
-
225
Blue and Solitary Thrushes
-
224
Bengal Quail
-
.225
. Hoopoe
-
227
Red-legged Horseman
-
229
East-Indian Martin
-
230
Fokkoe
-
231
Bee-Eater
-
232
Bengal Bee- Eater
-
234
Wry-neck
-
255
Kokoi - _ -
-
237
Fu It urine Eagle, and ethers
of the
Eagle kind
-
238
OssiJ'rage
-
240
Tunis or Barbary Falcon -
-.
ibid
[ viii ]
Page
The Boaihill
A
-
242
Umbre
•»
-
243
Jacana
-
-
ibid
Sheathbill
-
-
245
Crake
-
-
ibid
Hornbill
-
-
246
Rhinoceros Hornbill
-
-
247
Helmet Hornbill
-
-
ibid
Pied Hornbill -
.
-
ibid
Chatterers
-
-
248
Carunculated Chatterer
-
-
ibid
Grackle -
-
-
249
Boat-tailed Grackle
-
-
250
Flycatchers
-
"»
251
Fantailed Flycatcher
m
-
ibid
Tropic Bird
-
-
252
Darter
^'
-
253
FISH.
The Physiology and Structure
of Fish
255
Cetaceous Fish
-
-
303
The Whale
-
307
Fin Fish
-
-
316
Musculus
-
-
317
Nar Whale
-
-
ibid
NATURAL HISTORY
OF
BIRDS, FISH, REPTILES, &c.
^ -
OF SMALL BIRDS OF THE CRANE KIND.
THE variety of birds which come under
this description are exceedingly nume-
rous both in this and almost every other climate :
Brisson has enumerated more than one hundred,
and some authors have stated them to amount
to nearly three ; but out of that number many
are found to differ only in the length of their
body, the colour of some particular feathers, or
some such slight distinction. In their manners
and habits, however, they are very similar, so
much so, indeed, that we might almost assert
that the characteristics of one would nearlv ex-
hibit the Natural History of the whole ; and
therefore it is that v/e shall follow the example
of a modern author, and speak of their nature
VOL. III. B and
fj. C. Stat^' College
2 NATURAL lIlSTOIiY
and habits in general^ to avoid that tedious repeti-
tion which would inevitably occur, by treating
of them as they related to each bird individually^
at least of such as are known ; for notwithstand-
ing the laborious researches of the most eminent
naturalists, there yet remains a multiplicity of the
feathered race, natives of both the old and new
continents, of which no particulars have been
acquired beyond their figure, size, and plumage.
Many cabinets have been collected by the
curious, and who to each bird have been able
to apply a name by the assistance of the nomen-
clators ; but in doing this it has not unfrequently
happened that two very distinct birds, from a
similarity of plumage, have gone under one com-
mon appellation in two different collections; and
this kind of error must certainly continue to oc-
cur among those with whom we are so little
acquainted ; nor would it be of much conse-
quence, had not some of the owners com-
menced authors, and thus erroneously handed
them down, to posterity, to the no^ small per-
plexity of those Vv'ho studiously investigate
the varieties of nature. Added to this is the
practice of the exhibitors of birds and beasts,
who, from ignorance, or from motives of
interest, give an animal that name which they
think
OF BIRDS, 1-isHj Sec. 3
think most likely to answer their purpose;
a fact which frequently occurred to BufFon, and
who gives it as his opinion that many species
have been thus multiplied by mere varieties.
Such being the case, the entering into a tedious
description of a long list, of which nothing
but their names and colours are known, could
be but little satisfactory ; for in this tribe we
should find them almost as numerous as in the
sparrow, and many of their pretended distinctions
are only different shades in their plumage.
The most particular, however, we shall point
out, after having given, in the words of a cele»
brated author, a general view of their habits and
manners.
'^ All the birds in this class possess many
'^ marks in common; though some have pecu-
*' liarities that deserve regard. They are aJl
*^ bare of feathers above tJie knee, or above
^^ the heel, as some naturalists chuse to express
^^ it. In fact, that part which I call the knee,
'^ if compared with the legs of mankind, is
^^ analogous to the heel : but, as it is com-
*^ monly conceived otherwise, I have conform-
*^ ed to the general apprehension. I say, thcre-
'^ fore, that all these birds are bare of feathers
B 2 " above
4 NATURAL HISTOIiY
'^ above the knee ; and in some they are want-
^'•' ing half way up the thigh. The nudity in
'^ that part is partly natural, and partly pro-
^^ duced by all birds of this kind habitually
^^ wading in water. The older the bird, the
^' barer are its thighs; yet even the young
'^ ones have not the same downy coverinof
^' reaching so low as the birds of any other
'^ class. Such a coverins: there would rather
o
'^ be prejudicial, as being continually liable to
^^ get wet in the water.
^^ As these birds are usually employed rather
^^ in running than in flying, and as their food
^^ lies entirely upon the ground, and not on
^^ trees, or in the air, so they run with great
^' swiftness for their size, and the length of their
^^ legs assist their velocity. But as, in seeking
'^ their food, they are often obliged to change
*/ their station; ^ also are they equally sv/ift
^^ of wing, and traverse immense tracts of
<^ country without much fatigue.
'^ It has been thought by some, that a part
'^ of this class lived upon an oily slime, found
'' in the bottoms of ditches and of weedy pools;
'^ they were thence termed, by Willoughby,
^^ Mud-suckers ; but later discoveries have
^^ shewn that, in these places, they hunt for the
'^ caterpillars.
OF BIRDS, FI3II, &C. 5
ff caterpillars, worms, and insects. From
*f hence, therefore, we may generally assert,
«f that all birds of this class live upon animals
" of one kind or another. The long billed
" birds suck up worms and insects from the
" bottom ; and those furnished with shorter
" bills, pick up such insects as lie nearer the
*^ surface of the meadov/, or among the sandft
*' on the sea-shore.
" Thus the curlew, the wood-cock, and the
" snipe, are ever seen in plashy brakes, and
*^ under covered hedges, assiduously employed
^^ in seeking out insects in their worm state,
^^ and it should seem, from their plumpness,
" that they find a plentiful supply. Nature,
" indeed, has furnished them with very con-
'^ venient instruments for procuring this kind
" of food. Their bills are made sufficiently
^' long for searching ; but still mare, they are
'^ endowed with an exquisite sensibility at the
" point, for feeling their provisions. They are
^' furnished with no less th?.ii three pair of
^^ nerves, equal almost to the optic nerves in
*^ thickness ; which pass from the roof of the
*^ mouth, and run along the upper chap to the
^' point.
^^ Nor are those with shorter bills, and desti-
" tute
NATUBAL HISTOllT
tute of such convenient instruments, without
a proper provision made for procuring their
subsistence. The lapvving, the sand-piper,
and the red-shank, run with surprising rapi-
dity along the surface of the marsh or the sea-
shore, quarter their ground with great dexte-
rity, and leave nothing of the insect kind that
happens to lie on the surface. These, how-
ever, are neither so fat nor so delicate as the
former : as they are obliged to toil more for
a subsistence, they are easily satisfied with
whatever offers ; and their flesh often con-
tracts a relish from what has been their
latest OP their principal food.
^' Most of the birds formerly described, have
stated seasons for feeding and rest : the eagle
kind prowl by day, and at evening repose;
and the owl kind by night, keeping unseen
in the day-time. But these birds, of the
crane kind, seem at all hours employed ; they
are seldom at rest by day; and during the
whole night season, every meadow and marsh
resounds with their different calls, to court-
ship or to food. This seems to be the time
when they least fear interruption from man ;
and at this season they appear more assidu-
*' ouslv
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C.
" ously employed;, both in providing for their
'^ present support, and continuing that of poste-
*^ rity. But unfortunately for them, this is also
^^ the season when the insidious fowler steals in
^' upon their occupations, and fills the whole
^^ meadow with terror and destruction.
^' As all of this kind live entirely in waters,
*^ or at least among watery places, they seem pro-
*^ vided by nature with a warmth of constitu-
*^ tion to fit them for that cold element. They
*' reside, by choice, in the coldest climates;
*^ and as other birds migrate here in our sum-
*' mer, their migrations hither are mostly in the
'' winter. Even those that reside among us the
*^ whole season, retire in summer to the tops
*^ of our bleakest mountains; where they
*^ breed and bring down their young, when
'^ the cold v/eather sets in.
'^ Most of them, however, migrate and re-
*^ tire to the polar regions; as these that remain
*■' behind in 'the mountains, and keep with U3
*^ during summer, bear no proportion to the
" quantily which in winter haunt our marshes
*^ and low grounds. The snipe sometimes builds
*^ here; and the nest of the curlew is sometime*
" found in the plashes of our hills : but the
^^ number of these is very small; and it is most
'^ probable
NATURAL HISTORY
^^ probable that they are only some stragglers^
^^ who, not having strength or courage suffi-
^' cient for the general voyage, take up from
*^ necessity their habitation here.
" In general, during summer, this whole class
'^ either chuse the coldest countries to retire to,
*^ or the coldest and the moistest part of ours to
*^ breed in. The curlew, the woodcock, the
snipe, the godwit, the grey plover, the green
and the long-legged plover, the knot and the
turn stone, are rather the guests than the na-
^^ tives of this island. Thev visit us in the be-
^^ ginning of winter, and forsake ' us in the
*^ spring. They then retire to the mountains
" of Sweden, Poland, Prussia, and Lapland, to
''^ breed. Our country, during the summer
^^ season, becomes uninhabitable to them. The
*^ ground parched up by the heat; the springs
/^ dried away ; and the vermicular insects al-
^' ready upon the wing ; they have no means of
^^ subsisting. Their weak and delicately pointed
'' bills are unlit to dig into a resisting soil ; and
^' their prey is departed, though they were able
^' to reach its retreats." Thus, that season
*^ when Nature is said to teem with life, and to
" put on her gayest liveries, is to them an in-
" terval of sterility and famine. The coldest
" mountains
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C.
«
mountains of the north are then a preferable
*^ habitation ; the marshes there ^are never to-
^' tally dried up ; and the insects are in such
^^ abundance, that, both above ground and un-
^^ dernealh, the country swarms with them. In
^^ such retreats, therefore, these birds would
*^ continue always, but that the frosts, w^hen
^^ they set in, have the same effect upon the
*' face of the landscape, as the heats of summer.
*' Every brook is stiffened into ice; all the earth
^^ is congealed into one solid mass; and the birds
'^ are obliged to forsake a region where the\^
'* can no longer find subsistence.
*'^ Such are our visitants. With re2:ard to
*^ those which keep with us continually, and
^' breed here, they are neither so delicate in
*^ their food, nor perhaps so warm in their con-
'^ stitutions* The lapwing, the ruff, the red-
^^ shank, the sandpiper, the sea-pie, the Nor-
^^ folk plover, and the sea-lark, breed in this
*^ country, and, for the most part> reside here.
*^ In summer they frequent such marshes as are
'' not dried up in any part of the year ; the
^^ Essex hundreds, and the fens of Lincolnshire.
*' There in solitudes, formed by surrounding
^^ marshes, they breed and bring up their young.
^' In winter they come from their retreats, ren-
voL. HI. C '^ dered
JO NATURAL HISTORV
dered uninJiabitable by the flooding of the
waters; and seek their food about our ditches
and marshy meadow-grounds. Yet even of
this clasSj all arc wanderers upon some occa-
sions ; and take wing to the northern cli-
mates^ to breed and find subsistence. This
happens when our summers are peculiarly
dry; and when the fenny countries are not
sufficiently watered to defend their retreats.
*^ But though this be the usual course of Na-
ture, with respect to these birds, they often
break through the general habits of their
kind ; and as the lapwing, the ruff, and the
sandpiper, are sometimes seen to alter their
manners, and to migrate from hence, instead
of continuing to breed here; so we often find
the wood-cock, the snipe, and the curlew,
reside with us during the whole season, and
breed their young in different parts of the
country* In Casewood, about two miles
from Tunbridge, as Mr. Pennant assures us,
some wood- cocks are seen to breed annually.
The young have been shot there in the be-
ginning of August; and v,erc as healthy and
vigorous as they are with us in winter, though
not so well tasted. On the Alps, and other
high mountains, says Willoughby, the wood-
" cock
OF BIRDS, FISH, ScC. 1 1
cock continues all summer. I myself have
flushed them on the top of Mount Jura,
in June and July. The eggs are long, of
a pale red colour, and stained with deeper
spots and clouds. The nests of the curlew
and the snipe are frequently found ; and some
of these perhaps never entirely leave this
island.
" Thus it appears that the same habits arc in
some measure common to all; but in nestlingf,
and bringing up their young, one method
takes place universally. As they all run and
feed upon the ground, so they are all found
to nestle there. The number of eggs gene-
rally to be seen in every nest is from two to
four; never under, and very seldom exceed-
ing. The nest is made without any art; but
the eggs are either laid in some little depres-
sion of the earth, or on a few bents and long
grass, that scarcely preserves them from the
moisture below. Yet such is the heat of the
body of these birds, that the time of their in-
cubation is shorter than with any other of the
same size. The magpie, for instance, takes
twenty-one days to hatch its young, but the
lapwing takes but fourteen. Whether the
animal oil, with which these birds abound,
C2
S(
gives
iC NATURAL HISTORY
^' gives them this superior warmth, I cannot
'^ tell, but there is no doubt of their quick in-
" cubation.
**" In their sea.sons of courtship, they pair as
*^ other birds; but not without violent contests
'^ between the males, for the choice of the fe-
" male. The lapwing and the plover are often
*^ seen to fight among tl^emselves; but there is
'^ one little bird of this tribe, called the rttff^,
" that has got the epithet of thejig/iter, merely
" from its great perseverance and animosity on
^^ these occasions. In the beginning of spring,
" when these birds arrive among our marshes,
" they are observed to engage with desperate
'^ fury against each other; it is then that the
^' fowlers, seeing them intent on mutual de-
'' struction, spread their nets over them, and
'^ take them in great numbers. Yet even in
'^ captivity their animosity still continues : the
^^ people that fat them up for sale are obliged
'^ to shut them up in close dark rooms ; for
'^ if they let ever so little light in among them,
^' the turbulent prisoners instantly fall to fight-
" ing with each other, and never cease till one
" has killed its antagonist, especially, savs Wil-
" loughby, if any body stands by. A similar
\'. animosity, though in a less degree, prompts
^^all
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. IJ
"'^ all this tribe ; but when they have paired,
^^ and begun to lay, their contentions are then
'' over.
^^ The place these birds chiefly chuse to breed
'^ in, is in some island surrounded with sedgy
^' moors, where men seldom resort; and in such
^^situations'! have often seen the ground so
'^ strewed with eggs and nests, that one could
'^ scarce take a step, without treading upon some
*' of them. As soon as a stranger intrudes upon
^' these retreats, the whole colony is up, end an
^' hundred different screams are heard from
^' every quarter. The arts of the lapwing to
^^ allure men or dogs from her nest are per-
*^ fectly amusing. When she perceives the
*' enemy approaching, she never waits till they
*^ arrive at her nest, but boldlv runs to meet
^^ them : When she has come as near them as
'^ she dares to venture, she then rises with a
" loud screamino' before them, seemino; as if
*^ she were just flushed from hatching ; while
" she is then probably a hundred yards from
" the nest. Thus she flies, wdth great cla-
" mour and anxiety, whining and screaming
^^ round the invaders, striking at them with her
^^ wings, and fluttering as if she were wounded.
^' To add to the deceit, she appears still more
'^ clamorous.
14 NATURAL HISTORY
*' clamorous, as more remote from the nest.
" If she sees them very near, she then seems
'' to be quite unconcerned, and her cries cease,
^^ while her terrors are really augmenting. If
'^ there be dogs, she flies heavily at a little dis-
'' tance before them, as if maimed ; still voci-
^^ ferpus and still bold, but never offering to
*^ move towards the quarter where her treasure
is deposited. The dog pursues, in hopes
every moment of seizing the parent, and by
this means actually loses the young ; for the
" cunning bird, when she has thus drawn him
*^ off to a proper distance, then puts forth her
^^ powers, and leaves her astonished pursuer to
gaze at the rapidity of her flight. The eggs
'^ of all these birds are highly valued by the lux-
urious ; they are boiled hard, and thus served
up, without any further preparation.
As the young of this class are soon hatched,
so, when excluded, they quickly arrive at ma-
turity. They run about after the mother as
'^ soon as they leave the egg; and being covered
'^ with a thick down, want very little of that
'^ clutching which all birds of the poultry kind
'' that follow the mother indispensably require.
'^ They come to their adult state long before
'' winter ; and then flock together, till the
'' '' breeding
a
ee
OF BIRDS, FISH, sfcc. 15
* breeding season returns^ which for a while
^ dissolves their society.
^^ As the flesh of almost all these birds is
' in high estimation, so many methods have
^ been contrived for taking them. That used
' in taking the rnfF seems to be the most ad-
' vantageous; and it may not be amiis to de-
' scribe it. The Ruff, which is the name of
^ the male, the Reeve that of the female, i$
^ taken in nets about forty yards long, and
' seven or eight feet high. These birds are
' chiefly found in Lincolnshire and the Isle
^ of Ely, where they come about the latter
* end of April, and disappear about Michael-
' mas. The male of this bird, which is
^ known from all others of the kind by the
^ great length of the feathers round his neck,
^ is yet so various in his plumage, that, it
^ is said, no two rufts were ever seen totally
' of the same colour. The nets in which
' these are taken, are supported by flicks,
^ at an angle of near forty- five degrees, and
' placed either on dry ground, or in very
' shallovv' water, not remote from reeds :
^ amono; these the fowler conceals himself, till
^ the birds, enticed by a stale or stuffed bird,
^ come under the nets : he then, by pulling
'' a string,
IG NATURAL HISTORY
**" a string, lets them fall, and they are taken ;
'' as are god\vits_, knots, and grey plovers, also
'' in the same manner. When these birds are
^^ brought from under the net, they are not
^^ killed immediately, but fattened for the table,
^^ with bread and milk, henip-seed, and some-
*^ times boiled wheat; but if expedition be
*^ wanted, sugar is added, which will make them
*^ a lump of fat in a fortnight's time.''
Such are the general remarks which apply
to nearly the whole extenfive tribe of birds
that we have now under confideration ; but
though approaching so nearly to each other, in
their habits and manners, many of the princi-
pal ones are nevertheless very different ; to
these, however, are attached a number of affi-
nities and varieties which, by that slow and al-
most imperceptible gradation v/hich is miiver-
versally to be discovered in animated nature,
become so nearly allied, as to defy the most
acute observer to point out w^here the distinctions
begin. We shall therefore proceed to a de-
scription of the heads of each family,, as from
thence may be drawn a perfect idea of the whole
race.
OF BIRDS, risH, Sec. 17
THE CURLEW.
LATHAM enumerates eleven species of this
bird, differing very much in size, the longest
measuring about twenty-five inches, and some-
times wei2:hin2: thirty-six ounces. ' These birds
fly in large flocks, and are well known in most
parts upon the sea-coasts, where, and in the
marshes, they frequent in the winter, feeding
on worms, frogs, and all kinds of marine in-
sects. In April, or the beginning of May, they
retire into the mountainous and unfrequented
parts of the sea-shore, where they breed, and do
not return again till the approach of winter.
There have been som.e who have praised the
flesh of this bird, but in general it is strong,
rank, and fishy. It has a long black bill, much
curved or arched. The middle parts of the fea-
thers on the head, neck, and back, are black ;
the borders or out-sides ash-coloured, with an
VOL. m. E> intermixture
18 NATURAL HISTORY
intermixture of red ; and those between thi
\^'ing3 .ind back are of a most beautiful glossy
blue, and shine like silk. The rump and belly
are white. The feet are divided, but joined by
a little membrane at the root. The tongue is
very short, considering the length of the bill,
and bears some resemblance to an arrow.
The female * is somewhat larger than the
male, which is commonly called the Jack Cur-
lew, and the spots with which her body is co-
vered almost all over, incline more towards a
red colour.
The Slone Curlew differs ver)'' much from
the former. It is a pretty large bird, being from
the extension of the point of each wing a full
yard, and has a straight sharp pointed bill, near-
ly two inches long, black towards the nostrils,
the other parts yellow; the eyes and the edges
of their lids are yellow ; there is a bare place
under each eye, that appears of a sort of yel-
lowish green ; the breast, thighs, and under the
chin, are of a yellowish white, the back, head,
and neck, are in the middle parts black, with
their ■ borders of a sort of reddish-ash colour,
* There is but lltde (llfkrf nee between the male and
female, only that the latter is sornewljat smiiller.
with
or itiuDs, risn, &c. 19
with some transverse spots of white upon the
quill feathers, and the outward surface black ;
some of the other wing feathers are tipt with
white^ so that they appcarof a fine mixture of
black and white, prettily mottled. The tail is
about six inches long:, the colours vaj-icoated
like those of the body and wincrs. The leo^ arc
long, and of a yellowish colour, with small
black claws; it has only three fore toes, which
are joined together by a little membrane ; but
has not any back toe at all.
They are found in Norfolk, and several other
counties in England, and have a cry that very .
much resembles that of the green plover; they
breed very late in the year, insomuch that the
young ones have been found in the latter end
of October, scarce able to fly; they run very
swiftly, and will often stop, and stand without
any motion of any part of their bodies.
The Barker may not be improperly placed
here, as it partakes in a great measure of the
characteristics of the curlew family, if it do not
in reality belongs to it. This bird measures from
the point of the bill to the end of the tail, near
two feet, and from the point of each wing when
extended upwards of three. The head and part
of the neck is of a cinereous, or brown colour,
P 'Z interspersed.
to NATUKAL HISTOKY
Interspersed with small black spots; the back,
and both the covert and scapular feathers of the
wings, of a reddish brown, with white edges
and tips : the quill feathers black, with their
outward edges white. The under part of the
body is of a dusky white tinctured with yellow.
The tail is composed of dusky brown feathers,
striped regularly with white on both the webs.
The legs and feet are brown, tinctured with a
dusky yellow, and greenish gloss.
They generally feed on the salt marshes, not
far from the sea, and are so timorous that they
will very rarely admit a man to come near
them, usually seeking their food in the night as
other nocturnal birds do. They are said to make
a noise like the barking of a dog, whence they
are supposed to take the n^ime of Barker, though,
according to Ray, this appears to be the bird
described by Belon by the name of Berge, and
that which the French call Petit Corlicuy which
they esteem a very great delicacy.
OF BIRDS, PISH, Sic.
THE WOODCOCK.
THIS, commonly termed the Snipe genus,
is reckoned to include thirty species, of which
the woodcock is considered as the head. This
bird is not quite so large as the partridge, being
from the point of each wing when extended
about two feet, and weighing about eleven and
sometimes twelve ounces; the bill is straight,
and about three inches long, the upper part
falling a little over the under at the tip end; the
back, and all the under parts of the body par-
take of a great variety of colours; the back
part of the head inclines to black, with little
cross bars that appear like a sort of shell work ;
and between the eye and the bill, a black line
on each side; nearer to the bill, it is more
reddish, the whole beautifully variegated with
red, black, grey, and ash-colour, which viewed
together makes a very delightful appearance ;
the breast and belly arc more grey, with a va-
riety
t'2 NATURAL HISTORY
ricty of transverse pale and brown lines. The
sides of the wings are crossed with various red
bars, like those on the head, and a few pale
or whiter feathers, interspersed upon each; the
under parts of the wings are a mixture of grey
and brown, with a variety of crossed or waved
lines. The tail is about three inches long, the
upper part of the tips cinereous or brown/ the
under white, which when it raises its tail,, as it
frequently does while feeding, is often disco-
vered by those feathers. The legs and feet are
of a dusky pale colour; and the claws, which
are very small, black.
They frequent woods, and woody places,
where there is rivulets and springs ; and are
very often found on the sides of banks, near
watery ditches, and in small brambles and co-
verts: here they feed amongst slime and earth,
whence Mr. Willoughby says they draw small
shell fish, worms, and other insects : but Mr.
Durham more justly observes, that they feed
chiefly on the fatty unctuous humour that they
suck out of the earth, for which purpose he says
they have remarkable nerves reaching to the end
of their bills.
They are birds of passage that come into
England in the autumn, and leave us in the
spring.
OF BIRDS, FISH, hc. 23
spring, but are said to pair before they go.
Notwithstanding the various conjectures of au-
thors, it is not certainly known from what
parts of the world they come, or whither
they go; they are generally observed to come
and go in foggy weather, and some of them
that by accident have been left here during the
summer, have been known to breed here, and
are said to lay long pale red eggs, deeply stained
with spots and clouds.
The Godwit is about sixteen inches in length,
and weighs from ten to twelve ounces; its bill
is nearly as long as that of the woodcock, of a
paleish red towards the base, and black at the
point, the upper mandible something longer
than the lower, the tongue sharp, and the ears
open and large.
The feathers upon the head are of a light
brown or reddish colour, with their middle parts
black ; but about the eyes of a more pale or
yellowish tincture : the neck and breast are
pretty much of the same colour with the head,
only interspersed with transversal black hnes,
edged with a pale yellow.
The large wing feathers arc black, the shafts
white, with a broad bar of white running along
liie middle of the three lirsl feathers ; the rest
of
24 .NATURAL HISTORY
of the row, and those also of the next have
reddish ash-coloured edges and tips ; the lesser
covert feathers are of the same colour as the
body. The tail feathers are alternately crossed
with black and white lines. The legs of a
dusky greenish colour, and the claws black.
They feed by the sea- side upon sandy shores ;
where they are frequently seen walking up and
down like the gull. The throat and neck of
the hen are grey, and the rump white, speckled
or powd'^red with blackish spots. They are
in some places called the Stone Plover.
The Green- shank is not so common as the
god wit ; it is about fourteen jjpches in length ;
the bill two inches and a half long. The plu-
mage oil the upper parts is a brown ash-colour;
on the lower parts white : and it has a broad
white stroke extending from the bill to the eye:
the legs are green, whence it takes its name.
It has the same manners and character as the
godwit, and has also a white line over the eye :
but it does not weigh more than lialf as much.
The Red-shank weighs about fivo, ounces
and a half, and is twelve inches long. The
bill is two inches, red at the base, and black
towards the point. The head, neck, and sca-
pulars, are dusky ash-colour, obscurely spotted
with
nOTERTT UBRART
fi. C. State College
Of BltlDS^ PiStt, &C. 25
\vith black: the back is white, spotted with
black ; the breast is white, streaked with dusky
lines. When its nest is in danger, it makes a
noise somewhat siniilar to that of the lapwing.
• The Snipe is from the point of the bill to the
end of the tail about twelve inches, and from
'the point of each wing when extended about
fifteen or sixteen ; the head is divided by a pale
and red line, which runs longways, parallel to
which on each side is a black line, and over the
eves there runs another line pretty much of the
sam-e colour as that oil the middle of the head ;
it has a white place under the bill. The fea-
thers that spring from the shoulders are so long
that they reach almost as far as the end of the
tail, the outward half from the shaft being of a
pale red. The colours thus exceeding each
other make two lines down the back, the co-
vert Feathers of which are dusky vv^ith white
transverse lines, and white tips on some of the
large wing feathers, the lesser feathers being of
a mixed colour of red, black arid grey, beauti-
fully variegated with white and brown lines ;
the tail feathers are more red, with black lines
running across them. The bill is black at the
tip, and nearly three inches long ; the tongue
is sharp; the eyes of » hazel colour. The legs
▼OL. nu E are
«i5 NATURAL HtSTOllY .
are of a pale greenish colour, the toes pretty-
long, and the talons black.
The flesh is exceedingly good, sweet and
tender ; it feeds on worms and other insects^
and upon the fat unctuous humour that it sucki
out of the earth.
They build in moors and marshes, laying
four or five eggs ; they generally leave us in
the summer time, and go into other countries,
as other birds of passage; but some are said to
abide all the summer in marshy places, where
they likewise breed. They feed in drains of
water springs, and other fenny places.
The Sandpiper genus includes at least forty
varieties, and among them are the Huff, the
Knoty the PurrOf the Turnstone, ih^" Dunlin^
and the Lapwing* The Sandpiper itself is a
small bird, seldom exceding the size of a thrush,
at least in England, and some of them are no t
bigger than a sparrow. In the milder climates
there are larger species, such as the green, the
spotted, the red, imd^xho, gambel sandpipers, manv
of v/hich have been seen as large as a pi-
geon. That with which we are most acquaint-
ed, weighs about two ounces ; it has a brown
liead streaked witli black, the back and coverts
brov.n, mixed with a glossy green, and the breast
and
T/uJiujf.
2.tifiiii/i(/ _
OF BIIIDS^ FISH, Sec. 27
md belly quite white. The whole of this tribe
have a shrill pipe, or whistle, from which they
derive their name, and which they constantly
make use of.
The rw^ is the, least known, its race being
confined to the north of Europe during the
summer, and in England onlv visitins; certain
parts, viz. Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely, and
the adjacent parts of Yorkshire, in the spring.
The male, which is called the ruff, from the
remarkable bunch of feathers which surrounds
its neck just below the head, is so various in its
plumage, that it is not easily described ; the
ground is, however, mostly brown. The fe-
male, which is called the reeve, is less than the
ruff, md has her plumage more of a uniform
brown. This bird is so noted for its conten-
tious spirit, that it has obtained the epithet of
ihtjighter. In the beginning of spring, when
these birds arrive among our marshes, they are
observed to engage, with desperate fury, as:ainst
each other. It is then that the fowlers, seeing
them intent on mutual destruction, spread their
nets over them, and take them in great num-
bers ; yet, even in captivity, their animosity
still continues. The people that fatten them
up for sale, are obliged to shut them up in close
"E 2 dark
^^ NATURAL HISTORY
.dark rooms ; for if they let ever so little light in
among thera, the turbulent prisoners instantly
fall to fighting each other, and never cease till
each has killed his antagonist, especially, says
Willoughby, if any body stands by. A similar
animosity, though in a less degree, prompts all
this tribe ; but when they have paired, and be-
gun to lay, their contentions are then over.
The Knot is three inches less than the ruff,
measuring not more than nine inches, and
weighing only four ounces and a half. The
head and neck are asb colour, the back and
scapulars brown, with a white bar on the wings.
They frequent the coasts of Lincolnshire from
August to November, and, when fattened, are
preferred by some to the ruffs themselves.
The Purroy or Stint ^ weighs only an ounce
and a half, and is in length seven inches. A
white stroke divides the bill and eyes. The
upper parts of the plumage are brownish ash-
colour, the breast and belly white, as are the
lower parts of the quill feathers. These birds
come in vast flocks on our sea-coasts in winter,
and in their flight observe uncommon regu-
larity, appearing like a white or. dusky cloud.
They were formerly a frequent dish at our ta-
bles, and known by the name of stints.
■' '" ' . The
OF »1RI>S, F13H^ Sec. ^^
The Turnstone is about the size of a thrush.
The bill is nearly an inch long, and turns a lit-
tle upwards. The head, throat, and belly, are
white, the breast black, and the neck encircled
with a black colour. The upper parts of the
plumage are of a pale reddish brown. These
birds take their name from their method of fmd-
hio- their food, which is by turning up small
stones with their bills, to get at the insects
which lurk under them.
The Dunlin is the size of a jack snipe. The
upper parts of the plumage are ferruginous,
marked with large spots of black, and a little
white ; the lower parts are white, with dusky
streaks. It is found in all the northern parts
of Europe.
The Lapwing is about the size of a com-
mon pigeon, and is covered very thick with
plumes which are black at the roots, but of a
different colour on the outward part. The
feathers on the belly, thighs, and under the
wings, are most of them white as snow; and
the under part on the outside of the w^ing- is
white, but black lowrr.
It has a great liver divided into two parts ;
and, as some authors affirm, no crall.
They make a great noise with their wings in
flying ;
so NATURAL HlSTOllY
flying; and are called pee-wits in the North dt
England and throughout Scotland, from their
particular cry.
They build their nest on the ground in the
middle of some heath or field, open and exposed
to view, laying only a few straws or bents under
the eggs, which are commonly about four or
five in number, and so like the ground they lie
on in colour, that it is not easy to find them,
notwithstanding they lie so open ; for they arc
of a dirty yellow, speckled all over with large
black spots and strokes. The young ones arc
covered with a thick down, and immediately
forsake the nest as soon as hatched ; runninir
away with the shells upon their back, and foU
lowing the old ones like chickens.
It is said of this bird, that the further vou are
from her nest, the more clamorous she is, and
that the nearer you are to it, the less concerned
she appears, going quietly before you, that she
may draw you from the true place, and induce
you to believe it is v/here it is not.
They arc found in most countries in Europe ;
and are accounted very delicate eating, the flesh
being tender and well -tasted.
The Green Plover is much about the same
size, and has a short, round, black bill, sharp
at
Ploia--
FIG.
Wu/er Sen .
Coot.
OF BIRDS, FISH, ^C. Jl
*it the end, and a little hooked. The tongue^
which fills all the lower chap of the bill, is tri-
angular at the tip, horny underneath, and turns
s. little up. The. feathers of the back and wings
are black, thick -set with transverse spots of a
yellowish green colour ; the breast is brown,
spotted with yellowish green ; and the belly
white. It has no hind claw or spur.
They are found in France^ Switzerland,
Italy, and in most counties of England ; in all
which places they are esteemed a choice dish,
their flesh being very tender, and of an exceed-
ingly agreeable flavour..
They feed chiefly upon worms ; though
some authors have affirmed they live, like the
grasshopper, upon nothing but dew, their in-
testine being almost always found empty.
This bird was called Paradalis by the an-
cients, from its beautiful spots, which some-
v,'hat resemble those of the leopard.
There are few gentlemen that delight in
gardens, but know how necessary and useful
the lapwing and plover are, for the destroying
of worms, snails, caterpillars, and such other
insects as generally intest those places ; and it
is very common to leave the care of that part of
tlie gardener's office to a few of these pretty-
creatures.
at NATURAL HI3T0BY
creatures^ after pulling the large feathers from
their wings to prevent their flying abroad.
The Grei/ Plover is about the bigness of the
former; but the bill is somewhat longer and
thicker, and it has a very small hind claw or
spur. The head, back, and lesser feathers of
the wings, are black, with tips of a greenish
grey. The breast, belly, and thighs, are white,
48 are also the feathers under the bill ; and the
throat is spotted with brown or dusky spots.
71ie tail is very short, insomuch that the wings
exceed it in length.
Their iiesh is very tender and delicate, and
no less esteemed than that of the former.
; The Rin^ftd Plover is seven inches and a half
long, though it only weighs two ounces ; the
bill is half an inch long, an<l from it to the eyes
puns a black line. The upper part of the neck
i« encircled with a white collar^ the lower part
with a black one. The back and vvings are
light brown, the breast and belly are white,
the legs yellow. They frequent our shores in
summer, and are sometimes known by the
name of the sea lark.
The Long-legged Plover is a singular bird.
Though inferior in size to the green plover, it
nit:isures nearly a foot arid a half when stand-
ing
or BIRDS, FISH, Sec. » 35
-hig erectj on which account it has been called
the red-legged crane. The head, back, and
wings are of a glossy black, the run^p and belly
white. It is found in most quarters of the
world, bat is very uncommon in England.
The jOa^/e/d/ is about ten inches in leno-th,
and weighs four ounces. The bill is shorter
, than that of any of this genus, being only an
inch long. The head is black, spotted with
.white, and a white stroke runs under each eye,
;meeting behind. The upper parts of the plu-
mage are greyish brown margined with a dull
deep yellow. The breast is a dull orange, and
across it is a streak of white, margined above
with black. The colours of the female are less
vivid. It is esteemed a very foolish bird ; and
is said to mimic the actions of the fowler,
stretching out a wing when he . stretches out an
arm, 8vc. regardless of the net which is spread-
ing over it. They appear in England in small
flocks from April to September.
The Frigate^ or Man of IV ar Bird, is so call-
ed because of the swiftness of his flight, and
his large and spreading wings; he is found in
several of the Caribbee Islands, and is said to
4]y sometimes a hundred leagues from land, but
not often ; they are commonly seen hovering
voiw III. F about
54 KATUKAL HIStORY
about the coasts of some of the above-mention-
ed islands for their prey, which is chiefly the
flying fish, and are a token by which the sailors
know what part of the world they are in. The
body of this bird is about the size of a pheasant ;
his breast very fleshy, and his tail forked ; his
wings, when shut up to his body, are so long
that they reach down to the end of the tail,
like a swallow's; the cock is quite black, the
hen is of a dirty lead colour, the neck is long,
and the head small, with two great black eyes ;
the sight very piercing ; the claws are short,
and divided like the vulture's ; the beak is thick^
and black, about six inches long, the upper
part hooking over the under.
This bird seems to be a species of the Alca-
traci, only with this difference, the one fre-
quents the East, and the other the West Indies :
he has a great red comb, or rather wattle, hang-
ing under his throat like a cock's, which does
not appear in the young till they are full grown;
the females have none : there is no difficulty in
taking them when they sit on the ground,
or in their nest, on account of the length of
their wings, which hinders them from rising
hastily, so that they may be beaten down with
long sticks. The oil or fat of this bird is ac-
counted
OF BIRDS, FISH, ScC. 35
counted a sovereign remedy for several disor-
ders proceeding from cold, and is in great
esteem all over the Indies. It is a sea fowl,
but its feet are not webbed as the East Indian
ones are.
A Portuguese traveller describes a bird which
he frequently saw at Brazil, which they call the
caripira, otherwise the. forked-tail y the tail be-
ing divided in the middle. The fat or oil of this
bird he says is good against a looseness, and the
feathers serve the Indians for their arrows : and
that they arc certain fore-runners of the arriv-^al
of the ships, it very seldom failing that, some
days after they are seen, the ships arrive in the
ports. This, by the description he gives, seems
to be the bird before described ; but it is
the misfortune of a great many travellers not
only to mistake the different species, by some
little variations that appear either in colour or
size of the birds in climates a considerable dis-
tance from each other, but to give us their de-
scription in such terms, as are very often diffi-
cult to be understood.
The Sea-Lark is a small bird that does not
weigh more than two ounces; its bill is short
in comparison with other water-fowls : the
upper part of it is encompassed with a black
F 2 line.
36 NATURAi: HISTORY
line, which spreads itself round the ^e's, arid
passes across the middle of the head, where it
encircles a fillet or broad bed of w'hit'^i, v^hi-ih-
runs from the inner comer of one eye" to th^
other; the under part of the throat is vvhitef,
and round the neck there runs a fine collar, or
double ring, the upper part of which is white-y
the lower part pretty broad and black ; tl^ re^t'
of the body is of a dark ash colour, except the
breast and belly, which are white. The legs
itid feet are of an orange colour, the claws
black, the tail about two inches long.
It builds its nest of grass, straw,- and Stalks
of plants, upon the sea rocks, where it kys
greenish-coloured eggs, with brown spots upon
them. It commonly makes but short flights,
but runs exceedingly swift upon the shores^,
continuing singing, and crying as it flies. It is
common upon most of the sea coasts in Eng-
land, and upon the banks of rivers, and is said
to feed upon beetles and small insects.
The flesh is said by Aristotle^ ^lian, He-
liodorus, and others, to be a certain cure for
the jaundice; and some authors have not scru-
pled to affirm, that the bare looking upon this
bird is a present remedy for that distemper.
This,
OF BIRDS, FISH^ &C. 37
This, together with its property of hiding,
itself all day, and only flying abroad in the
night, gave rise to the proverb — like a sea-lark,
applied to such persons as enviously concealed
any thing, the knowledge oi which might be
of public use or benefit.
The Hater Rail, or Ouzle, weighs about
four ounces and a half; it is larger than a
quail, anid resembles the water hen; the body
is very slender, the head is small and narrow,
the bill is straight, and about two inches long,
resembhng that of the ruff; the lower man-
dible is red, as is some part of the upper, but
black and smooth towards the top ; the tongue
is white and rough, and extends itself quite to
the end of the bill. It has a naked skin, with
a sort of bald black spot in the forehead, but
very small. The upper part of the body is va-
riegated with black, dark brown, and a fine
olive colour; the middle part of almost every
single feather being black, with olive-coloured
edges. Under the bill upon the throat, it is
white; the other part of the neck red, with an
ash-coloured mixture, the outmost edges, which
appear like fringes of feathers, being more of
a greyish colour; the breast is inclined to a
blue, with some white feathers about the mid-
dle:
38 KATURAL HISTORY
die; on the sides of the body^ and upon the
thighs, are black feathers elegantly variegated
with white transverse line.s. The tail is about
two inches long, the upper part of a brown
colour, with some white feathers on the under
part. The legs and feet are strong, and of a
reddish brown. It hides itself about the banks
of rivers, and will occasionally run very swift ;
it seems rather to walk than swim in the wa-
ter, and flies with its feet hanging down almost
straight.
OF BlRDSj FISH, ScC. SQ
OF THE WATER-HEN, AND ITS AFFINITIES.
THIS race is considered by naturalists as the
tribe which unites the web-footed kind with
those of the crane species; for although they
have long legs and necks like the latter, yet by
beins; furnished with a slioht membrane be-
tween their toes^ they are enabled to swim like
the former: the principal of them are the Gal'
limde, or JVater-Heri) and the Coots; these,
though placed in different classes by those w-ho
are fond of nice distinctions, we had almost
said, perfectly resemble each other in figure,
feathers, and habits; they both have long legs,
v.ith thighs almost bare of hair or feathers ;
their necks are rather long in proportion; their
wings short, as is their bills, which are very
weak; their general colour black, and their
forehead bald and without feathers. Such are
their
40 NATURAL HISTOIIY
their similarities; and their slight differences are^
first, in size, the water-hen weighing but fifteen
ounces, and the coot twenty- four. The bald part
of the forehead in the coot is black, in the water-
hen it is of a pink colour. The toes of the
water-hen are edged with a straight membrane ;
those of the coot have.it scoUoped and broader.
In shape and figure their differences are very
trifling, and, if .possible, in their manner of
living, still less; therefore the history of one
will serve fbr -both. As birds of; the crane kind
arc furnished with long wings, and easily change
place, the water- hen, whose wings are short,
is obliged to reside entirely near those places
where her food lies : she cannot take those long
journies that most of the crane-kind are seen to
perform; compelled by her natural imperfec-
tions, as well perhaps as by inclination, she
never leaves the side of the pond or the river in
which she seeks for provision. Where the
stream is- selvaged with ^dges, or the pond
edged with shrubby trees, the water-hen is ge-
nerally a resident; she seeks her food along the
grassy banks, and often along the surface -of
the water. And it has been judiciously re-
marked by Goldsmith, that *' with Shake-
*' spear's Edgar, she drinks the green mantle of
'<■ the
or BIRDS, FISH, &C. 41
^' the standing pool ; or, at least, seems to pre-
" fer those places where it is seen. Whether
*^ she makes pond weed her food, or hunts
*^ among it for water insects, which are found
'^ there in great abundance, is not certain;
*^ but I have seen them when pond weed was
*^ taken out of their stomach." She builds her
nesi, which consists of sticks and fibres, upon
low trees and shrubs, by the water side. Her
eggs are sharp at one end, white, with a tincture
of green spotted with red. She lays twice or
thrice in a summer : her young ones swim the
moment they leave the egg, pursue their parent,
and imitate all her manners. She rears, in this
manner, two or three broods in a season ; and
when the young are grown up she drives them
off to shift for themselves.
As the coot is a large bird, it is always seen
in larger streams, and more remote from man-
kind. The water hen seems to prefer irihabited
situations : she keeps near ponds, motes, and
pools of water near gentlemen's houses 3 . but
the coot keeps in rivers, and among rushy-
margined lakes. It there makes a nest of such
weeds as the stream supplies, and lays them
among the reeds, floating on the surface, and
rising and falling with the water. The reeds
VOL. III. G amoncr
C3
A^ NATtlRAL HISTORY
ftmong which it is bmlt keep it fa«t, so that it
is seldom washed in the middk of the stream*
Biat if this liappen, which is sometimes the
case, the bird sits in her n€st, like a mariner in
hijs boat, and steers with her legs her cargo into
the nearest harbour ; there, having attained her
port, she continues to sit in great tranquilUty,
regardless of the force of the current, and, though
the water penetrates her nest, she hatches her
•eggs in that wet condition.
The water hen never wanders, but the coot
sometimes swims down the current till it even
reaches the sea. In this voyage these birds en-
•counter a tbotisand Uajagers : as tliey cannot fly
far, they are {luated by dogs and men ; as they
neyer leave the stream, they are attacked and
destroyed by otters ; they are preyed upon by
kit«s and falcons; and they are taker, in still
greater numbers, in weirs made for catching
fish ; for these birds are led into the nets while
pjjrsuing small fish and insects, which are their
principal food ; and in this instance it has been
■ observed, that *^ animated nature affords a pic-
*^ iiut of universal invasion ! Man destroys the
'' otter, the otter destroys the coot, the coot
*^ feeds u{K>n fish, dnd fish are universally the
^^ tyrants of ea^'b other."
The
ov »fRDs, riSH^ &c. 43
The Olive J Sea-pipe, or Oj^Ur -catcher, is a
bird very common on the western shores ajwi
sea coasts of South Wales. It generally weigiiA
about half a pound : its bill is of an orange co-
lour, and about two inches and a half long,
endmg in a sharp point, the upper part being a
little longer than the under; the eyes and th&
edges of their lids are of a fine red ; the quiil.
feathers, head, and all the upper parts of tha
body down to the middle of the breast, are blacky
except a crescent of white whlcla runs alon^
the throat ; the belly^ rump, jwid most of the»
covert feathers, are white; the lower pact o£
the tail is white, but the tips of the tail feathem
are all entirely black ; the legs and the feet are
of a yellowish red, and tlie middle and oater-
most toes are united by a slight kind of mem-
brane. This bird has been called sea-pipe, eu-
tirely from living on the sea shores, and its co-
lours being so suddenly contrasted from black
to white ; and oyster-cateher, from the facility
with which it takes that fish : for this purpose,
whenever it comes near a parcel of them,, it
patiently watches round until one opens >ts<
shells,, which is instantly perceived by the birdy
who with amazing quickness thrusts in its
beak, and almost instantaneously separates, tlie
G C oyster
44 NATURAL HISTORY
oyster therefrom : besides oysters, it feeds upon
limpets, and almost all kinds of shell fish ; but,
notwithstai^iding they make the principal part
of its food, its flesh is rank and very ill fla-
voured.
Of the Phalaropc there are three varieties ;
the common one perfectly resembles the sand-
piper, except the scolloped membranes on the
toes : they are small birds, scarcely ever weigh-
ing above an ounce. The grey phalarope has
the upper parts of the plumage ash -coloured,
varied a little with brown and white, and the
breast and belly white. The red phalarope only
differs from the former, in having the upper
parts of the plumage of a deep lead colour, strip-
ed with a dusky yellow, and the under parts of
a dusky red. They are not a very common
bird, but are sometimes found in the marshy
parts of the country.
To these birds, with long legs and flnny
toes, we will add one species more, with short
legs and finny toes ; namely, the Grebe, whose
appetites and manners, it is true, are similar to
those of the web-footed class, but it resembles
those above described in the peculiar form of
its toes, and also bears some similitude in its
manners.
The
OF JRIRDS, FISH, &C. 4.5
The Grebe is larger than either of the former,
and its phimage is white and black ; it differs
also in the shortness of its legs, which are made
for swimming, and not walking ; in fact, they
are, from the knee upward, hid in the belly of
the bird, and have consequently very little mo-
tion. By this mark, and by the scolloped fringe
of the toes, this bird may be easily distinguish-
ed from all others.
As they are thus, from the shortness of their
wings, ill formed for flying, and, from the un-
common shortness of their legs, utterly unfit-
ted for walking, they seldom leave the water,
but usually frequent those broad shallow pools
where the faculty of swimming can be turned to
the greatest advantage, in fishing and seeking
their prey.
They are chiefly, in this country, seen to
frequent the meres of Shropshire and Cheshire,
where they breed among reeds and flags, in a
floating nest, kept steady by the weeds of the
margin. The female is said to be a careful
nurse of its young, being observed to feed them
most assiduously with small eels ; and when the
little brood is tired, the mother will carry them
either on her back or under her wings. This
bird preys upon fish, and is almost perpetually
diving.
46 NATURAL HISTORY
divinsT. It does not shew much more than the
head above water: it is very difficult to be shot,
' as it darts down on the appearance of the least
danger. It is never seen on land, and, though
disturbed ever so often, will not leave that lake
where, alone, by diving and swimming it can
find food and security. It is chiefly sought,
for the skin of the breast, the plumage of which
is of a most beautiful silvery white, and as glos-
sy as satin. This part is made into tippets, but
the skins are out of season about February,
losing their bright colour; and in breeding time
their breasts are entirely bare.
There are a great number of varieties of the
grebe enumerated, but the most beautiful is the
eared grebe, which is a native of Siberia, It is
about the size of a teal, and is distinguished by
a tuh of orange- coloured feathers, which shoot*
out from the side of each eye.
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 47
OF THE WEB-FOOTED FOWL IN GENERAL.
IT has been frequently observed, that,
throughout the whole race of birds, one tribe
encroached so nearly upon the nature and ha-
bitudes of another, that it was not easy to draw
the line which kept them asunder ; but in those
which are properly called water fowl. Nature
h4S marked them with a variety of indelible cha-
racters.
The first great distinction in this class ap-
pears in the toes, which are webbed together
for swimming. Those who have remarked the
feet or toes of a duck, will easily conceive how
admirably they are formed for making way in
the water. When men swim, they do not open
the fingers, so as to let. the fluid pass through
them, but, closing them together, present
one brpad surface to beat back the water, and
thus
48 NATURAL HISTORY
thus push their bodies along. What man per-
forms by art, Nature has supplied to water
fowl 5 and, by broad skins, has webbed their
"toes together, so that they expand two broad
oars to the water, and thus, moving them al-
ternately, with the greatest ease paddle along.
We must observe, also, that the toes are so con-
trived., that, as they strike backward, their
broadest hollow surface beats the water ; but, as
they gather them in again for a second blow,
.their front surface contracts, and does not im^
pede the bird's progressive motion.
As their toes are webbed in the most conve-
nient manner, so are their legs also made most
fitly for swift progression in the water. The
legs of all are short, except three, namely,
the flamingo, the avosetta, and the corrira. —
Except these, all web-footed birds have very
short legs, and these strike while they swim
with great facility. Were the leg long, it
would act like a lever whose prop is placed to a
disadvantage; its ii^otions would be slow, and
the labour of moving considerable. For this
reason, the very few birds whose webbed feet
are long never make use of them in swimming :
the web at the bottom seems only of service as a
broad base, to prevent them from sinking while
they
or BIRDS, FISH, Jce. 49
they walk in the mud; but it otherwise rather
retards than advances their motion.
The shortness of the legs in the web-footed
species renders them as unfit for walking on
land, as it qualifies them for swimming in their
natural element. Their stay, therefore, upon the
former is but short and transitoiy; and they sel-
dom venture to breed far from the sides of those
waters where they usually remain. In their
breeding seasons, their young are brought up
by the water- side; and they are covered with
a warm down, to fit them for the coldness of
their situation. The old ones also have a closer,
warmer plumage, than birds of any other class.
It is of their feathers that our beds are com-
posed ; as they neither mat nor imbibe humi-
dity, but are furnished with an animal oil that
glazes their surface, and keeps them separate.
In some, however, this animal oil is in too
great abundance ; and is as offensive from its
smell as it is serviceable for the purposes of
liousehold Economy. The feathers, therefore,
of all the penguin kind, are totally useless for do-
mestic purposes; as neither boiling nor bleach-
ing can divest them of their oily rancidity. In-
deed, the rancidity of all new feathers, of what-
ever water fowl they be, is so disgusting, that
VOL. III. JI our
50 NATURAL HISTORY
our upholsterers give nearly double the price for
old feathers that they afford for new : to be free
from smell, they must all be lain upon for some
time j and their usual method is to mix the new
and the old together.
The quantity of oil with which most water
fowl are supplied, contributes also to their warmth
in the moist element where they reside. Their
skin is generally lined with fat 3 so that, with
the warmth of the feathers externally, and this
natural lining internally, they are better de-
fended against the changes or the inclemencies
of the weather than any other class whatever.
As, among land birds, there are some that
are found fitted entirely for depredation, and
others for a harmless method of subsisting upon
vegetables, so also among these birds there are
tribes of plunderers, that prey, not only upon
fi?h, but sometimes upon water fowls them-
selves. There are likewise more inoffensive
tiibcs that live upon insects and vegetables only.
Some water fowls subsist by making sudden
stoops from above, to seize whatever fish comes
near the surface; others again, not furnished
with wings long enough to fit them for flight,
take their prey by diving after it to the bottom.
Hence
or IJIUDS, FisH^ Sec. 51
Hence naturalists unifbrmly observe, that all
^ water fowl naturally fall into three distinc-
' tions. Those of the Gull kind, that, with
' long legs and round bills, fly along the sur-
^ face to seize their prey. Those of the pen-
' guin kind, that, with round bills, legs hid
^ in the abdomen, and short wings, dive after
^ their prey: and thirdly, those of the Goose
^ kind, with flat broad bills, that lead harm-
^ less lives, and chiefly subsist upon msects and
^ vegetablos.'"
These distinctions are strongly and evidently
marked by Nature. The gull kind are active
and rapacious ; constantly, except when they
breed, keeping upon the wing; fitted for a life
of rapine, with sharp straight bills for piercing,
or hooked at the end for holding their fishy
prey. In this class we may rank the albatross,
the cormorant, the gannet or solan goose, the
shag, the great brown gull, and all the lesser
tribe of gulls.
The Penguin kind, with appetites as vora-
cious, bills as sharp, and equally eager for
prey, are yet unqualified to obtain it by flight.
Their wings are short, and their bodies large
and heavy, so that they can neither run nor
flv. But thev are formed for divino- in a very
H 2 peculiar
52 NATURAL HISTORY
peculiar manner. Their feet are placed so far
backward, and their legs so hidden in the abdo-
men, that the slightest stroke sends them head
foremost to the bottom of the water. To this
class we may refer the penguin, the hawk, the
skout, the sea-turtle, the bottle-nose, and the
loon.
The Goose kind are distinguishable by their
flat broad bills, covered with a skin j and their
manner of feeding, which is mostly upon vege-
tables. In this class we may place the swan, the
goose, the duck, the teal, the widgeon, and all
their numerous varieties.
Such are the general peculiarities that belong
to each of these tribes, of which, as well as of
their distinctive ones, we shall have occasion to
speak more fully when we come to treat of them
individually.
^"
—
^^---i
^j^
_ll_l
-^"^^^S
^^^I^^M
^mS
^'^■■1
. '^^^^SIk^^^^
IB^H
^^^^
^^^■■P^^^^:^^ »|^^B
^^
^
^^B
iK^'3
^^^^^^^^PH^^^^^M
FI0.83.
ThcFthcan.
Fi0.3-t.
OF IlIRDS, FISH^ See. 53
OF THE PELICAN.
AS this bird has not only to boast a pre-emi-
nence in size, but possesses a singularity of con-
formation peculiar to itself, it necessarily has
a claim to take the lead in that species to which
it seems to be most nearly allied, although it
cannot be said absolutely to belong to it.
The Pelican of Africa is much larger in the
body than a swan, and somewhat of the same
shape and colour. Its four toes are all webbed
together; and its neck in some measure re-
sembles that of a swan: but the singularity in
which it differs from all other birds is in the bill
and the great pouch underneath, which are won-
derful, and demand a distinct description. This
enormous bill is fifteen inches from the point to
the opening of the mouth, which is a consider-
able distance behind the eyes* At the base,
the
54 NATURAL HISTORY
the bill is somewhat greenish, but varies to-
wards, the end, being of a reddish blue. It
is rather thick in the beginning, but tapers
off to the end, where it hooks downwards.
The under chap is still more extraordinary,
for to the lower edges of it hang a bag, reach-
ing the whole length of the bill to the neck,
which is said to be capable, in some, of con-
taining fifteen quarts of water. This bag the
bird has a power of wrinkling up into the
hollow of the under chap, but by opening the
bill, and putting one's hand down into the bag,
it may be distended at pleasure. The skin of
which it is formed will then be seen of a bluish
ash-colour, with many fibres and veins running
over its surface. It is not covered with fea-
thers, but with a short downy substance as
smooth and as soft as satin, and is attached
all along the under edges of the chap, fixed
backward to the neck of the bird by proper li-
jraments, and reaches nearly half way down.
When this bag is empty, it is not seen; but
when the bird has fished with success, it is then
incredible to what an extent it is often dilated.
For the first thing the pelican does in fish-
ing is to fill up the bag; and then it returns to
digest its burthen at leisure. When the bill
is
OF BIRDS, FISH, tk-C. 5"»
is opened to its widest extent, a person may
run his head into the bird's mouth, and con-
ceal it in this monstrous pouch, thus adapted
for very singular purposes. Yet this is nothing
to what Ruysch has affinned, viz. that a man
has been seen to hide his whole leg, boot and
all, in the monstrous jaw of one of these ani-
mals. At first appearance this would seem
impossible, as the sides of the under chap, from
which the bag depends, are not above an inch
asunder when the bird's bill is first opened ; but
then they are capable of great separation ; and
which must necessarily be the case, as the bird
preys upon the largest fish, and hides them by
dozens in its pouch. Father Tertre afBrms,
that it will hide as many fish as will serve sixty
hungry men for a meal.
This extraordinary bird is a native of Africa
and America. It was once known in Europe,
particularly in Russia, but it seems of late to
have deserted these parts entirely. This is the
bird of which so many fabulous accounts have
been propagated; such as its feeding its young
with its own blood, and its carrying a provi-
sion of water for them in its great reservoir when
it has made its nest in the desart. The absur-
dity of the first account answers for itself; and
50 NATURAL HISTORY
as for the latter, according to the account of
every naturalist who has observed them, the
pelican uses its bag for very different purposes
than that of filling it with water, either for its
•own use or that of its progeny.
Its amazing pouch may be considered as ana-
logous to the crop in other birds, with this dif-
ference, that as the latter lies at the bottom of
the gullet, so this is placed at the top. Thus,
as pigeons and other birds macerate their food
for their young in their crops, and then supply
them, so the pelican supplies its young by a
more ready contrivance, and macerates their
food in its bill, or stores it for its own particu-
lar sustenance.
The ancients were particularly fond of the
marvellous, and almost .unanimously agreed in
giving this bird admirable qualities and parental
affections: struck, perhaps, with its extraor-
-dinary figure, they were willing to supply it
with as extraordinary appetites ; and having
found it with a laro-e reservoir, thev were
pleased with turning it to the most tender
and parental uses. Bat we have the autho-
rity of BuiTon fcr asserling that the pelican
is a very sluggish, voracious bird, and very ill
fitted to take those flights, or make those cau-
tion?
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 57
tious provisions for a distant time, which the
ancients were so partial of attributing to them.
Father Labat, who seems to have studied their
manners with great exactness, has given a minute
history of this bird, as he found it in America.
" The pelican,'* says he, " has strong wings,
furnished witli thick plumage of an ash colour,
as are the rest of the feathers over the whole
body. Its eyes arc very small when compared
to the size of its head : there is a sadness in
its countenance, and its whole air is melan-
choly. It is as dull and reluctant in its mo-
tions as the flamingo is sprightly and active.
It is slow of flight ; and, when it rises to fly,
performs it with diflficulty and labour. No-
thing, as il would seem, but the spur of ne-
cessity could make these birds change their
situation, or induce them to ascend into the
air : but they must either starve or flv.
'' They are idle and inactive to the last de-
gree, so that nothing can exceed their indo-
lence but their gluttony : it is only from sti-
mulations of hunger that they are excited to
labour, for otherwise they would continue
always in fixed repose. When they have
raised themselves about thirty or forty feet
above the surface of the sea, they turn their
VOL. III. I " heads.
58 NATUPwAL HISTORY
*^ heads, with one eye downwards, and continue
'^ to fly in that posture. As soon as they per-
^^ ceive a fish sufficiently near the surface, they
^^ dart down upon it with the swiftness of an
"• arrow, seize it with unerring certainty, and
'^ store it up in their pouch. They then rise
*^ again, though not without great lahour, and
" continue hovering and fishing, with their head
^^ on one side as before.
^^ This work they continue with great effort
*^ and industry till their bag is full, and then
^^ fly to land to devour and digest at leisure the
*' fruits of their industry. This, however, it
*^ would appear, I hey are not long in perform-
'' ing, for towards night they have another hun-
*' gry call, and they again reluctantly go to la-
" hour. At night, when their fishing is over,
'' and the toil of the day crowned with success,
'* these lazy birds retire a little way from the
^' shore ; and, though with the webbed feet
" and clumsy figure of a goose, they will be
*' contented to perch no where but upon trees,
'^ am.ong the light and airy tenants of the fo-
'^ rest. There they take their repose for the
'^ night, and often spend a great part of the day,
** except such times as they are fishing, silting
'* in dismal solemnity, and, as it would seen),
'' half
OF ]iHti)s, risii, ^c. 69
" half asleep. Their attitude is^ with the head
*' resting upon their great hag, and that resting
^^ upon their breast. There they remain with-
^^ out motion, or once chang-ino; their situation,
^^ till the calls of hunger break their repose, and
'^ till they find it indispensibly necessary to fill
^^ their magazine for a fresh n.eal. Thus their
'^ life is spent between sleeping and eatino;; and,
^^ being as foul as they are voracious, they are
" every moment voiding excrements in heaps
*^ as large as one*s fist/'
^^ The same indolent habits,*' says another
author, '' seem to attend them even in prepar- .
^' ing for incubation, and defending their young
^^ when excluded. The female makes no pre-
^^ paration for her nest, nor seems to chuse any
*' place in preference to lay in, but drops her
" eggs on thg bare ground, to the number of
^^ five or six, and there continues to hatch them,
" Attached to the place, without any desire of
^^ defending her eggs or her young, she tamely
" sits and suffers them to be taken from under
" her. Now and then she just ventures to
^^ peck, or to cry out, when a person ofiers to
'' beat her off.''
She feeds her young with fish macerated for
some time in her bag; and, when they cry, flies
of!' for a new supply. Labat tells us that he
I 2 took
60 NATUllAL HISTOKY
took two of these when very young, and tied
them by the kg to a post stuck in the ground,
where he had the pleasure of seeing the old one
come for several diiys to feed theu?, reiiiaining
with them the greatest part of the day, and
spending the night on the branch or a tree that
hung over them. By these means they were all
three become so familiar that they suffered them-"
selves to be handled ; and the young ones very
kindly accepted whatever fish he ottered them.
These they always put, first, into their bag, jmd
then swallowed them at their leisure.
It seems, however, that they are disagree-
able and useless domestics : their gluttony can
scarcely be saiisfied ; ihcir flesh smells ver)' ran-
cid, and tastes a thousand times worse than it
smells*. The native Americans kill vast num-
bers ; not to eat, for they are not fit even for
the banquet of a savage, but to convert their
large bags into purses and tobacco pouches.
They bestow no small pains in dressing the skin
with salt and ashes, rubbing it well with oil,
and then forming it to their purpose. It thus
becomes so soft and pliant, that the Spanish
* The flesh of the pelican need not have been forbidden
among the Jews, says BufFon; for it forbids itself, by its
bad taste, its marshy smell, and its oily fatness.
women
OF BIRDS, FISH, &,C. 6l
women sonietiiiies adorn it with gold and em-
broidery, to make work-bags of.
Yet, with all the seeming stupidity of this
bird, it is not entirely incapable of instruction
in a domestic state. Faiher Raymond says, that
he has seen one so tame and well educated among
the native Americans, that it would go oft' in
the morning; at the word of command, anl re-
turn, before night, to its master with its great
paunch distended with plunder; apart of which
the savages would make it disgorge, :md a part
they would permit it to reserve for itself.
" The pelican,*' as Faber relates, ^^ is not
^destitute of other qualifications. One of
^ those which was brought alive to the Duke
^ of Bavaria's court, where it lived forty years,
^ seemed to be possessed of very uncommon
^ sensations. It was much delighted in the
^ company and conv^ersatit )n of men, and iiv
^ music, both vocal and instrumental ; for it
^ would willingly stand by those who sung or
^ sounded the trumpet, and, stretching cut its
^ head and turning its ear to the music, listen
^ very attentively to its harmony, thouc:h its
^ own voice was little pleasanter than the
^^ braying of an ass.'* Gessncr tells us the
craperor Maximilian had a tame pelican, w hich
lived
62 NATURAL HISTORY
lived for above eighty years, and which al-
ways attended his army on their march. It
was one of the largest of the kind, and had a
daily allowance by the emperor's orders. As
another proof of the' great age to which the pe-
lican lives, Aldrovandus makes mention of one
of these birds that was kept several years at
Mechlin, and was verily believed to be fifty
years old. If we were to follow a not unfre-
quent practice of drawing conclusions from co-
lours alone, we should be led to make the as-
sertion, that of the pelican species there were
many varieties, since there are some entirely
white, others whose back and wings are a light
brown, and others which, though the most sin-
gular, are not the least numerous, that have one
half of their wing feathers white and the other
black ; that is, the bottoms next the body white,
and the exterior half black, and whose tails are
also of the latter colour. Besides these, it is
asserted by Father Morella, in his voyage to
Congo, that, in the road to Sin^a, he met with
a great number of pelicans, all black except their
breasts, which nature has adorned v.'ith a flesh
colour. They are very numerous in all parts of
Asia and Africa; and Thevenol assures us that
he saw them swimming on the banks of some
parts
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 6ti
parts of the Nile*, near the Red Sea, hke geese,
ill such numbers that it was impossible to count
them.
THE ALBATROSS.
THIS is one of the largest and most formid-
able birds of Africa and America, but as yet few
opportunities have occurred by which the parti-
culars of its natural history could be obtained,
and therefore that little which has been mention-
ed must be subject to some doubt. In speaking
of its figure, Edwards appears to have been the
most correct : he says, '^ the body is rather
" larger than that of the pelican, and its wings,
^^ when extended, ten feet from tip to tip. The
^^ bill, which is six inches long, is yellowish,
^^ and terminates in a crooked point. The top
" of the head is of a bright brown, the back is of
^^ a dirty deep spotted brown, and the belly and
^' under the wings is white : the toes, which are
'^ webbed, are of a flesh colour.'*
* The pelican fishes in fresh water as well as in the sea,
and therefore it is not to be wondered at that they should
be found on the banks of rivers.
Such
64 NATURAL HISTORY
Such are the principal traits which he points
out in this bird's figure ; but of any peculiarities
in its manner and disposition, which might lead
us to some knowledge of its history, the great-
est part of our naturalists have been entirely si-
lent. A bird has, however, been described by
Wicquefort, under the title of tlie Alcatraz,
which, from its size, colours, and choice of
its prey, leaves no room to doubt of its being
the same as we have under consideration. He
describes it as a kind of great gull, as large in
the body as a goose, of a brown colour, with a
long bill, and living upon fish, of which they
kill great numbers.
The Albatross is an inhabitant of the tropical
climates, and also beyond them as far as the
Straits of Magellan in the South Seas. It is
one ot the most fierce and formidable of the
aquatic tribe, not only living upon fish, but al-
so such small water fowl as it can take by sur-
prise. It may be considered as the principal
of the gull kind: like the whole of them, it seeks
its prey upon the wing, and chiefly pursues
the flying fish that are forced from the sea by
the dolphais. The ocean in that part of the
world presents a veiy different appearance from
the seas with which we are surrounded. In our
sea?
or iJiriDS, Fisii^ Sec. 65
ser.? we sec nothing but a dreary cxpnnse.
ruffled by winds, and sec^Tiingly forsaken bv
every class of animated nature. But the tro-
pical seas, and the distant southern latitudes be-
yond them, are all alive with birds and fishes,
pursuing and pursued. Every various species
of the gull-kind are there seen hovering on the
wing, at an immense distance from the shore.
A picture of which has been thus most ably
drawn : *^ the flyinsi; fish are everv moment
^^ rising to escape from their pursuers of the
'^ deep, only to encounter equal dangers in the
*^ air. Just as they rise the dolphin is seen to
*^ dart after them, but generally in vain; the
'• gull has more frequent success, and often
" takes them at their rise ; while the albatross
'^ pursues the gull, obliges it to relinquish
^' its prey : so that the whole horizon presents
'^ but one living picture of rapacity and inva-
rs ■ i*
These facts have been too clearly ascertained
to leave the smallest kind of doubt ; but how
far we are to credit Wicquefort, in what he
adds concerning this bird, the reader is left to
determine. He remarks that " as these birds,
*^ except when they breed, live entirely remote
•* from land, so they are often seen, as it should
VOL. 111. K *^ seem.
06 KATUKAL HISTORY
^^ seem, sleeping in the air. At nighty when
*• they are pressed by slumber, they rise into
'* the clouds as high as they can; there, put-
'^ tiiig their head under, one wing, they beat the
^' air with the other, and seem to take their
'^ ease. After a time, however, the weight
" of their bodies, only thus half supported,
'^ brings them down ; and they are seen de-.
^^ scending, with a pretty rapid motion, totha-.
'^ surface of the sea. Upon, this they again
^* put forth their efforts to rise.; and thus alter-
'^ nately ascend and descend at their e^se. But.
'^ it sometimes happens, that, in these slumber-.
^' ing flights, they are off their guard, and fall
^^ upon deck, when they are taken."
What, truth there may be in this account of ;
that author we shall not pretend to determine;
but certain it is, that few birds float upon the^
air with more case than the albatross, or support
themselves a longer time in that element. They
seem never to fed the accesses of fatigue ; but
are prowling night and day upon the wing, yet
always emaciated and hungry.
Thouoh this bird is of the most voracious
disposition, and thus tyrannical in its nature,
yet he is also a proof that there are some asso-
ciates which even tyrants themselves form, to
which
o!.' ijiRtos^ FISH, fee. 67
which they are induced either by caprice or
hfesi^lty. the albatross seems to have a peculiar
aHection for the penguin, and a pleasure in its
feociety. They are always seen to chuse the
same places of breeding ; some distant uninha-
bited island, where the ground slants to the sea,
as the penguin is not formed either for flying or
climbing. In such places their nests are seen
together, as if they stood in need of mutual as-
sistance and protection. Captain Hunt, who
for some time commanded at bur settlement
upon Falkland Islands, has declared that he was
often amazed at tlie union preserved between
these birds, and the regularity with which they
b.iilt together. In that bleak and desolate spot,
where the birds had long continued undisturbed
possessors, and no way dreaded the encroach-
ments of men, they seemed to make their abode
with a degree of comfort commensurate to their
expectation of its duration. They were seen to
build with an am.azing degree of uniformity;
their nests, by thousands covering fields, and
resembling a regular plantation. In the middle,
on high, the albatross raised its nest, on heath
sticks and long grass, about two feet above the
surface : round this the penguins made their
lower settlements, rather in holes in the ground;
^ '^ and
68 NATURAL HlSTOllY
and most usually eight penguins to one albatross*
Nothing is a stronger proof of M. Buffon's
fine observation, that the presence of man not
only destroys the society of meaner animals, but
their instincts also ; for \vc have it as a positive
fact, that these nests are now totally destroyed ;
the society is broken up, and the albatross and
penguin have gone to breed upon more desert
shores, where they conceive themselves safe
from his intrusion, and where they can securely
preserve that peace and safety w-hich he con-
stantly interrupts.
There are three other species of albatross,
all of them smaller than the preceding ; the
most particular one is called the yelloio-nosed
albatross. The upper parts of the plumage are
a dusky blue black, and the rump and under
parts white 5 but what peculiarly distinguishes
it is, that the bill, which is four inches long, is
black, all but the upper ridge, which is yellow
quite to the tip. It inhabits the South Seas
within tb'.; tropics.
OF BIRDSj FISH, CCC (j'J
THE CORMORANT*.
THE Cormorant is commonly described as
being about the size of a large Muscovy duck_,
and distinguishable from all other birds of
this kind by its four toes being united together
by membranes; and by the middle toe being
toothed or notched, like a saw, to assist it in
holding its fishy prey. The head and neck of
this bird are of a brownish black; and the body
thick and heavy, more inclining in figure to
that of the goose than the gull. The bill is
straight, except towards the end, where the upper
chap bends into a hook ; the tail is about five
inches long, composed of hard stiff feathers,
and the legs are strong and thick, but very short.
But notwithstanding the seeming heaviness
* The word Cormorant is from the French Cormoran,
ill which lan<;uagc it was formerly called Cormaran or
Cormarin, arid was derived from Corheau murin, i. e. ra-
ven of the sea. This appellation of raven it had also amon??
the Greeks; and the Latins called h Corvus acjiiaticuHf
though it has nothing in common with the raven except its
black plumage.
, . of
70 NATURAL HlStOIiy
of its make, there are few birds that can exceed
it in power of wing, or strength of flight. As
soon as the winter approaches they are seen
dispersed along the sea-shore, and ascending up
the mouths of fresh-water rivers, carrying destruc-
tion to ail the finny tribe. They are remarkably
voracious, and have a most rapid digestion. Their
appetite is for ever craving. This gnawing sensa-
tion may probably be increased by the great quan-
tity of small worms that fill their intestines, and
which their unceasing gluttony contributes" to
engender.
Thus formed with the grossest appetites, this
unclean bird ha5 a most rank and disagreeable
smell, and is more foetid than even ca.rion in
its most healthful state. ^^ Its form," says the
ingenious Mr. Pennant, " is disagreeable; its
*' voice is hoarse and croaking; and all its
*^ qualities obscene. No v/onder, then, that
*' Milton should make Satan personate this
^^ bird, when he sent him upon the basest pur-
*' poses, to survey with pain the beauties of
^^ Paradise, and to sit devising death on the
" tree of life. It has been remarked, how-
**" ever, of our poet, that the making a water
'^ fowl perch on a tree, implied no grea^ ac-
*^ quaintance with the history of Nature. In
*^ vindication of Milton, Aristotle expressly
'^ sav>-,
OF BIRDS, FISH, fciC. 71
" says, that the cormorant is theor\ly water fowl
*^ that sits on trees. We have already seen the
'^ peUcan of this number ; and the cormorant's
*' toes seem as fit for perching upon trees as for
*^ swimming ; so that our epic bard seems to have
^' been as deeply, versed in natural history as in
'^ criticism."
" Indeed/^ says a modern author, ^^ this bird
*^ seems to be of. a multiform nature; and>
*^ wherever fish are to be. found, watches their
^^ migrations. It is seen as well by land as
^^sea; it fishes in freshrwatcr lakes, as well
'^ as in the depths of the ocean; it. builds in
*' the clius of rocks, as well as on trees ;
'*' and preys not only in -the day time, but by
" night.''
Its ir.defatigable nature, and its great power
iji catching fish, were probably the motiv^es that
induced some nations to breed this bird up tame,
for the purpose of fishing ; and Willoughby
assures us, it was once used in England for that
purpose. The description of their manner of fish*
ing is thus given by Faber. '^ When they carry
'^ them out of tlie rooms vvhere they are kiept, to
'^ the fish-pools, they hood- wink them, that they/
** may not be frightened by thev/ay. When they^
^* ar€ come. to therivefg, tl>ey.takeo.frth€ir hoods;
" and
72 KATUUAL HISTORY
'^ and havina; tied a leather thonsr round the lower
^^ part of their necks, that they may not swal-
'^ low down the fish they catch, they throw
'^ them into the river. . They presently dive
" under water, and there for a long time,
^' with v,onderful swiftness, pursue the fish ;
'^ and when they have caught them, rise to the
'^ top of the water, and, pressing the fish lightly
^^ with their bills, swallow them ; till each bird
^^ hath, after this manner, devoured five or six
*^ dishes. Then their keepers call them to the
^^ fist, to which they readily fly ; and, one after
'^ another, vomit up all their fish, a little bruised
^^ with the first nip given in catching them.
'' When they have done fishing, setting the
'^ birds en some high place, they loose the
^^ string from their necks, leaving the passage
'^ to the stomach free and open ; and, for tlieir
'^ reward, they throw them part of their prcv ;
^^ to each one or two fish, which thcv will
*^ catch most dexterously, as they are falling in
^' the air."
At present, the cormorant is trained up in
every part of China for the same purpose, w here
there are many lakes and canals. " To this
'^ end," says Le Comte, '^ they are educated as
^^ men rear up spaniels or hawks^ and one man
*^ can
OF UIRDSj FISH, SCC. 7^
can easily manage a hundred. The fisher
carries them out into the lake, perched on the
gunnel of his boat, where they continue tran-
quil, and expecting: his orders with patience.
When arrived at the proper place, at the first
signal given, each flies a different way to
fulfil the task assigned it. It is ver^' pleasant,
on this occasion, to behold with what saga-
city they portion out the lake or the canal
where they are upon duty. They hunt about,
they plunge, they rise a hundred times to
the surface, until they have at last found their
prey: they then seize it with their beak by
the middle, and carry it without fail to their
master. When the fish is too large, they
then give each other mutual assistance: one
seizes it by the head, the other by the tail,
and in this manner carry it to the boat toge-
ther. There the boatman stretches out one
of his long oars, on which they perch, and,
being deliv^ered of their burthen, they fly ofl*
to pursue their sport. W^hen they are wea-
ried, he lets them rest for a while ; but they
are never fed till their work is over. In this
manner they supply a very plentiful table ;
but still their natural gluttony cannot be re-
YOL, in. L ^^ claimed
74 NATURAL HISTORY
'^ claimed even by education. They have al--
^^ ways, while they fish, the same string fastened
'' round their throats, to prevent them from de-
" vouring their prey, as otherwise they would
'^ at once satiate themselves, and discontinue
'^ the pursuit the moment they had filled their
'< bellies."
The cormorant is the best fisher of all birds ;
and though very fat and heavy with the quan-
tity it devours, it is nevertheless generally upon
the wing. The great activity with which it
pursues, and the vast height it drops down to
dive after its prey, present a most amusing
spectacle to those who stand on the shore.
This large bird is seldom seen in the air, but
where there are fish below; and then they must
be near the surface, before it will venture to
souse upon them. If they are at a depth be-
yond what the impetus of its flight makes the
cormorant capable of diving to, they certainly
escape him; for this bird cannot move so fast
under vvater, as the fish can swim. It seldom,
however, makes an unsuccessful dip ; and is
often seen rising heavily, with a fish larger
than it can readily devour. Goldsmith says,
" it souKtimes happens, that the cormorant
" has
OF lilUDS, FISH, 5cC. 75
**has caught the fish by the tail; and conse-
*^ quently the fins prevent its being easily
^^ swallowed in that position. In this case the
^^ bird is seen to toss its prey above its head,
" and very dexterously to catch it when dc-
'*' scending, by the proper end, and to swallow
^^ it with ease."
The ambassador from the Duke of Hol-
stein, in his travels into Muscovy and Persia,
speaks of a kind of large wild geese, or cor-
morants, which they met with, and which the
Muscovites call babbes. This author describes
them as being larger than swans, and that
their bills were above a foot long, two fingers
broad, and forked at the end ; under the bill,
he says, they had a bag of skin^ which they
could contract quite close, or extend it to such
a size as to contain more than two s^allons
of liquor; and this they used as a reserva-
tory for the fish they take, until they can
swallow them. He says, that one of them that
was shot upon the Caspian sea, measured two
ells and a half between the two extremities
of the wings, and seven feet from the head
to the ends of the toes. In this measurement
v»e may possibly not unfairly conclude, that
I' 2 some
76 NATURAL HISTORY
some little allowances must be made at his
being struck with astonishment at the animal
himself, and wishing to convey the same asto-
nishment to others. Fernandes says there are
cormorants in Mexico, which have teeth within
their bills.
The Shag, or, as the French call it, the
lesser -Cormorant, is another of this genus. The
common shag is in length two feet six inches,
and the extent of its wings eight feet. The
general colour of its plumage is black, the
belly is dusky, and the head and neck glossed
with green. The crested shag is somewhat less
than the preceding, and is less common. There
are tvvo kinds which are natives of Kamtschatka ;
these are distinguished by the names of the vio-
let and the red-faced shags, being so ornamented
with those colours. There are besides several
others found in New Zealand, and also in
Africa, in the latter of which there arc two
species not larger than a teal. The whole of
these, like the cormorants, build in trees,
OF uiiiDS, risH, &c. 77
TIIR GANNET, OR SOL AND GOOSE
THE Gannet is about the size of a tame
goose, but its wings are much longer^ frequently
measuring six feet when extended. The bill is
six inches long, straight almost to the point,
where it inclines downwards, and the sides are
irregularly jaaged, that it may hold its prey with
greater security. It differs from the cormorant
in size and colour, being larger and chiefly
white; and by its having no nostrils, but in
their place a long furrow that reaches almost to
the end of the bill. From the corner of the
mouth is a narrow slip of black bare skin, that
extends to the hind part of the head; beneath
the skin is another, that, like the pouch of the
pelican, is dilatable, and of size sufficient to
contain five or six entire herrings, wdiich in the
breeding season it carries at once to its mate or
its young.
These
78 NATURAL HISTOKy
These birds, which subsist entirely upon fish^
chiefly resort to those uninhabited islands where
their food is found in plenty, and men seldom
come to disturb them. The islands to the
north of Scotland, the Skelig islands of the
coast of Kerry, in Ireland, and those that lie in
the north sea of Norway, abound with them.
But it is on the Bass island, in the Firth of
Forth, where they are seen in the greatest
abundance. ^^ There is a small island,'' says
the celebrated Harvey, '^ called the Bass, not
'^ more than a mile in circumference. The
^^ surface is almost wholly covered during the
'^ months of May and June with their nests,
'^ their eggs, and young. It is scarcely pos-
^' sible to walk without treading on them : the
^^ flocks of birds upon the wing are so nume-
^' rous, as to darken the air like a cloud ; and
*^ their noise is such, that one cannot, without
^^ difficulty, be heard by the person next to
'^ him. When one looks down upon the sea
'^ from the precipice, its whole surface seems
^^ covered with infinite numbers of birds
'^ of different kinds, swimming and pur-
^' suing their prey. If, in sailing round the
^^ island, one surveys its hanging cliffs, in eve-
" ry crag or fissure of the broken rocks may
" be
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 79
'^ be seen innumerable birds, of various sorts
*' and sizes, more than the stars of heaven,
'^ when viewed in a serene night. If they are
*' viewed at a distance, either receding, or in
'^ their approach to the island, they seem like
^^ one vast swarm of bees/*
They are not less frequent upon the rocks of
St. Kilda. Martin assures us, that the inhabi-
tants of that small island consume annually near
twenty-three thousand young birds of this spe-
cies, besides an amazing quantity of their eggs.
On these they principally subsist throughout the
year, and, from the number of these visitants,
make an estimate of their plenty for the season.
They preserve both the eggs and fowls in email
pyramidal stone buildings, covering them with
turf-ashes, to prevent the evaporation of their
moisture.
The gannct is a bird of passage. In winter
it seeks the more southern coasts of Cornwall,
hovering over the shoals of herrings and pil-
chards that t-hen come down from the northern
sea : its first appearance in the northern islands
is in the beginning of spring, and it continues
to breed till the end of summer. But, in gene-
ral, its motions are determined by the niigra
tions of the immense shoa|s of herrings that come
pouring
80 NATURAL HISTORY
pouring down at that season through the British
Channel, and supply all Europe as well as this
bird with their spoil. The gannet assiduously
attends the shoal in their passage, keeps with
them in their whole circuit round our island,
and shares with our fishermen this exhaustless
banquet. As it is strong of wing, it never
comes near the land; but.is constant to its prey.
Wherever the gannet is seen, it is sure to an-
nounce to the fishermen the arrival of the fmny
tribe; they then prepare their nets, and take the
herring's bv millions at a drauc^ht ; while the
gannet, who came to give the first information,
comes, though an unbidden guest, and snatches
its prey from the fisherman even in his boat.
While the fishing season continues, the gannets
are busily employed ; but when the pilchards
disappear from our coasts, the gannet takes its
leave to keep them company.
The cormorant has been remarked for the
quickness of his sight; yet in this quality the gan-
net seems to exceed him. It is possessed of atrans-
parent membrane under the eye-lid, with which
it covers the whole eye at pleasure, without ob-
scuring the sight in the smallest degree. This
seems a necessary provision for the security of
the eyes of so weighty a creature, whose me-
thod
OF BIRDS, riSH, 8CC. §1
ihod of taking prey, like that of the cormorant,
is by darting headlong down from a height of a
hundred feet and more into the water to seize it.
These birds are sometimes taken at sea, by fast-
ening a pilchard to a board, which they leave
floating. The gannet instantly pounces down
from above upon the board, and is killed or
maimed by the shock of a body where it ex-
pected no resistance.
These birds breed but once a year, and lay
only on^ egg ; but if that be taken away, they
lay another; and if that be also taken away,
then a third ; but never more for that season.
Their es:s:s are w^hite, and rather less than those
of the common goose; and their nest large,
composed of such substances as are found float-
ing on the surface of the sea. The young birds,
during the first year, differ greatly in colour
from the old ones ; being of a dusky hue,
speckled with numerous triangular white spots;
and at that time resembling the colours of the
speckled diver.
They come yearly to the Bass Island,
which is an almost inaccessible rock, situ-
ated at the mouth of the Forth in Scot-
land, seven miles from land, and faces St.
Andrews on the North, North Berwick on
VOL. TIT, M the
$2 NATURAL HISTORY
the Southj and the German ocean on the East*
It was anciently a kind of prison for those
who dissented from the then estabhshed church.
There they breed in great numbers ; it belongs
to one proprietor, and care is taken never to
frig;hten away the birds when laying, or to
shoot them upon the wing. By these means
they become so confident that they alight and feed
their young ones unconcerned at any person's-
being near them. They feed upon fish, as we
have observed ; yet the young gannet is counted
a great dainty by the Scots, and sold very dear;
so that the lord of the above islet makes a con-
siderable annual profit by the quantity that is
. taken from it.
They quit this island towards the latter end
of autumn, and when they return in the spring,
there is usually but three or four at first, which
precede the rest as so many spies, or harbin-
gers, and are followed by the flock a few days
after, as is attested by several creditable authors.
They build their nests in the rock, and employ
for that purpose such a quantity of sticks as is
alinost incredible ; insomuch that the inhabitants
of that part of the country, upon finding a
few nests, think themselves plentifully provided
with fuel for a twelvemonth. They deposit
their
or BIIIDS, FlSHj &C. S.'j
their eggs in the holes of the rock^ and while
they are laying them, rest one foot upon another;
whence Johnston thinks they derive their name
from Solea, the sole of the foot. They feed
their young ones with the most delicate sort of
fish; and if, in flying away with one, they see
another they like better, they immediately drop
the first, and plunge into the water again with
great violence. They likewise disgorge a great
quantity of fish, which was formerly used as
food by the' garrison of the castle.
OF GULLS, AND THEIR AFFINITIES,
THESE are in fact but a smaller kind of the
genus we have just been describing, and whose
habits and manners correspond exactly; they
also resemble the more powerful in their appe-
tites for prey, but have not such certain me-
thods of obtaining it. In general, therefore,
M C the
84 NATURAL HlSTOriY
the industry and audacity of this tribe increase
in proportion to their imbecility. The cormo-
rant, or, as we may more properly say, all the
great gulls, live at the most remote distance fronfi
man ; the smaller are obhged to reside wherever
they ean take their prey, and to come into the
most populous places when solitude can no longer
grant them a supply.
The generality of naturalists have placed in
this tribe of the gull, properly so called, not
only its own varieties, consisting of more than
twenty, but also those of the petrell, and of the
sea-swallow, which together are six or seven
more. Of these, however, the gulls may be
distinguished by an angular knob en the lower
chap; the petvells by their wanting this knob;
and the sea-swallow by their bills, which are
straight, slender, and sharp pointed. They all,
however, agree in their appetites and tlicir places
of abode.
The gull, and all its varieties, are very v. cil
known in every part of the kingdom. '' It is,"
says an ingenious modern, ^' seen with a slow-
'^ sailing flight hovering over rivers to prcv
^^ upon the smaller kinds of fish ; it is seen
^^ following the ploughn)an in fallow fields to
i^ pick up insects 3 and Vv^hcn living annual
<« food
OF BIRDS, FISH, SlC. 85
" food does not offer, it has even been known
*^ to eat carrion and whatever else of the kind
*^ that it finds. Gulls are found in great plenty
'^ in every place; but it is chiefly round our
" boldest rockiest shores that they are seen in
^^ the greatest abundance ; it is there that the
'' gull breeds and brings up its young; it is
'^ there that millions of them are heard scream-
^' ins: with discordant notes for months toge-
^^ ther.
^^ Those who have been much upon our
^^ coasts know that there are two different
*^ kinds of shores ; that which slants down to
*' the water with a gentle declivity, and that
*^ v/hich rises with a precipitate boldness, and
^' seems set as a bulwark to repel the force of
'^ the invading deeps. It is to such shores as
*' these that the whole tribe of the gull kind re-
*^ sort, as the rocks offer them a retreat for
^•^ their young, and the sea a sufficient supply.
*' ft is in the cavities of these rocks, of which
^^ the shore is composed, that the vast variety
'^ of sea-fowls retire to breed in safety. The
'^ waves beneath, that continu;iliy beat at the
'* base, often wear the shore into an impend -
" ing boldness ; so that it seems to jut out
*^ over the v/ater, w^hile the raging of the sea
*^ makes
BG NATURAL HISTORY
'^ makes the place inaccessible from below.
^' These are the situations to which sea-fowl
'^ chiefly resort, and bring up their young in
^^ undisturbed security.
^^ Those who have never observed our bold-
^' est coasts have no idea of their tremendous
^^ sublimity. The boasted works of art, the
^' highest towerSj and the noblest domes, are
^^ but ant-hills when put in comparison : the
^' single cavity of a rock often exhibits a coping
^^ higher than the cieling of a Gothic cathe-
^^ dral. The face of the shore ofiers to the
^^ view a wall of massive stone, ten times
^^ higher than our tallest steeples. What
^^ should we think of a precipice three quar-
^' ters of a mile in height ? and yet the rocks
^^ of St. Kilda are still higher! What. must be
^^ our awe to approach the edge of that im-
*' pending height, and to look down on the un-
*^ fathomable vacuity below; to ponder on the
'^ terrors of falling to the bottom, where the
'^ waves that swell like mountains are scarcely
'^ seen to curl on the surface, and the roar of
^^ a thousand leagues broad appears softer than
'^ the murmurs of a brook ? It is in these for-
'^ midable mansions that myriads of sea-fowls
'^ are for ever seen sporting^ flying in security
" down
OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 87
•^^ down the depth, half a mile beneath the feet
^^ of the spectator. The crow and the chough
^^ avoid those frightful precipices ; they chuse
^' smaller heights, where they are less exposed
^^ to the tempest : it is the cormorant, the gan-
^^ net, the tarrock and the tcrnc, that venture
^' to those dreadful retreats, and claim an undis-
^' turbed possession. To the spectator from
^^ above, those birds, though some of them are
^' above the size of an eagle, seem scarce as
'^ large as a swallow -, and their loudest scream-
'^ mg is scarce perceptible.
^' But the generality of our shores are not so
^* formidable. Though they may rise two hun-
^' dred fathoms above the surface, yet it often
^^ happens that the water forsakes the shore at
*' the departure of the tide, and leaves a noble
'^ and delightful walk for curiosity on the beach.
*^ Not to mention the variety of shells with
^'^ which the sand is strewed, the lofty rocks
*' that hang over the spectator's head, and that
'^ seem but just kept from falling, produce in
*^ him no unpleasing gloom. If to this be
" added the flutterino- the screamino;, and the
" pursuits of myriads of v.ater-birds, all either
•' intent on the duties of incubation, or roused
*^ at the presence of a stranger, nothing can
" compose
68 NATURAL HISTOUY
^^ compose a scene of more peculiar solemnity.
'^ To walk along the shore when the tide is de-
*' parted, or to sit in the hcl'ow of a rock when
*' it is come in, attentive to the various sounds
*^ that gather on ever\' side, above and below,
*' may raise the mind to its highest and noblest
'^ exertions. The solemn roar of the waves
'' swelling into and subsiding from the vast ca-
'^ vems beneath, the piercing note of the gull,
*' the frequent chatter of the guillemot, the
" loud note of the awk, the scream of the heron,
^^ and the hoarse deep periodical croaking of
'' the connorant, all unite to furnish out the
^^ grandeur of the scene, and turn the mind to
'^ HIM who is the essence of all sublimity.
^' Yet it often happens that the contcmpla-
'^ tion of a sea -shore produces ideas of an hum-
^^ bier kind, yet still not unpleasing. The va-
*' rious arts of these birds to seize their prey,
*^ and sometimes to elude their pursuers, their
" society among each other, and their tender-
^^ ness and care of their young, produce gentle
" sensations. It is ridiculous also now and
" then to see their various ways of imposing
" upon each other. It is common enough, for
'' instance, with the arctic gull, to pursue the
*^ lesser gulls so long, that they drop their ex-
"^ crements^
OF KIIIDS, FISH, &C. 89
^^ crements through fear, which the Imngry
'* hunter soon gobbles up before it ever reaches
^' the water. In breeding, too, they have fre-
'^ queut contests : one bird^^who has no nest of
'^ her own, attempts to dispossess another, and
'^ put herself in the place. This often happens
'^ among all the gull kind ; and the poor bird,
^^ thus displaced by her more powerful invader,
^' will sit near the nest in pensive discontent^
^^ while the other seems quite comfortable in
^^ her new habitation. Yet tliis place of pre-
^^ eminence is not easily obtained, for the in-
^' stant the invader goes to snatch a momentary
^^ sustenance, the other enters upon her own,
^^ and always ventures another battle before she
'^ relinquishes the justness of her claim. The
contemplation of a cliff thus covered with
hatching birds affords a very agreeable en-
tertainment ; and as they sit upon the ledges
of the rocks, one above another, with their
^^ white breasts forward, the whole group has,
'^ not unaptly, been compared to an apotheca-
^^ ry's shop.
'' These birds, like all others of the rapa-
^^ cious kind, lay but few eggs ; and hence, in
^^ many places, their number is daily seen to
^^ diminish. The lessening of so many rapa-
VOL. III. N ^^ cious
► NATURAL HISTORY
cious birds may, at first sight, appear a be-
nefit to mankind ; but when we consider how
many of the natives of our islands are sustain-
ed by their flesh, either fresh or saUed, we
shall find no satisfaction in thinking that these
poor people may in time lose their chief sup-
port. The gull in general, a* was said,
builds on the ledges of rocks, and lays from
one egg to three, in a nest formed of long
grass and sea weed. Most of the kind are
fishy tasted, with black stringy flesh ; yet
the young ones are better food ; and of these,
with several other birds of the penguin kind,
the poor inhabitants of our northern islands
make their wretched banquets. They have
been long used to no other food ; and even a
salted gull can be relished by those who know
no better. Almost all delicacy is a relative
thing ; and the man who repines at the luxu-
ries of a well served table, starves not for
want, but from comparison. The luxuries
of the poor are, indeed, coarse to us, yet still
they are luxuries to those ignorant of better:
and it is probable enough that a Kilda or a
Feroe naan may be found to exist, out-doino"
Apicius himself in consulting the pleasures
• of the table. Indeed, if it be true that such
" meat
OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC 91
*'' meat as Is the most dangerous earned is the
*^ sweetest, no man can dine so luxuriously as
'^ these, as none venture so hardily in the pur-
*^ suit of a dinner."
In Jacobson's IIistor\' of the Fcrce Islands
we have the following account of the method
in which these birds are taken. '^ It cannot be
*^ expressed with what pains and danger they
^^ take these birds in those high steep cliffs,
^' whereof many are two hundred fathoms high.
*^ But there are men, apt by nature and fit for
^^ the work, who take them usually in t\va nian-
^^ ners : they either climb from below into
'^ these high promontories, that are as steep as
*^ a wall, or they let themselves down with a
^^ rope from abo 'e. When they climb from
'- below, they have a pole, five or six ells long,
^^ with an iron hook at the end, which they
'^ that are below in the boat, or on the clif^j
^^ fasten unto the mean's girdle, helping him up
'^ thus to the highest place where he can "-et
'^ footing : afterwards they also help up ano-
'^ thcr man : and thus several climb up as
^^ high as possibly they can ; and where they
*^ find difficulty they help each other up by
^^ thrusting one another up \\\ih. their poles.
^^ When the first hath taken footing, he draws
N e " the
t)2 NATURAL HISTORY
^^ the Other up to him by the rope fastened to
'^ his v.aist ; and so they proceed till they coni€
'^ to the place where the birds build. They
'' there go about as well as they can in those.
" dangerous places, the one holding the rope
'^ at one end, and fixing himself to the rock ;
^^ the other going at the otlier end from plac€
*' to place. If it should happen that he
*' chanceth to fall, the other, that stands firm,
'^ keeps him, and helps him i.p again. But if
" he pa3s:th safe, he likewise fasten* himself
*^ till the other has passed the same dangerous
'^ place also. Thus they go about the clifls af-
'^ ter birds as they please. It often bappeneth,
'^ however (the more is the pity), that where
*• one doth not stand fast enough, or is not
*^ sufiiciently strong to hold up the other in his
'' fall, that they both lall down, and are killed.
^' In this manner some do fall every year.''
, Mr. Peter Clanson, in his description of
Norway, states, that there was anciently a law
in that country, that whosoever climbed on tlic
cliffs in this manner, so that he fell down and
died, if the body was found before burial, his
next kinsman should go the same way; but if
he durst not or could not do it, the dead body
was not then to be buried in sanctified earth, as
the
OF BIRDS^ FISlIj &C. 9^
the person was too full of temerity, and liis own
destroyer.
'^ When the fowlers," continues Jacobson,
'^ cr.-t, in the manner aforesaid, to the birds
^^ within the cliffs, where people «eldom coane,
*^ the birds are so tame, that they take thera
'^ with their harwls, for thc\^ will net readily
^^ leave their voung : but when they are w'ld,
^^ they cast a net (with which they are provid-
" ed) over them, and entangle them therein.
'^ In the mean time there lieth a boat beneath,
" in the sea, wherein they cast the birds killed ;
" and in this manner they can, in a short time,
" fdl a boat with fowl. When it is pretty fair
^^ weather, and there is good fowling, the fowl-
" ers stay in the cliffs seven or eight days to-
*^ scether, for there are here and there holes in
^* the rocks where they can safely rest; and they
** have meat let down to them with a line from
**^ the top of the mountain. In the mean time
'^ some go every day to them, to fetch home
*^ what they have taken.
" Some rocks are so difficult, that thev can
^^ in no manner get unto them from below;
'^ wherefore thev seek to come down thereunto
" from above. For this purpose they have a
" rope, eighty or a hundred fathoms lorvg,
" made
94 NATURAL HISTORY
^^ made of hemp, and three inches thick.
*^ The fowler maketh the end of this fast about
*^ his waist and between his legs, so that he
^^ can sit thereon, and is thus let down, with
^' the fowling staff in his hand. Six men hold
^^ by the rope, and let him easily down, laying
'^ a large piece of wood on the brink of the
^' rock, upon which the rope glideth, that it
'' may not be worn to pieces by the hard and
'^ rough edge of the stone. They have, be-
'^ sides, another small line that is fastened to
^^ the fowler's body, on which he pulleth, to
^^ give them notice how they should let down
'^ the great rope, cither lower or higher, or to
^^ hold still, that he may stay in the place where-
^^ unto he is come. Here the man is in great
^^ danf;er, because of the stones that are loos-
'^ ened from the cliff by the swinging of the
'^ rope, and he cannot avoid them. To re-
'' medy this, in some measure, he hath usually
'^ on his head a seaman's thick and shaggy cap,
^^ which defends him from the blows of the
^^ stones, if they be not too big; but if they are,
^' which is frequently the case, it costeth him his
'' life: nevertheless, they continually put them-
'' selves in that danger for the wretched body's
'^ food sake, hoping in God's mercy and protec-
*^ tion
X
OF BIRDS, FISH, {k,C. 95
c;
' tion, unto which the greatest part of them de-
•^ voiuly recommend themselves when they go
" to work ; otherwise, they say there is no
^' other great danger in it except that it is a
'^ toilsome and artificial labour ; for he that
*' hath not learned to be so let down, and is
'^ not used thereto, is turned about with the
'^ rope, so that he soon groweth giddy, and
^^ can do nothing ; but he that hath learned the
^^ art considers it as a sport, swings himself
*^ on the rope, sets his feet against the rock,
*^ casts himself some fathoms from thence, and
^^ shoots himself to what place he will : he knows
^^ where the birds are, he understands how to
•^ sit on the line in the air, and how to hold the
'^ fowling staff in his hand, striking therewith
^^ the birds that come or fly away ; and when
" there are holes in the rocks, and it stretches
'^ itself out, making underneath as a ceiling,
^^ under which the birds are, he knoweth how
" to shoot himself in among them, and there
^^ take firm footing. There, when he is in
" these holes, he niaketh himself loose of the
^^ rope, which he fastens to the crag of the rock
'^ that it may not slip from him to the outside
"^ of the cliff. He then goes about in the
•^ rock, taking the fowl, either with his hands
'' or
a
g6 NATURAL HISTORY
<^ or with the fowling staff. Tlius when he
« hath killed as n^any birds as he thinks fit, he
« ties them in a bundle, and fastens them to a
« little rope, giving a sign, by pulling, that
'^ they should draw them up. When he has
** wrought thus the whole day, and desires to
^ get up again, he sitteth once more upon the
'^ great rope, giving a new sign that they
^ should pull him up, or else he worketh him-
^* self up by climbing along the rope, with his
" girdle full of birds. It is also usual, \<^herc
" there are not folks enough to hold the great
'« rope, for the fowler to drive a post sloping
^^ into the earth, and to make a rope fast there-
^* to, by which he lets himself down without
^^ any body's help, to work in the manner
" aforesaid. Some rocks are so formed that
" the persons can go into their cavities by
'' land.
'^ These manners are more terrible and dan-
^^ gerous to see than to describe, especially it
" one considers the steepness and height of the
'^ rocks, it seeming impossible for a man to ap-
" prbath them, much less to climb or ascend.
^' In some places the fowlers are seen climbing
'^ where they can only fasten the ends of their
*'■ toes and fingers, not shunning such places,
" though
OF BIRDS^ FISH, hc, 97
" though there be an hundred fathom between
*' them and the sea. It is dear meat for these
'^ poor peop!?^ for which they must venture
** their hves ; and many, after long venturing,
'' do at last perish therein.
'^ When the fowl is brought home, a part
" thereof is eaten fresh ; another part, when
** there is much taken, being hung up for
^^ winter provision. The feathers are gather-
''^ ed to make merchandize of, for other ex-
'^ pences. The inhabitants get a great many
'^ of these fowls, as God giveth his blessing
*' and fit weather. When it is dark and hazy
" they take the most, for then the birds stay
^^ in the rocks ; but in clear weather, and hot
" sun- shine they seek the sea. When they pre-
'' pare to depart for the season, they keep
^' themselves most there, sitting on the cliffs
^^ tov>rards the sea-side, where the people get at
^* them sometimes with boats, and take them
^^ with fowling- staves.*'
StranGfe and almost incredible as the above
account may appear, the circumstances are too
well known to leave the smallest doubt of this
author's veracity ; and the hardihood of the
people who inhabit the rocky shores of the nor-
thern parts of Europe, in these pursuits, is al-
voL. III. O most
93 NATURAL HISTORY
most proverbial j with many of them the birds
so taken constitute the chief part of their food,
and hence, perhaps, necessity has taught
them to set danger at defiance. The feathered
inhabitants, or rather visitants of these rocks,
are of different sorts, consisting of all the varie-
ties of the gull, penguin, auk, puffing and
guHlemot kinds ; they resort thither early in
the spring, and the breeding season being over,
they prepare for their departure towards the
more southern climates at the commencement
of winter, at which period it is that the people
are most busily employed in these adventurous
undertakings, making it, as it were, a kind of
harvest for laying in a store of their winter
subsistence.
But to return to the subject more immedi-
ately under consideration. The whole tribe of
gulls are extremely rapid in flight, and will
continue upon the wing hovering over the wa-
ters in search after prey for several hours toge-
ther ; they are very voracious, and appear
to be always in want. They differ greatly both
in size and plumage, but the most general
and most distinctive are.
The great Grey Gull, which weighs twelve
or fourteen ounces, and is from the point of
the
OF BIRDS, FISH, ScC. 99
the bill to the extremity of the tail, about twen-
ty inches ; and from the point of each wing,
when extended, very near four feet. The bill
is black, and nearly three inches long, the upper
mandible something longer than the under,
and a little hooked, or inclining downwards
over it; the lower has a rising, or crooked set,
towards the extremity : the eyes are grey, the
nostrils in a sort of oblong form, the head very
large ; the necks of these birds in general arc
so short, that when they walk or stand, thev ap-
pear so much sunk, or drawn down towards the
shoulders, that one would almost imagine they
had not any neck at all.
The upper side of the back and neck is
grey, intermixed w^ith a whitish brovv-n; the
back feathers black in the middle, and ash-co-
loured towards the edges; the wing feathers are
of a dark brown intermixed with black; the
throat, breast, belly and thighs, white; the
rump is of the same colour, with a few brown
spots interspersed. The tail is five or six inches
long; the outmost tip of the feathers, on the
upper side, are joined by a sort of black cross
b*rs, near two inches broad ; the under part
also varied with a few dusky-coloured lines.
0 2 The
100 NATURAL HISTORY
The legs and feet are yellow, or orange co-
loured, and the claws black.
The Broun Gull is con^ideiably less than
the former ; the bill is about an inch and half
long, black towards the extremity, the rest of
a light brown or horn colour, shaped much like
the former; the eyes are small, the circles yel-
low, the nostrils in an oblong form. The head
and all the upper parts of the body and wings
are of a dusky sort of brown colour, except
some of the prime feathers of the wings, which
are quite black. The belly and breast are of a
more bright colour, interspersed with a consi-
derable number of transverse brown lines. The
tail is black, the legs and feet of a brownish
yellow, the claws black.
This seems to be an uncommon bird, and
not much known to authors that have written
upon the subject, being classed among the gull
kind, chiefly from the resemblance of its bill
and legs : Mr. Albin says it seems to be a non-
descript bird.
The Brozvn Headed Gull is much about
the size of the former, and the bill is red and sharp
pointed: the under mandible bunching out iiiio
a small angle, the eyes black, the i rides or
circles red j encompassed with a broad circle of
pale
OF BIRDS^ FISH^ bCC. 101
pale or white feathers; the head and neck
brown, the lower part towards the breast more
dusky ; the covert feathers of the wings and the
back are of an ash-colour, the prime feathers
black, with their outer ed2;os^ or webs, white.
The rest of the body white, tinctured with a
yellowish sort of pale green.
The tail is near five inches long, the legs and
feet red, the claws black. They are common
about Gravesend, in the River Thames.
The Bfack and H hitt Gull is by far the
laigest oi the gull kind, weighing generally
upwards of four pounds, and being twenty-five
or tv.'cnty-six inches, irom the point of the bill
to the end of the tail ; and from the tip of each
wing, when extended, tive feet and several
inche:J. The bill appears compressed siucwavs,
beirg more than three inches long, and h.ioked
towards ihe end, like the rest of this kind; it is
of a son oi orange colour; the nostrils in an ob-
long form ; the inoulh wide, with a long
tongue and very ooen gullet.
The irides of the eyes are of a very deliglit-
ful red. The wi^^gs and the middle of the
back are black, only the tips of the covert and
quill feathers are white. Trie head, breast, tail,
and other parts of the body are likewise white.
The
102 NATURAL IIISTOllY
The tail is nearly six inches long, the legs and
feet flesh coloured, and the claws black. It is
a sea- fowl, and preys upon fishes, which have
been taken whole from its stomach.
The White Gull is one of the smallest sort,
and does not wei2;h above eight or nine ounces ;
the form of the bill is very much like those be-
fore described, and of a red colour, with an an-
gle on the lower mandible : the i rides of the
eyes white, encircled with an ash colour.
The prime feathers on the wings black, the
tips and edges white, extended nearly two inches
beyond the tail ; the back and covert feathers
grey, or ash coloured; the head, breast, throat,
and belly white, tinctured with a pale or faint
yellow. The legs are bare of feathers above
the knees, and of a dusky green colour; the
claws small, but more dusky and blackish.
They are said to be useful in gardens, where
they destroy the insects and worms ; their feed
is chieHy small fish.
The birds of this kind are in many places
called sea-mezos, in others sea-cobs.
The Skua Gull is about the size of a raven;
life upper parts of the head, neck, back, and
wings are of a deep brown, the under parts a
pale,
OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC. 105'
pale, rusty ash colour. The legs are black,
rough, and warty, and the talents very strong
and hooked. It is mostly a native of the North,
though often found in England. It is a most
formidable bird, as it not only preys upon fish,
but upon all the ymaller water-fowl, and even
on young lambs. It has the fierceness of the
eagle in defending its young; and when the
inhabitants of the Feroe Isles attack its nest,
they hold a knife over their heads, on which
the skua will transfix itself in its fall on the in-
vaders. On , the rocky island of Foula, one of
the Shetland Isles, it is a privileged bird, as it
is said to defend the flocks from the eagle,
which it pursues and beats off \yith great fury,
whenever he presumes to visit the island.
The Wagel Gull has its whole plumage com-
posed of a mixed brown, ash colour and white.
It weighs about three pounds.
The Herring Gull resembles the black and
white in every thing but size, and that the plu-
mage on the back and wings is more inclined
to ash colour than black; it weighs thirty
ounces. The Glacous Gull, which inhabits
Norway, &c. is rather larger than the herring
gull, but resembles it in most other respects.
The
104 KATURAt HISTORY
The Silvery Gull is the same size as the herring
gull, and not much difference in plumage and
manners.
The Tarrock, and the Kitliwake Gulls, like-
wise resemble so nearly each other, that some
authors affirm the latter to be only the tarrock in a
state of perfection. The head, neck, belly, and
tail of the kittivvake are of a snowy whiteness ;
the back and wings are grey ; and both species
have behind each ear a dark spot ; both species
are about the same size, viz. fourteen inches ;
and the tarrock weighs seven ounces. Of the arc-
tic gull the male has the top of the head black ;
the back, wings, and tail dusky ; the rest of the
body white: the female is entirely briivvn.
The i^twit'gidl, or Black-cup, is so called
from the head and throat being of a dark or
black colour. The red-legged gull, the brown-
throated gull, the laughing gull, which only
differs from the others in having the legs black
instead (^f red, are possibly only varieties of the
same species. They are in Icjgth from fifteen
to eighteen inches. The back and wings of
these birds are in general ash coloured, and the
rest of the body white. The ycung birds are
thought by some to be good eating.
The
OF r.IRDSj FISH, 8cc. 105
The Gnat Gull, which is found on the bor-
tlers of the Caspian Sea, though distinguished
by a black head, is quite a different species from
our black-cap, as it equals in size the Barnacle
goose, and weighs between two and three
pounds: its voice too is as hoarse as that of a
raven.
The whole genus of Petrels is known by
having instead of a back toe only a sharp spur
or nail ; they have also a faculty of spouting
from their bills, to a considerable distance, a
large quantity of pure oil, which they do, by
way of defence, into the face of any person who
attempts to take them.
The Fulmar is the largest of the kind which
is known in these climates. It is larger than
the common gull, being about fifteen inches
in length, and in weight seventeen ounces.
The bill is very strong, yellow, and hooked
at the end. The head, neck, and all the under
parts of the body are white; the back and
wings ash-coloured, the quills dusky, and the
tail white. It feeds on the blubber of whales,
which supplies the reservoir, whence it spouts,
with a constant stock of ammunition. This
oil is esteemed by the inhabitants of the North
as a sovereign remedy in many complaints both
YOL. III. P externa!
J06 NATURAL HISTORY
external and internal. The flesh is alsa con-
sidered by them as a deUcacy, and the bird
is therefore in great request at St. Kilda. It is
said that when a whale is taken, these birds, in
defiance of all opposition, will light upon it,
and pick out large lumps of fat even while it
is alive.
The Shearrcater is something smaller than
the preceding. The head and all the upper
part of the body are of a sooty blackness ; and
the under part and inner coverts of the wings
white. These birds are found in the Calf of
Man, and the Scilly Isles. In February they
take possession of the rabbit burrows, and then
disappear till April ; they lay one egg, and in
a short time the young are fit to be taken.
They are then salted and barrelled. During the
day they keep at sea fishing, and tov/ards even-
ing return to their young, whom they feed by
discharrrinGT the contents of the stomach into
their mouths.
The Storm)/ Petrel is about the size of a
house sv/allow. The general colour of the
plumage is black, except about the rump,
which is white. They sometimes hover over
the water like swallows, and sometimes appear
to run on the top of it : they are also excellent
divers. .
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ]07
divers. They are very clainorous, and are
called by the sailors Mother Canys chickens,
who observe that they never settle nor sit upon
the water, but when stormy weather is to be
expected. They are found in most parts of
the worlds and in the Feroe islands, the inha-
bitants pass a wick through the body of the
bird, from the mouth to the rump, which serves
them as a candle, being fed by the vast pro-
portion of oil which this little animal con-
tains.
There are about twenty species of foreign
birds of this kind. In the high southern la-
titudes one is found, which is the size of a
goose, and on that account is called the (riant
petre/. The upper parts of its plumage are pale
brown, mottled with dusky white; the under
parts are white.
Mr. Anderson, in Capt. Cook's last voyage,
mentions a petrel found at Kerguelen's Land,
which the seamen called Mother Carey's Goose;
it is by far the largest known; " they were,*'
says he, " so tame, that at first we could kill
" them with a stick upon the beach. They
'' are not inferior in size to an albatross, and
"are carnivorous, feeding on the dead car-
f^ ^ ^' casses
108 NATURAL HISTORY
'' casses of seals or birds, that were thrown
^^ into the sea. Their colour is a sooty brown,
^^ with a greenish bill and feet." This Mr.
Anderson considered to be the same bird that
is described by Pernetty, in his voyage to the
Falkland Islands, and is called quebratiiehuessos
by the Spaniards.
The great Tcrriy or Sea SzcalJozc, is about
fourteen inches long, and weighs four ounces
and a quarter. The bill and feet arc a fine crim-
son ; the former is tipt with black, and very
slender. The back of the head is black ; the
upper part of the body a pale grey, and the
under part white. These birds have been called
sea swallows, from their appearing to have all
the same actions at sea that the swallow has at
land, seizing every insect which appears on the
surface, and darting down upon the smaller fishes,
which they seize with incredible rapidity.
The lesser Tern weighs only two ounces five
grains. The bill is yellow, and from the eyes
to the bill is a black line. In other respects it
almost exactly resembles the preceding.
The black Tern is of a middle size between
the two preceding species. It weighs two
ounces and a half. It receives its name from
beina:
OF BIP.DS, FISK, &C. 109
being all black as far as the vent, except a white
spot under the throat. This bird is called in
some places the ear swallow. It is a very noisy
animal.
Among the foreign birds of the tern genus,
there are some of a snowy white ; but the
most singular bird of the kind is the striated
Tern, which is found at New Zealand. It is
thirteen inches in length. The bill is black;
and the body in general mottled, or rather
striped with black and white. The Noddy is
about fifteen inches long, and the whole plu-
mage a sooty brown, except the top of the head,
which is white. It is a very common bird in
the tropical seas, where it is known frequently
to fly on board ships, and is taken with the
hand. But though it is thus stupid, it bites
the fingers severely, so as to make it unsafe to
hold it. It is said to breed in the Bahama
ibiands.
J 10 NATURAL HISTORV
THE PENGUIN, AND ITS AFFINITIES.
WE have already observed, that the whole
tribe of gulls, from the cormorant to the sea-
swallow, are long winged, swift flyers, hover
over the most extensive seas, and dart down
upon such fish as approach too near the surface ;
whereas the penguin kind are but ill fitted for
flight, and still less for walking ; consequently
we behold them the almost constant inhabitants
of the sea, and living upon fish, which they
can pursue to the greatest depths.
It is remarked with what softness and ease a
gull or a kite waves its pinions, and with what
a coil and flutter the duck attempts to move
them ; the awkward manner in which, either
wild or tame, it attempts to take wing; how
many strokes it gives in order to gather a little
air ; and even when it is thus raised, how soon,
comparatively, it is fatigued with the force of
its
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OF BIRDS_, FISH, &C. Hi
its exertions, and obliged to take rest. But the
duck is not, in its natural state, half so unweildy
an animal as the whole tribe of the penguin kind.
Their wings are much shorter, more scantily
furnished with quills, and their pinions placed
too forward to be usefully employed. It is,
therefore, by no means wonderful that the largest
of the penguin kind, that have a tjiick, heavy
body to raise, cannot fly at all. Their wings
serve them rather as paddles to help them for-
ward, when they attempt to move swiftly, and
In a manner walk along the surface of the water.
Even the smaller kinds seldom fly by choice;
they flutter their wings with the swiftest effort
without making way ; and though they have
but a small weight of body to sustain, yet they
seldom venture to quit the water where they are
provided with food and protection.
The wings of the penguin tribe are unfitted
for flight, and their legs are still more awkwardly
adapted for walking. All above the knee is-
hidden vviihin the belly; and nothing appears
but two short legs, or feet as some would call
them, that seem stuck under the rump, and upon
wliich the animal is very awkwardly supported.
They seem, v. hen sitting, or attempting to walk,
like
114 KATURAL HISTOkV
like a dog that has been taught to sit up, or to
walk on his hind legs. Their short legs drive
the body in progression from side to side ; and
were they not assisted by their wings, they could
scarcely move faster than a tortoise.
This awkward position of the legs, which so
disqualifies them for living upon land, adapts
•them admirably for a residence in water. In
that element the legs, placed behind the moving
body, push it forward v/ith greater velocity ; and
these birds, like Indian canoes, are the swiftest
in the water, by having their paddles in the
rear. Our sailors, for this reason, give these
birds a v^ery homely, but at the same time ex-
pressive namCb
Nor are they less qualified for diving than
swimminff. By the smallest inclination of their
bodies forward, they lose their centre of gravity ;
and every stroke from their feet only tends to
sink them the fast.-^r. In this manner they can
either dive at once to the bottom, or swim be-
tween two vi'atcrs, where they continue fishing
for some minutes, and then ascending, catch
an instantaneous breath, and descend again
to renew their operations. Hence it is that
these birds, which are so defenceless, and so
easily
OV lilUHS, FISH^ &C. 113
easily taken by land, are impregnable by water.
If they perceive themselves pursued in the least,
they instantly sink, and shew nothing more
than their bills, till the enemy is withdrawn.
Their very internal conformation assists their
powers in keeping long under water. Their
lungs are fitted with numerous vacuities, by
which they can take in a very large inspiration,
which probably serves them for a length of time.
As they never visit land, except when they
come to breed, the feathers take a colour from
their situation. That part of them which has
been continually bathed in the water, is white ;
while their backs and v^ings are of different
colours, according to the different species. They
are also covered more warmly all over the body
with feathers, than any other bird whatever, so
that the sea seems entirely their element ; and
but for the necessary duties of propagating the
species, it is probable we should scarcely have
the smallest opportunity of seeing them, and
should be utterly unacquainted with their history.
Of all this tribe, the Magellanic Penguin h
the most singular and remarkable. In sizeat
approaches that of a tame goose. It never flies,
as its wings are very short, and covered with stiff
hard feathers, and are always seen hanging use-
voL. III. O Icssly
114 NATURAL HISTORY
lesslydown by the bird's sides. The upper part of
the head, back, and rump, is covered with stiff,
black feathers; while the belly and breast, as is
common with all of this kind, are of a snowy
whiteness, except a line of black that is seen to
cross the crop. The bill, which from the base
to about half way is covered with wrinkles, is
black, but marked crosswise with a stripe of yel-
low. They walk erect with their heads on high,
their fin-like wings hanging down like arms; so
that to see them at a distance, they look like so
many children with white aprons. Hence they
are said to unite in themselves the qualities of
men, fowls and fish. Like men, they are up-
right ; like fowls they are feathered ; and like
fish they have fin-like instruments, that beat the
water before, and serve for all the purposes of
swimming rather than flying.
They feed upon fish, and seldom come ashore,
except in the breeding- season. As the seas in
that part cf the world abound with variety, they
seldom want food; and their extreme fatness
seems a proof of the plenty in which they live.
They dive with great rapidity, and are extremely
voracious. One of them, described by Clusius,
though but very young, would swallow an entire
herring at a mouthful, and often three success -
IV
eh
of'biuds, fish, ffcc. 115
ively before it was appeased. In consequence of
this gluttonous appetite, their flesh is rank and
fishy; thouirh the English sailors say, that ^' it
is pretty good eating.*' In some, the flesh is so
tough, and the feathers so thick, that they stand
a blow of a scymitar without injury.
They are a gregarious bird j and especially when
they come on shore, they are seen drawn up in rank
and file, upon the ledge of a rock, standing toge-
ther with the albatross,as if in consultation. This
is previous to their laying, which generally begins
in that part of the world in the month of No-
vember. Their preparations for laying are at-
tended with no great trouble, as a small depres-
sion in the earth, without any other nest, serves
for this purpose. The warmth of their feathers
and the heat of their bodies are such, that the
progress of incubation is carried on very rapidly.
In other countries, however, this bird nestles
in a very difi'erent manner, and which moft of
our naturalists ascribe to the frequent disturb-
ances it has received from man or quadrupeds
in its former recesses. In some places, instead
of contenting itself with a superficial depres-
sion in the ground, the penguin is found to
burrow two or three yards deep; in others it is
seen to forsake the level, and to clamber up
O 2 the
116 NATURAL HtStORY
the ledge bf a rock, where it lays its 'egg, and
hatches it in that bleak, exposed situation ; and
which precautions most^ probably have been
adopted in consequence of dear-bought experi-
ence. In those countries where the bird fears
for her own safety, or that of her young, sh6
iTfiay providentially provide against danger, by
digging or even by climbing; for both which
she is but .11 adapted by nature. In those places,
however, where the penguin has had but fc^v
visits from man, her nest is made, with the most
Confident security, in the middle of some large
plain where they are seen by thousands. In
that unguarded situation, neither expecting nor
fearing a powerful enemy, they continue to sit
broodmg; and even when man comes among
them, have at least no apprehension of their
■danger. Some of this tribe have been called
"the booby, from the total insensibility which
they shew when they are sought for their de-
struction. " But it is not considered that these
'^ birds have never been taught to know the
*^ dangers of a human enemy; it is against the
^' fox or the vulture that they have learned to
" defend themselves; but they have no idea of
" injury from a being so very unlike their na-
*' tural opposers. The penguins, therefore,
" when
of'birds^ fjsh, Scg. 117
^ when our seamen first cAme amongst them,
' tamely suffered themselves to be knocked on
' the head, without even attempting* an escape.
* They have stood to be shot ai in flocks, with-
' out offering to move, in silent wonder, till
^ every one of their number has been destroy-
' ed. Their attachment to their nests was
^ still more powerful; tor the females tamely
' suffered the men to approach and take their
' eggs without any resistance. But the expe-
^ rience of a few of these unfriendly visits has
* long since taught them to be more upon their
^ g-uard in chusing their situations, or to leave
' those retreats where they were so little able
' to oppose their invaders.'*
The penguin lays but one egg, and in fre-
quented shores is found to buiTow like a rab-
bit* : sometimes three or four take possession of
one hole, and hatch their young together. In
the holes of the rocks, where nature has made
them a retreat, several of this tribe, as Linnaeos
assures us, are seen together. There the fe-
* The sands in wiiich they dii; these holes a-e so po-
rous, that in walking, a 'Cisou so nerimvs sink.s up to his
knees, anri if the pnguin finrl him in her hole, she
avenges the intrusion by seizing hold of the lej^s with
great force. "
males
118 NATURAL HISTORY
males lay their single egg in a common nest,
and sit upon this their general possession by
turns; while one is placed as a centinel^ to give
warning of approaching danger. The eggs of
the penguin, as well as of all this tribe, are very
large for the size of the bird, being generally
found bigger than that of a goose. But as there
are many varieties of the penguin, and as they
differ in size, from that of a muscovy duck to
a swan, the eggs diftcr in the same propor-
tion.
As far as is at present known, the penguins
consist of about nine species, and they are com-
monly estimated to hold the same place in the
southern parts of the world as the auks do in
the north, neither of them having been observ-
ed within the tropics.
The one commonly denominated the Pafa-
goniaii Penguin is by much the largest, some
of them weighing at least forty pounds, and are
four feet three or four inches in length. The
bill measures four inches and a half, but it is
slender. The head, throat, and hind part of the
neck are brown, the back of a deepish ash-co-
lour, and all the under parts white. The best
known Penguin is not bigger than a common
goose, the upper parts of whose plumage are
black,
OF JRIUDS, FISH, 8CC. ] ][)
black, and the under white. At Falkland's
islands there are several varieties of penguins,
some of which are crested, and are beautiful
birds. There is a species at New Zealand
not larger than a teal, and in almost all parts of
the South Seas they are found in abundance, of
all kinds and of all sizes.
OF THE AUK, PUFFIN, AND THEIR AFFINITIES.
UNDER this denomination comes a race
consisting of about twelve different species.
They differ in size from the preceding, but pos-
sess otherwise nearly the same form, appetites,
and manners. The whole of this tribe are par-
ticularly distinguished by the form of the bill,
which is strong, convex, compressed at the
sides, in general crossed with several furrows,
and in some degree resembling the coulter of a
plough. Like the penguin, they frequent our
shores, and have their legs placed behind. They
have
ICO NATURAL HISTORY
have short wings, which are not totally incapa-
ble of flight; and they have round bills for
seizing their prey, which is fish. They live
upon the water, in which they are continually
seen diving, and seldom venture upon land ex-
cept for the purposes of continuing their kind.
The principal of this tribe are the great
northern diver, which is nearly of the size of
a goose, and differs from the penguin, in being
more slender and more elegantly formed; the
gre^ speckled diver, which does not exceed the
size of a Muscovy duck, and, except in size,
greatly resembles the former; the auk, which
chiefly differs from the penguin in size and co-
lour, being smaller than a duck, and the whole
of the breast and belly, as far as the middle of
the throat, is white; the guil/emof, which is
about the same size, and which differs from the
auk, in having a longer, a more slender, and a
straighter bill; the scarlet throated diver may
be distinguished by its name; and the puffin or
coulterneb is one of the most remarkable birds
we know.
The great Northern Diver, as before ob-
served, is full as large as a common goose ; it
has a black sharp bill, white at the point, and
nearly five inches long : the head and neck of a
sort
f)F liTRDS, FISH, &C. 121
sort of dusky brown colour, with a spot of white
under its bill^ and a white ring about its neck ;
below which the neck appears of a greenish co-
lour. The prime tcathcrs of each wing are
black, except the exterior edges, which are
white ; the breast and bellv are much of the same
colour; the covert feathers of the win^rs, and
the back_, are irregularly spotted with white.
The outward toe is nearly five inches long, and
the feet are webbed like those of a goose.
The Speckled Diver is not quite so large as
the preceding • it has a straight sharp bill, of a
sort of livid or black colour, with feathers grow-
ing down as low as the nostrils, so that part of
the neck next to the head is covered with feather
set so exceedingly thick, that it looks as large as
the head itself ; the lower parts of the body are
white, the upper parts of a dusky sort of dark
grey, speckled over w^th white spots, which
are laro'er upon the wins^s than on the rest of
ox o
the body. The fore toes are very long, especi-
allv the outermost ; the back toes are but little,
and short ; the legs of a brown colour, and not
very long, and are placed so back, that the
bird seems scarce able to walk without erecting
itself perpendicular on its tail, which is very
short. Some of these birds have a sort of ring
VOL. III. R about
122 NATURAL inSTOIlY
about their necks, with blacker heads^ and
sprinkled with little white specks, and lines ;
others are more grev, or ash coloured, and va-
ried with white specks, but no lines, which may
perhaps be the distinction between the cocks
and the hens.
The Sea Diver weighs about three pounds ;
the bill is upwards of two inches and a half long ;
the whole body is covered with fine soft thick
feathers, the head and neck of a brown co-
lour, but the back darker, each side of the body
more dusky ; the bcliy and breast inclining
pretty much to a silver colour. It has not any
tail at all ; the outermost quill feathers of the
wings are blackish, the lesser rows underneath
are white.
The bill appears compressed sideways, and is
narrow, and of a reddish colour 3 the tongue a
little cloven, the eyes dark, with a sort of red
mixture. The claws appear broad, resembling
in some degree the nails of a man's hand, on
the one side quite black, and on the other of a
pale blue> or rather of an ash colour ; the outer-
most toe longer than the rest ; both the legs
and toes are broad and fiat. It feeds on small
fishes, sea weeds. Sec.
The
OF lilliDS, FJSII, Sec. I2o
The Crested Diver is about the size of a duck;
the bill, that part especially towards the head,
is of a reddish colour, and in length is some-
thing more than two inches; on the top of the
head and neck is a beautiful crest of feathers,
those on the neck appearing like a collar or ruff,
and seem a good deal bigger than they really
are; those on the top of the head are black, those
on the sides of the neck are of a reddish or cine-
reous colour; the back and wings are of a
darkish brown, pretty much inclining to black,
except some of the exterior edges of the win 12;
feathers, which are white. The breast and bellv
are of a light ash colour ; it has no tail, the legs
and toes broad and flat, much like those before
described. It has an unpleasant crv, and will
occasionally, when angered or pleased, raise or
fall the feathers of his crest.
The Great Auk is the size of a goose; its bill
is black, about four inches and a quarter in
length, and covered at the base with short vel-
vet-like feathers. The upper parts of the plu-
mage are black, and the lower parts white, with
a spot of white between the bill and the eyes,
and an oblong stripe of the same on the whias,
which are too short for flight. The bird is also
H very bad walker, but swims and dives v. ell,
R'2 It
11*4 NATURAL HISTORY
It is however observed by seamen, that it is ne-
ver seen out of soundings, so that its appearance
serves as an infallible direction to land. It feeds
on the lump-fish, and others of the same size ;
and is frequent on the coasts of Norway, Green-
land, Nevvfoundland, Sec. It lays its eggs close
to the sea-mark.
The Razor Bill is not so large as the com-
mon tame duck ; it has a large bill of a deep
black colour, and nearly two inches long, with
a deep incision or furrow in the upper mandi^-
ble, which runs a little beyond the nostrils,
and is in some degree covered with a sort of
nappy thick down-like velvet; the upper part
being crooked at the end and hanging over the
under^ with transverse channelled lines running
across each, and a narrow white line passing from
each eye to the corner of the upper mandible.
The inner part of the mouth is of a fine yellow,
and the eyes of a hazel colour. The head and
upper part of the body are black ; the under
part of the chin more purple ; the breast, belly,
and tips of the covert feathers of the wings
white. The tail is black, and about three inches
long; the legs, feet, and toes pretty much of
the same colour. They breed on the edges of
steep
OF BlRDSj FISH^ &G. 125
Steep crafTgy rocks, by the sea-shore, laying large
white cTgs, spotted with black.
The Guillemot is about the size of a com-
mon duck ; the upper parts of the body arc
of a dark brown colour, inclining to a black,
except the tips of some of the wing feathers,
which are white ; all the under parts of the
body are also white. The tail is about two
inches long.
It is a simple bird, and easily taken : they ge-
nerally go in companies with the coulternebs,
and birds of that kind, and breed much in the
same manner, on the inaccessible rocks and
steep cliffs in the Isle of Man, and likewise in
Cornwall ; on Prestholm Island, near Beau-
maris, in the Isle of Anglesey ; also on the Fern
Island, near Northumberland, and in the cliffs
about Scarborough, in Yorkshire, and several
other places in England. They lay exceedingly
large eggs, being full three inches long, blunt at
one end, and sharp at the other, of a sort of
bluish green colour, spotted generally with some
black spots or strokes.
The leaser Guillemot weighs about sixteen
ounces. The upper parts of its plumage are darker
than those of the former species. The black
guillemot
126 NATURAL HISTORY
guillemot is entirely black, except a large mark
of white on the wings. In winter, however,
this bird is sai-d to change to white; and there
is a variety in Scotiand not uncommon, which
is spotted, and which Mr. Edwards has de-
scribed under the name of the spotted Green-
land dove. The marbled guillemot, which is
found at Kamtschatka, &c. receives its name
from its plumage, which is dusky, and elegantly
marbled with white.
The Puffin is about the size of a teal,
weighs near twelve ounces, and is generally
twelve inches in length. The eyes are ash
coloured or grey; the upper part of the head and
body are black, the lower parts white; it has
a sort of black ring that encompasses the throat ;
the sides of the head are whitish, with a cast of
yellow and ash colour ; tiie wings are made up
of short feathers, and are very amall : they fly
swift while they keep near the surface of the wa-
ter, iroin tlie frequent wetting of their wings as
the}^ proceed. They have black tails about two
inches long : the legs and feet are of an orange
colour, and their claws of a dark blue. It
would be very difficult to describe the form
of the bill of the puffin^ which difiers so greatly
from
OF BIRDS, FISH, &CC. 12?
from that of any other bird. Those who have
seen the coulter of a plough, may form some
idea of the beak of this strange animal. The
bill is flat, but very different from that of the
duck ; its edge is upwards. It is of a triangular
figure, and ending in a sharp point ; the upper
chap bent a little downward, where it is joined
to the head : and a certain callous substance
encompassing its base, ns in parrots. It is of
two colours 3 ash coloured near the base, and
red tovvards the point. It has three furrows or
groves impressed in it ; one in the livid part,
two in the red. The eyes are fenced with a
protuberant skin, of a livid colour; and they
are grey or ash coloured. These are marks
sufficient to distinguish this bird by 5 but its va-
lue to those in whose vicinity it breeds, renders
it still more an object of curiosity.
The puffin, like all the rest of this kind, has
its legs thrown so far back, that it can hardly
move without tumbling. This makes it rise
with difficulty, and subject to many falls before
it gets upon the wing ; but as it is a small bird,
not much bigger than a pigeon, when it once
rises, it can continue its flight with great ce-
lerity.
Neither
1'2S JJATURAL HISTORY
Neither this nor any of the former build a
nest ; but lay their eggs either in the crevices of
rocks, or in holes under ground near the shore.
They chiefly chuse the latter situation ; for
the puffin, the auk, the guillemot, 8cc. cannot
easily rise to the nest when in a lofty situation.
Many are the attempts these birds are seen to
make to fly up to those nests which are so
high above the surface. Tn renderino; them in-
accessible to mankind, they almost render them
inaccessible to themselves. They are frequently
obliged to make three or four efforts, before
they can come at the place of incubation. For
this reason, the auk and guillemot, when they
have once laid their single egg, whicli is ex-
trcmelv large for their size, seldom forsake it
until it is excluded. The male, who is better
furnished for fiinht, feeds the female dui ino; this
interval; and so bare is the place where she sits,
that the egg would often roll down from the
rock, did not the body of the bird support
it.
But the puffin seldom chuses these inaccessi-
ble and troublesome heights fur its situation.
Relying on its courage, and the strength of its
bill, with which it bites most terribly, it either
mnkes
OF BIRDS, FISlIj See. ]\i(J
makes or finds a hole in the ground, where to
lay or bring forth its young. '- All the winter,
(says Willoughby) these birds, like the rest,
are absent ; visiting regions too remote for dis-
covery. At the latter end of March, or the
beginning of April, come over a troop of
their spies or harbingers, and stay two or three
days, as it were to view and search out for
their former situations, and see whetlier all be
well. This done, they once more depart ; and
about the beginning of May, return again with
the whole army of their companions. But
if the season happens to be stormy and tem-
pestuous, and the sea troubled, the unfortunate
voyagers undergo incredible hardships ; and
they are found by hundreds, cast away upon
the shores, lean and perished with famine. It
is most probable, therefore, that this voyage is
performed more on the water than in the air;
and, as they cannot fish in stormy weather, their
streno'th is exhausted before thev can arrive at
their wi'shcd-for harbour."
The puffin, when it prepares for breeding,
which alwavs happens a few days after its ar-
rival, begins to scrape a hole in the ground not
far from the shore, and when it has penetrated
some way into the earth, it then throws itself
VOL. 111. S upwR
130 N ATI] UAL HISTORY
upon it5 back, and with its bill an cL claws thus
burrows inward, till it hns dug a hole with se-
veral windings and turnings, from eight to ten
feet deep. It particularly endeavours to dig under
a stone, where it expects the greatest security.
In ihis fortified retreat it lays one egg ; which,
thouoh the bird is not much bigger than a
pif^con, is full the size of that of a hen.
When the young one is excluded, the pa-
rents* industry and courage are incredible. Few
birds or beasts will venture to attack them in
their retreats. When the threat sea-raven, as
Jacobson informs us, comes to take away their
young, the puffins boldly oppose him. Their
meeting affords a most singular combat. As
soon as the raven approaches, the puffin catches
him under the throat with its beak, and sticks
its claws into his breast, which makes the raven,
with a loud screaming, attempt to get away ;
but the little bird still holds fast to the invader,
nor lets him go till they both come to the sea,
where they drop down together, and the raven
is drowned : yet the raven is but too often suc-
ccssfal ; and, invading the puffin at the bottom of
its hole, devours both the puffin and its fan):ly.
*^ But," Goldsmith observes v/ith much pro-
pr'.etv, '^ v\-cre a punishm'^ent to be inflicted for
" imn)oralitv
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 131
"^^ immorality in irrational animals, the puffi.i>
^' is justly a sufferer from invasion, as it is ofte;i
^^ itself one of the most ten'ible invaders.
^' Near the Isle of Anglesey, in an islet called
^' Priesholm, their flocks may he compared, for
^' multitude, to. swarms cf bees. In another
^- islet, called the Calf of Man, a bird of thi$
■^^ kind, but of a diffv.Tent species, is seen in
" great abundance. In both places, numbers
*^ of rabbits are found to breed ; but the puffin,
^'unwilling to be at the trouble of making a
^^ hole, when there is one ready made, dis-
*'• possesses the rabbits, and it is not unlikely
^^ destroys their young. It is in these unjustly
^^ acquired retreats that the young puffins are
" found in great numbers, and become a very
^' valuable acquisition to the natives of the
place. The old ones (I am now speakin<r
of the Manks puffin) early in the'mornino-,
^' at break of day, leave their nests and younir,
^' and even the island, nor do they return tilt
'- night-fail. All this tim^c they are diligently
<^ employed in fishing for their young; so that
" their retreats on land, which in the morning
^^ vv-ere loud and clamorous, are now still and
^^ quiet, v.ith not a wing stirring till the a])-
^* proach of dusk, w hen their screams once
^ - *^ m.ore
132 NATURAL HISTORY
^^ more announce their return. Whatever
*' fish, or other food, they have procured in
*^ the dav, by night begins to sufter a kind oi"
^' halt" disgestion, and is reduced to an oily
'^ matter, which is ejected from the stomach
'^ of the old ones into the mouth of the young.
** By this they are nourished, and become fat
" to an amazinsf dcs:ree. When thcv are ar-
^' rived to their full growth, they who are en-
*^ trusted by the lord of the island, draw them
*MTom their holes; and, that they may more
," readily keep an account of the number they
'^ take, cut off one foot as a token. Their
" flesh is said to be excessively rank, as they
'^ feed upon fish, especially sprats and sea- weed ;
*^ however, when they are pickled and pre-
" served with spices, they are admired by those
'^ who are fond of high eating. We are told,
'^ that formerly tueir flesh was allowed by the
*' church on Lenten days. Thev were, at that
'^ time, also taken by ferrets, as we do rabbits.
'^ At present, they are either dug out, or dravvii
" out, from their burrows, w^th an hooked
^' stick. They bite extremely hard, and keep
'^ so fast hold of whatsoever they seize upon, as
" not to be easily disengaixed. Their noise
'^ when taken is very disagreeable, being like
'' the
OF BIRDS, FISH, Sec. ]3'3
'^ the efforts of a dumb person attempting to
" speak.
'^ The constant depfedation, which these
^' birds annually suffer, does not in the least
*' seem to intimidate them, or drive them away ;
" on the contrary, the people say, the nest
'• must be robbed, or the old ones will breed
" there no longer. Ail birds of this kind lay
'^ but one e^g; yet if that be taken away,
*"' they will lay another, and so on to a third :
'^ whieh seems to imply, that robbing their
'^ nests does not much intimidate them from
'^ laying ag?an. Those, howevei-, whose nests
*^ have been thus destroyed, are often too late
'^ in bringing up their younfi;; who, if they be
"' not fledged and prepared for migration when
** all the rest depart, are left at land to shift for
*^ themselves. In August the whole tribe is
*^ seen to take leave of their summei residence;
*^ nor are they observed any more till the return
*^ of the ensuing sprmo;. It is pr )bable that
'^ they sail away to more southern regions, as
*^ our mariners frequently see myriads of water
*' low] upon their rcLurn, and steering usually
'^ to tlie nortii. Indeed, the coldest countries
'* seem to be their most iavourcd retreats ; and
-'* the number of water fowl is much greater in
^' those
TSt NATURAL HISTOllY
^^ those colder climates, than in the wanTier re-
^^ gions near the line. The quantity of oil
^^ which abounds in their bodies serves as a de-
^^ fence against cold, and preserves them in vi-
^^ gour against its severity; but the same pro-
'^ vision of oil is rather detrimental in warm
'^ countries, as it turns rancid, and many of
*^ them die of disorders which arise from its pu-
'' trefaction. In general, how^ever, water fowl
^^ can be properly said to be of no climate ;
^^ the element upon which they live being
" their proper residence. They necessarily
^^ spend a few months of summer upon land,
^^ to bring up their young; but the rest of
'* their time is probably consumed in their mi-
^^ gracious, or near some unknown coasts, where
^^ their provision of fish is found in the greatest
^' abundance.'*
There is another race, ^vhich, though it may
in some manner be considered as formiiio' the
shade between the gull and goose-kind, yet
is most nearly allied by its habits and manners
to the former. These may be distinguished from
all others by the bill, which is round, hooked
at the point, and toothed, both upper and under
chap, like a saw; and the circumstances by
which they may be said to unite the two ge-
nu scs
t)F BfllDSj VISH, Sec. 'iSS
nuses are_, that they have round bills like the
one, and unembarrassed legs like the other. In
the shape of the head, neck, and body, they re-
semble them both.
The largest of this kind is the goo!^ea?ider,
which weighs about four pounds. The bill is
red ; the head very full of feathers on the top
and back part. The plumage is virions and
beautiful. The head and upper parts are of a
fine glossy black 5 the rump and tail ash colciuv
and the under parts of the neck and body a fine
pale yellow. Its manners and appetites entirely
resemble those of the diver. It feeds upon fish,
for which it dives : it is said to build its nest
upon trees, like the cormorant.
The dun diver is less than the gooseander.
The upper part of the head is reddish brown;
the back and u'ings ash colour, and the lower
part of the body white. It is found in the same
places and lias the sam.e manners with the
gooseander. The Red-brntsted Merganser is
still smaller, weighing only two pounds. The
head and neck are black, glossed with oreen, snd
tlie rest of the neck and the belly white ; the
upper part of the back is glossy black ; the
lower parts and tlie rump are striated with
bi-own and pale grey : on the wings there are
v.'hite
135 NATURAL HISTORY
white bars tipped with black, and the breast is
reddish, mixed with black and white. The
plumage of the female is lc€S splendid ; and they
differ in another respect, viz. that the male has
a very full and large crest, the female only the
rudiment of one.
The hoodt^d Merganser is a native of North
America. It is about the size of a widgeon.
The head and neck are dark brown, the former
surrounded with a large round crest, the middle
of which is white. The back and quills are
black ', the tail dusky; the breast and belly
white, undulated with black. The female is
fainter in the colour of her plumage, and has
a smaller crest.
The Smeiv measures from the end of the bill
to the end of the tail nearly eighteen inches, and
from the extremity of each wmg, when ex-
tended, upwards of two feet, and weighs about
a pound and a half. It has a fine crest upon the
head, v/hich falls down towards the back part
of it, under which, on each side of the head,
is a black spot; the rest of the head and the
neck are white, as arc the under parts of the
body ; the back and the wings are of an agree-
able mixture of black and white. The tail .is
about three inches long, of a sort of dusky ash
colour.
Thx:. Swiui ■
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 137
colour, the feathers on each side shorteninsc
gradually. The bill is of a lead colour, at the
extremity of which is a dirty coloured spot of
white; it is something less than the generalitv
of the duck kind 3 a little hooked, with large
open nostrils, and darkish coloured eyes ; the
legs are pretty much of the same colour as the
bill.
The female of this bird has no crest; the
sides of the head are red, the throat white^
the wings of a dusky ash-colour ; in other re-
spects it agrees with the male. They feed on
fish, but are very rarely seen in England, . ex-
cept in very hard seasons, and then not more
than three or four of them together.
OF THE GOOSE OR DUCK KIND.
Tl-IIS genus comprehends above one hun-
dred species, diifcring considerably in size and
plumage from each other : many of them have
been rendered domestic, but a still greater
VOL.1 II. T proportion
138 NATURAL HISTORY
proportion remain in their native untamed state.
The whole of them are distinguishable by a
strong flat bill, furnished at the end with an
additional piece, termed a nail, and marked at
the end with laminae or teeth. The swan, the
goose, and the duck, are leaders of that nume-
rous, useful, and beautiful tribe of birds, which
we have reclaimed from a state of nature, and
have taught to live in dependence about us.
Trom their universality we might dispense with
a description, but though nothing is so easy as
to distinguish them in general from each other,
yet the largest of the duck-kind approach the
goose so nearly, that it may be proper to mark
the distinctions, which have been thus cor-
rectly given :
'^ The distinctive marks of the goose are, a
bigger body, larger wings, a longer neck,
^' a white ring about the rump, a bill thicker
*^ at the base, more slender towards the tip,
'^ with shorter legs, placed more forward on
'* the body. They both have a waddling
*• walk; but the duck, from the position of
** its leofs, has it in a jrrcatcr dep;r("e.'* Bv
th'jse marks, these similar tribes may be discri-
minated; and thouirh the duck should be found
to ccjual the goose in size, which sometimes
happens.
n
OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. I39
happen?, yet they will be still found sufficient to
distinguish them.
In many particulars, however, they are per-
fectly similar, and have a nearer affinity to each
other than the neighbouring kinds in any other
department. Their having been tamed has
produced alterations in each, by which they
differ as much from the wild ones of their re-
spective kinds as they do among themselves.
There is nearly as much difference between the
wild and the tame duck as between some sorts
of the duck and the goose ; but still the cha-
racteristics of the kind are strongly marked
and obvious; and therefore they can never be-
mistaken.
" The bill is the first great obvious distinc-
'' tion of the goose kind from all the feathered
'' tribe. In other birds it is round and wedge-
'Mike, or crooked at the end. In all the
'' goose kind it is flat and broad, made for the
'' purposes of skimming ponds and lakes of the
'' mantling weeds that stand on the surface.
^•' The bills of other birds are "^ade of an
'' horny substance throughout ; these have their
'' inoffensive bills sheathed with a skin which
'•' covers them all over. The bill of every
'' other bird seems formed for piercing or tear-
1 - *' ing ;
ee
cc
a
140 NATURAL HISTORY
'^ ing ; theirs are only fitted for shovelling up
^' their food, which is chiefly of the vegetable
" kind.
Though these birds do not reject animal
food when offered them, yet they can con-
tentedly subsist upon vegetables, arid seldom
seek any other. They are easily provided
*^ for : wherever there is Vv-ater, there seems
^^ to be plenty. All the other web-footed
" tribes are continually voracious, continually
^^ preying. These lead more harmless lives :
^^ the weeds on the surface of the water, or
'*^ the insects at the bottom, the grass by the
'^ bank, or the fruits and corn in cultivated
^^ grounds, are sufficient to satisfy their easy
^^ appetites : yet these, like most other animals,
^^ will not reject fleili., if properly prepared
*^ for them ; it is sufficient praise to them that
^' they do not eagerly pursue it.
^' As their food is chiefly vegetables, so
'^ their fecundity is in proportion. We have
'^ had frequent opportunities to observe, that
^^ all the predatory tribes, whether of birds or
'^ quadrupeds, arc barren or unfruitful. We
^^ have seen the lion with its two cubs ; the
^' eagle with the same number ; and the pen-
^^ guin with even but one. Nature, that has sup-
plied
a
OF BIRDS^ FISH, &CC. 141
*' plied them with powers of destruction, has
^^ den-'jd them fertility. But it is otherwise
^^ with these harmless animals I am describ-
^^ ing. They seem formed to fill up the
'^ chasms in animated nature, caused by the
^^ voraciousness of others. They breed in great
^^ abundance, and lead their young to the pool
*^ the instant thev are excluded."'
As their food is simple, so their flesh is nou-
rishing and wholesome. The swan was consi-
dered as a high delicacy am.ong the ancients,
while the goose was abstained from as totally in-
digestible. In modern times, at least in Eu-
rope, the taste for these birds has become quite
reversed ; the goose is now become the favour-
ite, and the swan is se^iom brought to table
miless for the purposes of ostentation. But at
all times the flesh of the duck was in hi^-h
esteem : the ancients thought even more highly
of it than we do ; for v/e are contented to eat
it as a delicacy, but they considered it as a me-
dicine also; and Plutarch assures us, that Cato
kept his whole family in health, by feeding
them with duck whenever they threatened to
be out of order.
The qualities of great fecundity, easy suste-
nance, and wholesome nourishment, which are
possessed
i42 NATURAL HJSTOUY
possessed by this tribe, have been found of so
considerable advantage to man^ as to induce him
to take these birds from a state of nature^ and
render them domestic ; and in which he has been
eminently successful. How long they have
been thus dependent upon his pleasure is not
known ; for from the earliest accounts they were
considered as familiars about him. The time
must have been very remote; for there have been
many changes wrought in their colours, their
figures, and even their internal parts^ by human
cultivation. The different kinds of these birds
in a wild state are simple in their colouring : —
for as a modern author observes, '' when one
^^ has seen a wild goose, a description of its
'^ plumage wjill, to a feather, exactly corres-
*^ pond with that of any other. — But in the
^^ tame kinds no two of any species are exact-
^' ly alike. Different in their size, their co-
'^ lours, and frequently in their general form,
^^ they seem the mere creatures of art ; and,
^' having been so long dependent upon man for
^^ support, they seem to assume forms entirely
^^ suited to his necessities."
OF BIKDS> FISH> &C. 143
THE SWAN.
SO much difference is there between this
bird when on land and in water, that it can
hardly be supposed the same, for in the latter
nothing can possibly exceed it for beauty and
grandeur. When it ascends from its favourite
element, its motions arc awkward, and its neck
is stretched forward with an air of stupidity;
but when seen smoothly sailing along the water,
commanding a thousand graceful attitudes,
moving at pleasure without the smallest effort, and
when it '' proudly rows its state,'' as Milton beau-
tifully expresses it, ^^ with arched neck, between
'^ its white wings mantling," there is not a more
beautiful figure in all Nature. In the exhibition
of its form, there are no broken or harsh lines;
no constrained or catching motions; but the
roundest contours, and the easiest transitions :
the eye wanders over every part with insatiable
pleasure, and every part takes a new grace with
new motion.
This bird has long been rendered domestic,
and it is now a doubt whether there are any of
the
144 NATURAL HISTORY
the tanje kind in a .state of nature. The wild
swan, as it is called, though so strongly resem-
bling this in colour and form, is yet a different
bird : it is very differently formed within, and
it is at least one fourth less than the tame
one; the latter generally weighs full twenty
pounds, while the other never exceeds sixteen.
The .colour of the tame swan is entirely white* ;
that of the wild bird, along the back and the
tips of the wings, of an ash-colour. But these
are slight differences, compared to what are
found upon dissection. In the tame swan, the
windpipe sinks down into the lungs in the or-
dinary manner ; but in the wild, after a strange
and wonderful contortion, like what we have
seen in the crane, it enters through a hole
formed in the breast-bone, and_, being reflected
therein, returns by the same aperture; and
being contracted into a narrov/ compass by a
broad and bony cartilage, it is divided into two
branches, which, before they enter the lungs,
are dilated and as it were swollen out into two
cavities.
* White as a szvan, is a proverb in all countries. The
French say, Blanc comwe un a/i^ne ; and Virgil, Galatea
Ciindidiui' ci/gnis. In the Syrian language the word for
white and for sican is the same.
*^ Such,"
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 145
^' Such/' says Buffon, '^ is the extraordinary
^^ ditference between these two animals, which
*^ externally seem to be of one species. Whe-
" ther it be in the power of long continued
*' captivity and domestication to produce this
'' strange variety between birds otherwise the
^' same, I will not take upon me to determine.
^' But certain it is, that our tame swan is no
^^ where to be found, at least in Europe,, in a
" state of nature/'
As it is not easy to account for this diffe-
rence of conformation, so it is still more diffi-
cult to reconcile the accounts of the ancients
with the experience of the moderns, concern-
ing the vocal powers of this bird. The tame
swan is one of the most silent^ of all birds;
and the wild one has a note extremely loud and
disagreeable. Probably, the convolutions of
the windpipe may contribute to increase the
clangor of it ; for such is the harshness of its
Toice, that the bird from thence has been called
the Hooper. In neither, is there the smallest
degree of melody; nor have they, for above
this century, been said to give specimens of
the smallest musical abilities : yet, notwith-
* Yet, thougii so silent, it has the organs af voice like
the most clamo!-ous of water-fowl.
VOL. iir. • U standinir
14(5 NATURAL HISTORY
Standing this, it was the general opinion of an-
tiquity, that the swan was a most melodious
bird; and that, even to its death, its A^oice
went on improving*. From the ancient and
collected accounts by Aldrovandus, and the
Abbe Gedoyn, it appears, that while Plato,
Aristotle, and Diodorus Siculus, believed the
vocaiity of the swan, Pliny and Virgil seem
to doubt ihat received opinion. In this equi-
poise of authority, Aldrovandus appears to de-
termine in favour of the Greek philosophers :
and the form of the windpipe in the wild swan,
so much resembling a musical instrument, in-
clined his belief still more strongly. In aid of
this also, came the testimony of Pendasius, who
affirmed, that he had often heard swans sweetly
singing in the lake of Mantua, as he was rowed
up and down in a boat ; as also of Olauj
Wormius, who professed that many of his
friends and scholars had heard them sinsfinff.
*•" There was," says he, " in my family, a very
* We may, says Buffun, pardon the ancients for their
fables ; they were amiable and interesting ; they were
superior to meUmcholy and dry truth ; tliey were m'ld
emblems to sensible minds. Swans doubtless do not sinjj;
at their own death ; ytt, always, in speaking of the last
eiTi>rt, the last exertions of departing genius, we exclaim
r, 1th tondcMutss, it ii the sang of the Su.a7t,
*^ honest
or BiiiDS, risii, Jfcc. 147
" honest young man, John Rcstorph, a stu-
" dent in divinity, and a Norwegian by birth.
This man did, upon his credit, and with the
interposition of an oath, solemnly affirm, tha
once, in the territory of Dronten, as he was
^^ standing on the sea shore, early in the morn-
^' ing, he heard an unusual and sweet murmur,
'^ composed of most pleasant whistlings and
^^ sounds ; he knew not at first whence they
^^ came, or how they were made, for he saw
'• no man near to produce them ; but looking
*^ round about him, and climbing to the top
'^ of a certain promontory, he there espied an
'• intinite number of swans gathered together
^* in a bay, and making the most delightful
^' harmony : a sweeter in all his life- time he
^' had never heard/* These were accounts
sufficient, at least, to keep opinion in suspense,
though in contradiction to our own experience ;
but Aldrovandus, to put, as he supposed, the
question past all doubt, gives the testimony of a
countryman of our own, from whom he had the
rdation. This man's name was Mr. George
Braun, who assured him that nothincr was
more common in England than to hear swans
sing; that they were bred in great numbers in
the sea, near London ; and that every fleet of
ships that returned from their voyages from
U 2 distant
J4S NATURAL HISTORY
distant countries were met by swans, that came
joyfully out to welcome their return^ and salute
them with a loud and cheerful singing ! '^ It
^ was in this manner (it has been feelingly
' observed) that Aldrovandus^ that great and
^ good man, was frequently imposed upon by
^ the designing and the needy : his unbound-
^ ed curiosity drew round him people of every
' kind, and his generosity was as ready to
^ reward falsehood as truth. — Poor Aldrovan-
^ dus ! after having spent a vast fortune, for
^ the purposes of enlightening mankind ; after
' having collected more -truth and more false-
^ hood than any man ever did before him, he
' little thought of being reduced at last to want
' bread, to feel the ingratitude of his country,
^ and to die a beggar in a public hospital !"
From all this we may fairly infer that our
modern authorities, in favour of the sintjino; of
swans, are more suspicious than conclusive, since
they are reduced to this Mr. George Braun,
and John Restorph, the native of a country re-
markable for ignorance and credulity. Tlie
original conceit of the swan's singing before its
death, seems to have taken its rise from the fable
that the soul of Orpheus was transmigrated into
a swan, whence the Greeks and Egyptians
have held that bird in great veneration : wlicther
it
Of JBIRDS, FISH, &C. ] 49
it be from that circumstance or not^ it is most
probable that the ancients had some mytho-
logical meaning in ascribing m.elody to the
swan ; but as for the moderns, their testimony is
too doubtful, and their intentions too vague to
deserve our regard. The swan^ therefore, must
be content with that share of fame which it
possesses on the score of its beauty ; since the
melody of its voice, without better testimony,
will scarcely be admitted by even the credu-
lous.
Tliis beautiful bird is as delicate in its ap-
petites, as elegant in its form. Its chief footl
is corn, bread, herbs growing in the water, and
roots and seeds, which are found near the
margin. At the time of incubation it prepares
a nest in some retired part of the bank, and
chiefly where there is an islet in the stream.
This is composed of water-plants, long grass,
and sticks ; and the male and female assist in
forming it with great assiduity. The swan
lays seven or eight eggs, white, much larger
than those of a goose, with a hard and some-
times a tuberous shell. It sits nearly two months
before its young are excluded : they are ash-co-
loured when they first leave the shell, and for
some months after. It is not ? little dangerous
to approach the old ones, when their little l^mily
are
150 NATURAL HISTORY
are feeding round them. Their fears, as well
as their pride, seem to take the alarm ; and they
have sometimes been known to give a blow
.with their pinion that has broken a man's leg
or arm.
It is not till they are a twelvemonth old that
the young swans change their colour with their
plumage. All the stages of this bird's approach
to maturity are slow, and serm to mark its lon-
gevity. It is two months hatching ; a year in
growing to its proper size; and if, according
to the observations of Pliny, Buffon, and other
naturalists, that those animals which are longest
in the womb are the longest lived, the swan
must exceed in length of years every other, for
it is the longest in the shell of any bird we
know; and, indeed, has been always remarkable
for its longevity. Some say that it lives three
hundred years ; and Willoughby, who is in ge-
neral diffident enough, seems to believe the re-
port. A goose, as he justly observes, has been
known to live a hundred; and the swan, from
its superior size, and from its harder and firmer
flesh, may naturally be supposed to live still
longer.
" Swans were formerly held In such great
" esteem in England, that, by an act of Ed-
^^ ward the Fourth, none, except the son of
" the
or j^iitDS, riSH> &c. ]5i
" the king, was permitted to keep a swan, un-
«' less possessed of five marks a year. By a sub-
*^ sequent act, the punishment for taking their
•^ eggs was imprisonment for a year and a day,
*' and a fine at the king's will. At present they
'^ are but little valued for the delicacy of their
'^ flesh ; but many are still preserved for their
^^ beauty. We see multitudes on the Thames
^' and Trent : hut no where greater numbers
*' than on the salt water inlet of the sea, near
*' Abbotsberry, in Dorsetshire. ""
As we have already stated, the wild swan is
generally remarked to be of one uniform colour,
and much inferior in size to the tame one, and
yet some travellers have given a very different
account of birds of this species ; in particular
Sir Richard Hawkins, in his vovao;e to the
South Sea, says, that they observed abundance of
fowls as large and as big as swans, that came
hovering about their ship, and as the wind
calmed, settled themselves in the sea, and i'ad
upon the sweepings of the vessel. " Being there-
fore," says he, " desirous to see what they were,
we threw out a liae and hook, which one of
tliese ravenous fowls presently seized, but swal-
lowing the bait was himself taken ; but the men
that went to lay hold of him were soundly paid
for their attempt ; for the bird laid on so fast
and
15*2 NATURAL HISTOIIY
and so hard upon their fingers^ that they both
let go their hold^ and came off shewing their
hands both black and blue. After this manner
they fished up several others^ but were forced
to fasten a cord about their neck, and so drew
them up into the ship ; for they were too fierce
and furious to be handled. They proved very
good meat, tender, and of kindly nourishment ;
they were of two colours, some white, and
others grey ; their beaks were more crooked
than those of falcons 3 in each wing they had
three joints, and both wings being octended to
their full stretch, from the extremity cf one to
that of the other was more than two fathoms."
The Cr/gnus, or wild Swan, is however much
less than the tame kind : it has a black bill, yellow
wax, white body, and has a whistling note:
they inhabit the northern world, from the de-
sarts of Iceland to the soft climates of Greece.
They swarm in the lakes and marshes of
Siberia, whence they spread beyond Kamt-
schatka, probably to the coasts of America.
They breed in great numbers on the shores of
Hudson's Bay ; and in Louisiana the Indians
sew the skins of these birds toq-ether for a cover-
ing, retaining the down on them : the large
feathers form diadems for their chiefs, and the
lesser ones are woven into ornaments for females
of
OF liiUDs^ risUj &c. 153
of the higher rank ; and the skin of the leo-s,
taken off whole, is used for purses, and has some
resemblance to shaoreen.
Linnoeus says that wild swans frequently vi-
sit Sweden after a thaw, and are caught with ap-
ples in which a hook is concealed. In hard
winters this bird visits our coasts in laroe flocks,
but is not known to breed in Great Britain.
Towards October they appear in great numbers
among the w^estern isles of Scotland, v/hence
they take their departure early in spring, return-
ing northward, to breed. Hence in those parts
they become the countryman's almanack ; their
arrival denoting tbe approach of winter, as tlxeir
departure presages the return of sprino-.
By the inward formation of its windpipe it be-
comes enabled to utter its whoogh, zchoogh, in a
veiy loud and shrill though not disagreeable
manner, especially when heard above one's head,
and modulated by the wind. The Icelanders
compare it to the notes of a violin ; but every
sound must be pleasing which predicts a termi-
nation to their long and uncomfortable winter,
and announces a return of the summer's genial
influence.
Of other peculiarities, it must oe noticed that
the wild swan has tuelve ribs on each side ; the
tame or mute only eleven : the former carries
VOL. Ill, X i*.j
J 54 NATURAL inSTOJlY
its neck quite erect) the latter always swims,
with it arched.
it is from the whistling swan that the ancients^
have drawn their metaphors for melody, for the
tame bird is never seen on any of those streams
celebrated by the Latin bards, and it was but in
metaphor that any powers of music were applied
to them ; for Virgil, when speaking of these birds
as a naturalist, gives them their real note :
** Dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquncia Cvgni."
The tame or mute swan is distinguished from
the former by the superiority of its size, and by
the redness of its bill, though the tip and sides
are black, as well as the skin between the eyes
and bill. A black callous knob projects over
the base of the upper mandible. Till the second
year of their age the plumage of these birds is
ash colour, but it afterwards changes to a glossy
whiteness. The swan begins laying in February,
and continues every other day till she has depo-
sited seven or eight eggs, generally on a bed of
jrrass near the water, where she sits six weeks.
In the northern parts of Europe, particularly
in Siberia, where they abound, swans become
very large, and are much esteemed for the table;
and in our own cor.ntrv, in those davs when the
f leeance of the table was estimated bv the size as
much
OF JJIRDS, FISH, Sec. 155
much as the number of good dishes, they made
a part of every grand festival. They have lost
their ancient esteem, however, among epicures,
but are still preserved for their beauty ; for no bird
has the command of such elegant attitudes on
the water.
When the swan was an object of luxury, eve-
ry effort was used to confine it to the tables of
the rich and great, by penal laws, as absurd and
as unjustifiable in the eye of equity or common
sense as some similar ones of modern. date; but,
by an alteration of taste, the goose has banished
the swan from our tables, unless, as before ob-
served, for the purpose of ostentation, for cvg-
nets are frequently fattened at Norwich about
Christmas, and sold for a guinea or upwards a
piece.
The Ci/gnoidcs, as forming a middle line be-,
tween the swan and the goose, has been, not
improperly, styled the swan-goose. This species
is the swan-goose of Ray, from Guinea, and is
also often called the Muscovv goose. They are
frequent in Britain, and unite so readily with
the common goose, that their offspring will pro-
duce as certainly as if no such intermixture had
taken place. They walk very erect, with the
head much elevated ; make an extraordinary
harsh screaming noise, which they continue al-
X 2 most
156 NATURAL HISTORY
most the whole day through, and without the
least provocation or disturbance.
The Grey-lag, or wild goose, has a large ele-
vated bill, of a flesh colour tinged with yellow ;
the head and neck ash coloured ; the breast and
belly whitish, clouded with grey, as is also the
back ; and the legs of a flesh colour. This spe-
<^ies breeds and hatches in the fens, producing
eight or nine young ones at a time, where they
make their residence the whole year in this coun-
try, but on the continent they are migratory,
and change their place in very large flocks : they
seem to be a general inhabitant of the globe.
They are easily tamed ; but at the table are deem-
ed superior to the domestic goose.
The tame Goose is merely the former, witlv
some trifling varieties in colour, chiefly owing,
perhaps, to its state of domestication*. It is
* The dornesticity of the goose is less ancient than that
of the hen : this last lays at all times ; more in summer,
less in winter; but geese produce nothing in winter, and
they do not usually begin to lay till towards the month of
March. Hearing is the sense which a goose seems to have
most perfect; but Lucretius, on the contrary, says, that
it is the smell in which it is most powerful.
" Humanum longe praesentit oderem,
" Romulidarum arcis servator candidus anser.''
Nat Rer., Lib. iv.
sometimes
OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 157
sometimes found white, though much more fre-
quently verging towards the grey ; and it is a
dispute among men of taste which should have
the preference.
In general geese breed but once in a year, sit
about thirty days, and will rear seven : though
if well fed they will produce e^^gs sufficient for
three broods. Their longevity is very great :
authors of respectability say, that it extends to
no less than a hundred years. In rural econo-
my they are an object of attention and profit ;
and in the fens of Lincolnshire they are reared
in such multitudes, that many persons at the
end of the breeding season will be possessed of
between seven and eight thousand geese, vast
numbers of which are annually driven to market
with a proper proportion of superanuated geese
and ganders, that, in consequence of repeated
pluckings, prove remarkably toueh and dry.
A goose well fed in the common way will
weigh fifteen or sixteen pounds; but, by the un-
natural practice of cramming, may be increased
to almost double that weight.
The creatures set apart for this beastly and
unwholesome jroro-e arc nailed to the floor by
the webs of their feet, to keep them in a state of
perfect inaction, and then stufilcd with bean-
meal
158 KATURAL. HISTORY
meal and other fattening diet ; but French re-
finement has increased the barbarity, by putting
out the eyes of the wretched animal.
Another operation is practised on these birds,
which only avarice can palliate, and at which
humanity must blush : five times in a year they
are totally stripped of their natural covering ; the
first time is at Lady-day, for feathers and quills j
and the same is renewed for feathers only be-
tween that time and Michaelmas. Should the
season prove cold, vast numbers die by this sa-
vao-e practice, to which the young ones especi-r
ally yield with all the tokens of anguish and
torment.
The Beaji Goose is chiefly distinguished from
the former by the resemblance of the nail of its
bill to a horse bean. The head and neck are of
an ash brown, tinged with a ferruginous colour y
breast and belly dirty white ; back, a plain ash
colour ; feet and legs saffron, and claws black.
They appear in the fens of Lincolnshire in au-
tumn, whence they migrate in May to the wild
parts of Europe. While in this country they
feed much on green wheat.
The Barnacle appears in great flocks during^
winter on the north-west coasts of this kingdom,
which they quit in February, and retire north-
ward
OF BIRDS, FISH, i^C. 159
ward even as far as Spitzbergen, to breed. Th«
bill of this bird is blacky as are also the legs and
tail ; the hind part of the head, the neck, and
upper part of the breast and back, are of a deep
black ; the rest white. About two hundred years
aoo thev received the name of tree s^eese, from
an absurd notion that they were generated out
of wood, or rather a species of shell that is found
sticking to the bottom and fragments of ships.
They are easily made tame, and are ver\^ long
lifed. Linnceus joins this bird with the laughing
goose of Edwards, of which he says it is the male.
This latter is generally of a dirty white, marked
v.ith large spots of black, and the legs yellow ;
visiting England in the same manner as the rest
of this migratory genus.
The Race-horse, or Loggerhead goose, is a
large bird, weighing from twenty to thirty
pounds: the bill is of an orange colour; the head,
neck, and upper parts of the body, of a deep ash
, colour; the thighs inclining to blue; the quills
and tail black ; on the bend of the wings is a
yellow knob half an inch in length. They are
unable to fly, fronl the shortness of their wings,
but make amazing progress on tlie water : their
flesh is very rank and unsavory. They chiefly
inhabit the Falkland Isles^, Staten Land, Sec,
and are seen mostly in pair:?.
The
l60 NATURAL HISTORY
The Snow Goose is a handsome bird, but the
most stupid even of the goose racCj and in many
parts of Siberia suffer themselves to he taken in the
most ridiculous manner. The general colour of
the plumage is snow white, except the first ten
quills, which are black with white shafts ; the
legs of a deep red ; the upper mandible of the
bill scarlet ; the under,^ white : but the young
are of a blue .colour during the first year.
They are found plentifully in the spring
months about Hudson's Bay, but go further
northward to breed. The Americans in the vi-
cinity of Carolina take them in vast numbers ;
and, after plucking them and taking out their
entrails, they deposit their bodies in holes dug
in the earth, with which they are covered, and,
by the influence of the frost, kept perfectly sweet
during the winter. In some parts they arc de-
coyed into huts or hovels by a person disguised
in the skin of a white rein deer, whom they stupidly
tnistake for their leader, and are thus destroyed
by hundreds at a time.
Another species of the goose is taken in great
numbers in Siberia, called the great goose,
weighing from twenty- five to fifty pounds Rus-
sia. The bill is black, the body dusky, and the
legs scarlet.
The
OF lUPtDSj FISH, 8CC. l6\
The Red-breasted Goose is one of the most
elegant of the race, though little known here,
its residence being chiefly confined to the coasts
of the Icy sea. They generally weigh about three
pounds, are quite free from any fishy taste, and
therefore his:hlv esteemed for the table.
The lluddif Goose is about the size of a mal-
lard, and found in Russia and Siberia, whence
it migrates into India : its bill is black ; the
neck of ari iron colour, encircled with a collar
of black ; the rest of the body an obscure or
dusky red, except the tail, which is a greenish
black. They frequently lay in hollow trees,
and the male and female sit by turns ; but all
attempts to domesticate them have proved inef-
fectual. Their voice is not unlike the note of a
clarinet. Their attachments are so yery strong,
that, if the male is killed, the female will not
quit the gunner till she has been two or three
times shot at.
The small Barnacle frequents our coasts as
well as those of Holland and Ireland in winter:
they are of a brown colour, with the head,
neck, and breast black, and a v/hite collar.
They are easily tamed, and when fatted are
thought to be delicate food. In son^e seasons
they have been known to resort to the coasts of
VOL. 111. Y France
1(52 NATURAL HISTORY
Frsixic^ in such numbers as to become a pes^t j
and in the winter of 1740, they destroyed aU
the corn near the sea coasts, by tearing it up by
the roots : a general war was consequently de-
clared against them, and though thousands were
knocked on the head, yet it availed but little; nor
were the inhabitants released from this scourge,
till the north wind which brought them ceased
to blow, when they took their leave.
The Canadensis is a large brown goose, with
a black neck and head, found in various parts
of North America. At Hudson's Bay they
are one of the chief articles of food ; they are
killed every year to the amount of three or four
thousand, then salted and barrelled. The month
of their appearance is called by the Indians
goose-moon^ and they are esteemed the harbinger*
(/f spring. In a favourable day, an Indian will
kill two hundred of them. On their return to
the south also, great havoc is made among them
by lije Indians, who preserve them in the ground,
as we have mentioned above. The flesh of the
young birds is accounted good; and their fea-
thers are an article of commerce, much in fa-
vour at those places where they breed plentifully.
This species is much esteemed, as well in Eng-
land as in many parts of the Continent, as
an
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 163
an ornament to pieces of water : on the lakes of
Versailles and Chantilly, numbers of them were
common, mixing with the swans very freely; they
easily become familiar, and increase pretty fast.
These, and many oilier varieties, are fpnnd
in this kind ; which agree in one common cha-
racter of feeding upon vegetables, and being re-
markable for their fecundity. Of those, how-
ever, the tame goose is the most fruitful. Having
less to fear from its enemies, leading a more se-
cure and a more plentiful life, its prolific powers
increase in proportion to its ease; and ihough
the wild ofoose seldom lavs above eiffht eeo's, the
tame goose is often known to lay above twenty.
The female hatches her eggs with great assiduity ;
while the slander visits her twice or thrice a dav,
and sometimes drives her off to take her })lace,
where he sits with great state and composure.
But his pride when the young are excluded
transcends that of every other animal : he seems
then to consider himself as a champion not only
obliired to defend his young, but also to keep
off the suspicion of danger ; he pursues dogs and
men that never attempt to molest him : and,
though the most harmless thing alive, he is then
the most petulant and provoking. When, in this
manner, he has pursued the calf or the mastiff,
Y 2 to
l64 NATURAL HISTORY
to whose contempt alone he is indebted for
safety, he returns to his female and her brood
in triumph, clapping his wings, screaming,
and shewing all the marks of conscious supe-
riority.
A young goose is generally reckoned very
good eating; yet the feathers of this bird still
farther increase its value. Of goose feathers
most of our beds in Europe are composed ; in
the countries bordering on the Levant,, and in
all Asia, the use of them is utterly unknown.
They there use mattresses, stuffed with wool,
or camel's hair, or cotton ; and the warmth of
their climate may perhaps make them dispense
with cushions of a softer kind. But how it
happens that the ancients had not the use of
feather beds is surprising : Pliny tells us, indeed,
that they made bolsters of feathers to lay their
heads on ; and this serves as a proof that they
turned feathers to no other uses.
The feathers of Somersetshire are most in
esteem ; those of Ireland are reckoned the worst.
Hudson's Bay also furnishes very fine feathers,
supposed to be of the goose kind. The down
of the swan is brought from Dantzic. The
same place also sends us great quantities of the
feathers of the cock and hen; but Greenland,
Iceland,
OF bihds, fish, &c. 165
Iceland, and Norway, furnish the best feathers
of all : and in this number we may reckon the
Eider-down, of which we shall take notice in
its pkce. The best method of curing feathers,
is to lay them in a room in an open exposure to
the stxtiy and, when dried, to put them into bags,
and beat them well with poles to get the dust
off. Eat, after all, nothing will prevent for a
time the heavy smell which arises from the pu-
trefaction of the oil contained in ever}* feather;
no exposure will draw this ofF, how long soever
it be continued ; they must be lain upon, which
is the only remedy : and, for this reason, old
feathers are nmch more valuable than new.
THE DUCK*, AND ITS VARmTIES.
IT has been universally admitted by all na-
turalists, that the tame duck is the most easily
* To rear ducks with advantage, and to establish ex-
tensive colonies of thera, they must be placed «oniewhcrfi
nftar water, and where there are spacious banks of saad
and turf upon which to feed, repose, and to sport.
reared
J66 natural history
reared of all our domestic animals. The very
instinct of the young ones directs them to their
favourite element; and though they are con-
ducted by a hen^ yet they despise the adi^oni-
tibns of their leader.
This serves as an incontestible proof that all
birds have their manners rather from nature
than education. A falcon pursues the partridge^
not because it is taught by the old one, but
because its appetites create their importunate
call for animal food : the cuckoo follows a ver\^
different trade from that which its nurse endea-
voured to teach it: animals of the duck kind
also follow their appetites, not their tutor, and
come to all their various perfections without
any guide. All the arts possessed l^y man are
the result of accumulated experience ; all the
arts of inferior animals are self-taught, and
scarcely one is acquired by imitation.
It is usual to lay duck eg^s under a hen*, be-
" cause
* Mr. Qucrhoent mentions the following circumstance.
A drake in his court-yard having lost its female, felt an
ardour for the hens, and Mr. Querhoent saw him cover
them two or three times: but those who had been thus
impregnated
OF BIRDSj FISH, &C. |67
cause she hatches them better than the original
parent would have done. " The' duck seems
*^ to be a heedless, inattentive mother; she
'• frequently leaves her eggs till they spoils and
'^' even seems to forget that she is entrusted
*' with the. charge: she is equally regardless of
*• them when excluded ; she leads them to the
''^ pond, and thinks she has sufficiently pro-
*• vided for her offspring when she has shewn
*^ them the water. Whatever advantages may
'^ be procured by coming near the house^ or at-
'^ tending in the yard_, she declines them all ;
'• and often lets the vermin who haunt the
*^ waters destroy them^ rather than take shelter
" nearer home. The hen is a nurse of a very
^^ opposite character; she broods with the ut-
'•' most assiduity, and generally brings forth a
" young one from every egg committed to her
" charge ; she does not lead them to the water
" indeed, but she carefully guards tiiem when
'' there by standing at the brink. Should the
^- rat' or the weazle attempt to seize them, the
'' hcA instantly gives them protection; she leads
•impregnnted conid not ]ay. and ii sort of Cssarlaii opcru-
tiou was f(;rced to be.perfbrmed upon them to extract the
e^'s;: but whether from want of cure, or from any fault
u! t!:e fecnndaticn, these; eggs did not produce any th'.n<i.
^^'them
1(38 NATVRAL HISTORT
" them to the house when tired wiih paddling,
'^ and rears up the suppositiou? brood, without
'^ ever suspecting that they belong to another.'*
The wild duck differs in many respects from
the tame; and there is a still greater variety
among; them tlian amonjij the domestic kinds.
Of the tame duck there are not more tl>an ten
different sorts; and of the wild, Brisson reckon*
above twenty. The .most obvious distinction
between wild and tame ducks is in the colour
of their feet; those of the tame duck being
black, those of the wild duck yellow. The
difference between wild ducks among each
other arises as well from the size as the nature
of the place they feed in. Sea-ducks, which
feed in the salt water, and dive much, have 5
broad bill, bending upwards, a large hind toe,
and a long blunt tail. Pond-ducks, which
feed in plashes, have a straight and narrow bill,
a small hind toe, and a sharp-pointed tail.
The former are called, by our decoy-men,
foreign ducks ; the latter are supposed to be na-
tives of England. In this tribe, we may rank,
as natives of Europe, the Eider Duck, which
is double the size of a common duck, with a
bUsk bill; the Velvet Duck, not so^ large,
and
OF IJIUDS, FISH, Sec. 169
and with a yellow bill ; the Scoter, with a
knob at the base of a yellow bill ; the Tufted
Duck, adorned with a thick crest ; the Scaup
Duck, less than the common duck^ with the
bill of a greyish blue colour; the Golden. Ej/e,
with a large white spot at the corners of the
mouth, resembling an eye ; the Sheldrake, with
the bill of a bright red, and swelling into a
knob ; the Mallard, which some have supposed
to be the stock from whence our tame breed
has probably been produced ; the Pintail, with
the two middle feathers of the tail three inches
longer than the rest; the Pochard, with the
head and neck of a brioht bay; the Wid<Teon.
Vv'ith a lead-coloured bill, and the plumage of
the back marked with narrow black and white
undulated lines, but best known by its whistling
sound; and, lastly, the Teal, which is the smallest
of this kind, with the bill black, and the head
and upper part of the neck of a bright bay. These
are the most common birds of the duck kind
in this part of the globe ; but their number and
varieties in other climates are almost beyond
conception ; at the head of whose families may
be reckoned the Muscoiy Duck, or, more pro-
perly speaking, the Musk Duck, so called
from a supposed musky smell, with naked skin
VOL. III. Z round
170 NATURAL HISTORY
round the eyes, and which is a native of Africa ;
the Brcisilian Duck, which is of the size of a.
goose, all over black, except the tips of the
v/ings ; and the American IVood Duck, with
a variety of beautiful colours, and a plume of
feathers that falls from the back of the head like
^ friar's cowl.
NiimeroiiSj however, as the varieties of wild
ducks may be, they all pursue the same mode,
and live in the same manner ; keeping together
in flocks in the winter, and flying in pairs in
summer ; bringing up their young by the water-
side, and leading them to their food as soon as
out of the shell. Their nests are usually built
among heath or rushes, not far from the water ;
and they lay twelve, or fourteen, or more eggs,
before they sit : yet this is not always their me-
thod, as some, from continually encountering
danger by their ground situation, have some-
times been obliged to change iheir manner of
building ; and their awkward nests are in those
cases seen exalted on the tops of trees. This
must be a very great labour for them to perform,
as the duck's bill is but ill calculated for building
a nest, and giving the materials of which it i3
composed a sufficient stability to stand the wea-
ther. The nest, whether high or low, is generally
composed
OF JJIUDS, FISH, ^C. 171
<iomposcd of singular materials. The longest
grass, mixed with heath, and lined within with
the bird's own feathers, usually go to the com-
position ; however, in proportion as the cli-
mate is colder, the nest is more artiflcially
made, and more warmly lined. In the Arctic
regions, nothing can exceed the great care which
all of this species take to protect their eggs from
the intenseness of the weather. While the gull
and the penguin kind seem to disregard the se-
verest cold, the duck, in those regions, forms
itself a hole to lay in, shelters the approach,
lines it with a layer of long grass and clay,
within that another of moss, and, lastly, a warm
coat of feathers or down. The Eider duck is
particularly remarkable for the warmth of its
nest ; the external materials of which are such
as are in common with the rest of the kind ;
but the inside lining, on which the eggs are
immediately deposited, is at once the softest,
v/armest, and the lightest substance with which
we are acquainted, being no other than the in-
side down which covers the breast of the bird
in the breeding season, which the female plucks
off with her bill, and thus furnishes the inside of
her nest v/ith a tapestry more valuable than the
most skilful artists can produce.
y o . A 1
172 ^'ATUUAL HISTORY
As the whole of this tribe possess the facul-
ties of flying and swimming, so they are in ge-
neral birds of passage, and it is most probable
that they perform their journies across the ocean
as well on the water as iri the air. Those that
migrate to this country, on the approach of win-
ter, are seldom found so well tasted or so fat as
the fowls that continue with us the year round :
their flesh is frequently lean, and still more fre-
quently fishy; which flavour it has probably
contracted in the journeyj as their food in the
lakes of Lapland, whence they descend, is ge-
nerallv of the insect kind.
As soon as they arrive in this country, they
are generally seen flying in flocks to make a
survey of those lakes where they intend to take
up their residence for the winter. In the choice
of these they have two objects in view; to be
near their food, and yet to be remote from inter-
ruption. Their chief aim is to chuse some lake
in the neighbourhood of a marsh where there is
at the same time a cover of woods, and where
msects are found in great abundance. Lake?,
therefore, with a marsh on one side and a wood
on the other, are seldom without vast quantities
of wild fowl ; and when at any time a couple
are seen, that is a suflficient inducement to
bring
OF BIRDS, FISH, Scc. J73
bring hundreds of others. The ducks flying in
the air are often lured down from their heights
by the loud voice of the mallard that is below.
Nature seems to have furnished this bird with
very particular faculties for calling. The
windpipe, where it begins to enter the lungs,
opens in a kind of bony cavity, where the sound
h reflected as in a musical instrument, and is
heard a great way off. To this call all the
stragglers resort ; and in a week or a fortnight's
time, a lake that before was quite naked, is
black with water-fowl, that have left their
Lapland retreats to keep company with our
ducks who never stirred from home.
^^ They generally," it has been repeatedly re-
marked, " chuse that part of the lake w^here
^•' they are inaccessible to the approach of the
" fowler, in which they all appear huddled to-
^' gether, extremely busy and very loud. What
*' it is can employ them all the day is not easy
" to guess. There is no food for them at the
'^ place where they sit and cabal thus, as they
^^ chuse the middle of the lake ; and as for
*^^ courtship, the season for that is not yet come;
" so that it is wonderful what can so busily keep
'' them occupied. Not one of them seems a
^^ moment at rest. Now pursuing one ano-
^^ ther.
J74 NATURAL^HISTORY
'' ther, now screaming, then all up at once^ then
*^ down again ; the whole seems one strange
'^ scene of bustle, with nothing to do.
" They frequently go off in a more private
^^ manner by night to feed in the adjacent mca-
^^ dows and ditches, which thev dare not ven-
^^ ture to approach by day. In these nocturnal
^^ adventures they are often taken ; for though
'^ a timorous bird, yet they are easily deceived,
'• and every spring seems to succeed in taking
'^ them. But the greatest quantities are taken
^' in decoys 5 which, though well known near
^^ London, are yet untried in the remoter parts
'• of the countr)\"
The manner of making and managing a de-
coy is thus described. *^ A place is to be
chosen for this purpose far remote from the com-
mon highwav, and all noise of people. A decoy
is best where there is a large pond surrounded
by a wood, and beyond that a marshy and un-
cultivated country. When the place is chosen,
the pool, if possible, is to be planted round with
willows, unless a wood answers the purpose of
shading it on every side. On the south and
north side of this pool arc two, three, or four
ditches or channels, made broad towards the
pool, and growing narrower till they end in a
point.
OF BIRDS, FISH, 5k,e. 1-7J
point. These channels arc to be covered over
with nets, supported by hooped sticks bending
from one side to the other^ so that they form a
vault or arch, growing narrower and narrower
to the point, where it is terminated by a tun-
nel net, like that in which fish are caught in
v;eirs. Along the banks of these channels so
netted over, which are called pipes, many
hedges are made of reeds slanting to the edge of
the channel, the acute angles to the side next
the pool. The whole apparatus also is to be
hidden from the pool by a hedge of reeds along
the maro;in, behind which the fovvler manajrcs.
his operations. The place being fitted in this
manner, the fowler is to provide himself v/ith
a number of wild ducks made tame, which are
called decoys. These are always to be fed at
the mouth or entrance of the pipe, and to be,
accustomed to come at a whistle.
^^ As soon as the evening is set in, iht deco:/
rises, as they term it, and the wild fowl feed
during the night. If the evening be still, the
noise of their wingrs during- their fli.o^ht is heard
at a very great distance, and produces no un-
pleasing sensation. The fovder when he finds
a fit opportunity, and sees his decoy covered
with fowl, v/alks about the pool, and observes
into
176 NATURAL HISTORY
into what pips the birds gathered in the pool
may be enticed or driven. Then casting hemp-
seed, or some such seed as will float on the sur-
face of the water, at the entrance and up along
the pipe, he whistles to his decoy-ducks, who
instantly obey the summons, and come to the
entrance of the pipe, in hopes of being fed as
usual. Thither also they are followed by a
whole flock of wild ones, who little suspect
the danger preparing against them. Tlieir sense
of smelling, however, is very exquisite; and
they would soon discover their enemy, but that
the fowler always keeps a piece of turf burning
at his nose, against which he breathes ; and this
prevents the effluvia of his person from reaching
their exquisite senses. The wmM ducks, there-
fore, pursuing the decoy-ducks, are led into
the broad mouth of the chamiel or pipe, nor
have the least suspicioh of the man who keeps
hidden behind one of the hedges. When they
have got up the pipe, however, finding it grow
more and more narrow, they begin to suspect
danger, and would return; but they are now
prevented by the man, who shews himself
at the broad end below. Thither, therefore,
they dfare not return ; and rise they may not,
as they are kept by the net above from ascend-
ing.
OF BIUDS/ riSH, &c. 177
ing. The only way left them, then, is the nar-
row funnelled net at the bottom, into which
they fly, and there they are taken.
" It often happens, however, that the wild
fowl are in such a state of sleepiness or dozing,
that they will not follow the decoy ducks. Use
is then generally made of a dog who is taught
his lesson. He passes backward and forward
between the reed-hedges, in which there are lit-
tle holes, both for the decoy-man to see and for
the little dog to pass through. This attracts the
eye of the wild fowl; v/ho, prompted by curi-
osity, advance towards this little animal, while
he all the time keeps playing among the reeds,
nearer and nearer the funnel, till they follow him
too far to recede. Sometimes the dog will not
attract their attention, till a red handkerchief, or
something very singular, be put about him.
The decoy-ducks never enter the funnel -net
with the rest, being taught to dive under water
as soon as the rest are driven in.*'
The usual season for catching fowl in decoys
is from the latter end of October till Febru-
ary. The taking them earlier is prohibited by
an act of George the Second, which imposes a
penalty of five shillings for every bird destroyed
'at any other season.
The Lincolnshire decoys are commonly let
VOI-. HI. A a at
17^ NATURAL IIISTOIIY
at a ccrtam annua] rent, from five to twenty
pounds a year; and some even amount to thir-
ty. These principally contribute to supply the
markets of London with wild fowl. The num-
ber of ducks, widgeon, and teal, that are sent
thither is amazing. ^' Above thirty thousand,"
Ckjldsmith atTirms, '- have been sent up in one
" season from ten decoys in the neighbourhood
'^of Wainfleet.'*
To this manner of taking wild fowl in Eng*
land may be subjoined another still more extra-
ordinary, which is frequently practised in China.
Whenever the fowler sees a number of ducks
settled in any particular plasli of water, he sends
oiF two or three gourds to float among them.
These gourds resemble our pompions ; but,
being made hollow, they swim on the surface
of the water; and on one pool there may some-
times be seen twenty or thirty of these gourds
floating together. The fowl at first are a little
shy of Cv'n-ing near them; but by degrees they
come neaiL-r; and as all birds in the course of
tmie grow familiar with a scarc-crow, so the
ducks gather a^out these, and amuse themselves
by whetting their bills against them. When they
aro- as. familiar with the gourds as the fowler could
wish, he then prepares to deceive them in good
earnest. He hollows out one of these gourds
large
OF U1UD5, riSH, &C. 179
large enough to put his head in ; and making
holes to breathe and see through^ he claps it on
his head. Thus accoutercd, he wades slowly
into the water, keeping his body under, and no^
thing but his head in the gourd above the sur-
face ; and in that manner moves impercep*
tibly towards the fowls who suspect no danger.
At last, 'however, he fairly gets in among lliem ;
while they, having been long used to see gourds,
take iiot the least fright, even when the enemy is
in the very midst of them : and an insidious ene-
my he is ; for ever as he approaches a fowl, he
seizes it by the legs, and draws it with a jerk un-
der water. There he fastens it under his girdle,
and goes to the next, till he has thus loaded
himself with as many as he can carry away.
When he has got his quantitv, without ever at-
tempting to disturb the rest of the fowls on the
pool, he slowly moves off again; and in this
manner pays the flock three or four visits in a
day. Of all the various artifices for catching
fowl, this seems Hkely to be attended with the
greatest success, as it is the most practised in
China.
The BocJtas, or common wild duck, is that
from which the tame species take their origin,
and to v.'hich thev may be traced by unerring
characters. The intermediate tail feathers of the
A a 2 drake
180 NATURAL HISTORY
drake are turned backward?^ and the bill is
straight; two circumstances that universally pre-
vail in the same sort. The difference of taste
is easily accounted for, from the differences of
their food. They pair in the spring, build their
nests among the rushes near the water, and lay
from ten to sixteen eggs. The female is a very
artful bird, especially where the safety of her
young is at stake. In summer they fly in
pairs, bring up their young by the water-side,
and lead them to food as soon as they are out
of the shell. When apprehensive of danger,
they have been known to build their nests in a
high tree, or to occupy a dcocrted crow's or
magpie's nest. At moulting time, when they
cannot fly, they are caught in great plenty ; and
in their antiual migration to this country, they
are taken in decoys, in still greater abundance,
particularly in Lincolnshire, the grand magazine
of wild fowl in this kingdom.
The Eider Duck, or Mollissema, is double the
size of the common duck, and has a cylindrical
bill; the male is white above, but black belovy
and behind; the female greenish. This bird is
found in the Western Isles of Scotland, but in
greater numbers in Norway, Iceland, Green-
land, and many parts of North America, parti-
cularly in the Esquimaux islands. The flesh is
everv
OF BIRDS, FISH, 8lC. J81
every where much valued. The niaies are five
years old before they come to their full colour,
li^e to a great age, and will at length grow quite
grey. The female lays from three to five e^rgs,
large, smooth, glossy, and of a deep green co-
lour*; though they sometimes lay as many as
eight in a soft bed of down whiph they pluck
from their own breasts. The natives take away
from the nest both down and eggs, which the
duck again replenishes; but if robbed a third
time, the drake supplies the down : and after a
third robbery, she wholly deserts the nest. Yet
they are said to be so constant to their breeding
places, thit a pair has been observed to occupy
the same nest for many years successively. The
down, known by the name of eider, is imported
in considerable quantities, on account of its
light, warm, elastic quality, as a stuffing for co-
verlets for the infirm or luxuri-ous. The natives
are at much pains to collect this down, and as
readily part with it for the enjoyments of bran-
dy and tobacco f.
The
* These eg;;s are reckoned very good to eat.
^ It is principally sold to t!ie Danish and Dutch mer-
chants every year, who go to purchase it at Drontheim
^nd other parts of Norway and Iceland: very little of it
is
182 NATURAL HISTORY
The Macula, or scaup-duck, (so Called from
feeding on broken shell-fish) is less than the
common duck ; it is a beautiful bird, but so di-
versified in colouring, that scarcely two in a
hundred can be found alike.
The Sheldrake, (TadornaJ has a flat bill, a
compressed forehead, a greenish black head,
and the body variegated with white. It is an
inhabitant of the northern world, as far as Ice-
land. They usually breed in deserted rabbit-
holes, and lay fifteen or sixteen roundish wbite
eggs, and sit about thirty days. ' ^^ They are
*^ very careful of their young,'* says Latham,
'^ and will carry them from place to place in
^^ their bills." They also shew much instinc-
tive cunning in preserving them Vvhen attempted
to be caught ; for they will fly along the ground
as if wounded, till the brood are got into a
•'^lace of security. Their great beauty has in-
duced many unsuccessful attempts to domesti-
cate thetn ; but they never thrive unless in the
ncio-hbourhood of salt water. The ee2:s are
thought good, but the flesh of this bird is rank
and unsavory.-
is kept in the country, the rude inhabitant of wivch sleeps
as soundly upon his bear-skin, and more soundly, than the
head that rests upon eider down in our costly palaces.
The
Duc/sf.
ChiiieiK Drake .
Sluldrake .
OF BIRDS, nSM, SyC. 18j5
The^ Spectabilis, which is the grey- headed
duck of Edwardsj and the king-duck of Pen-
nant, is a very beautiful species_, found at Hud-
son's Bay ; they are pretty frequent in Siberia
and in Greenland, where the flesh is accounted
excellent ; and of the skins sewed together,
the natives make very comfortable garments >
nor is its down less comfortable than that of the
cider.
The Nigra, or Scoter, is the black diver of
Ray; the male is totally black, the female
brownish ; the tail resembles a wedge : in the
winter season they are found on the coasts of
Great Britain ; but are very numerous on the
shores of France from November to March,
where they f^ed upon a glossy bivalve shell,
called vaimcaux. They are caught by placing
nets under the v/ater where these shells abound ;
and to obtain which, the birds dive to a great
d«:ptb, and thus thirty or forty dozen are often
take^ in a tide. They swallow the shells whole,
and which have been found quite crumbled to
powder among their excrements. They are some-
times kept tame, and fed upon soaked bread.
Their flesh is far from being agreeable, and is
of so very fishy a taste that, perhaps by way oi^"
mortification.
184 JJATtTRAL HISTORY
mortification^ it is allowed to be eaten hy Ro-
man Catholics on fast days. This species is
also to be met with in North America ; and it
abounds in the northern parts of Europe, espe-
cially on the great lakes and rivers of Siberia.
The Hook-bilhd Drake generally weighs two
pounds or upwards, and is about two feet from
the extremity of the bill to the end of the tail,
and in breadth from the extension of each wing
near three feet. The bill is crooked, of a palish
green, except the hook at the end, which is
black; it is in length upwards of two inches.
The upper part of the lieck and the head
is of a dark green, with two small white
speckled lines, one of which runs from the
upper part of the bill, over the eye towards
the back part of the head; the other runs from
the bill to the lower part of the eye, around
which there is a circle of fine white feathers,
with stnall white feathers under the chin. The
breast, belly, and throat are white, with small
transverse spots, of a brownish red, running
across them. The first six of the prime feather*
of the win^s are white, the rest of a reddish
brown; the first row of covert feathers are
blue, tipped with white; the second are brown,
with
OF lURDS^ FISH, 8CC. 18 j
with white tips. The scapular feathers of the
wmgs, the sides and the back, are of a reddish
brown, which appears dusted or speckled over
with white.
The tail is black, with white tips, which
turn up in a sort of circular curl towards tht;
back. The le«:s and feet are of a fine oran<re
colour.
The Mallard is nearly the size of the pre-
ceding ; his bill, from the angles of the mouth
to the tip, is about two inches and a quarter,
and nearlv an inch broad, with a roundish tip at
the end; the head and upper part of the neck
arc of a beautiful shining green; the under
eye-lids white, with a sort of half circle, or
white ring, that passes round the fore part of
the neck ; the under part of the neck below
the white ring to the breast is of a glossy ches-
nut colour. The under part of the breast and
belly is a sort of ash -colour, sprinkled with a
variety of dark specks, resembling drops ; the
back between the wings is of a cinereous red,
in like manner sprinkled or speckled ; the lower
part towards the rump still darker ; the rurrip
itself of a sort of slossv purple. The sides of the
body, and the longer thiorh-fcathcrs, are adorn-
voL. 111. B b r-^i
18G NATURAL HISTOKY
ed with transverse brown lines, with a bhiish
sort of mixture.
The scapular feathers of the wings are of a
fine silver colour, beautifully variegated with
brown transverse lines ; the second row of the
quill -feathers tipped with white, with the out-
ward webs of a fine bluish purple, and a border
of black running between the white and the
blue; the rest of the wings variegated with sil-
ver-coloured feathers, with some of their edges
black, others of a dark purple.
The under part of the tail is black; the fea-
thers on the upper part end in sharp points, the
middlemost of which turn up in a circular form
towards the back, and appear of a fine glossy
purple colour. They are feathered down to
the knees; the legs and feet arc of a saffron co-
lour.
The Tufted or Black-cresfed Duck is not
quite so large as the wild Mallard, the shape of
its body appearing more broad, short, thick
and compressed; the bill, broad and about two
inches long, is of a palish blue colour, black at
the tip; the upper part of the head is of a
blackish mixed purple, with a fine crest of
feathers hanging down behind the head, of near
two inches long; the nostrils arc pretty large :
the
OF ^IRDS, FISH^ Sec. 187
the iris of the eyes is of a gold colour, or
fine yellow. The neck and upper part of the
body are of a dark brown, much inclinin<»- to
black.
The wings are short, with black covert fea-
thers ; the outward wings of the same colour, by
degrees growing more towards a white; the
second row of quills is all white, with black
tips. The under part of the neck and the
breast is black, the belly of a fine silver-co-
loured white, as are also the thighs and under
parts of the wings. The tail is short, com-
posed of black feathers; the legs arc short, and
the feet of a dark lead colour.
Mr. Albin says that at Venice, and other
parts of Italy^ it goes by the name of Capa
Nes^ro.
The Upright Duck is a bird that walks in
a more stately and erect posture than any other
of this kind, whence it derives its name.
Its bill is of a greenish colour, with a sort
of brown shade or cast; the circles of the eyes
are white; the top of the head is quite black,
under which, from the upper base of the bill,
there runs a white circle which surrounds the
top parts of the head; while the other parts
Bb2 arc
JSS NATURAL HISTORY
are of a dark colour, intermixed with shades of
r«d and green, which, by the reflection of
difFcrent lights, appear very beautiful. The
neck is finely variegated with white and black
feathers; the wing- feathers are brown, with
their outward edges white; the back is of
a dark colour, intermixed with beautiful shades
resembling the rainbow ; the sides of the body
underneath the wings, the thigbs, and near tlite
vent, are of a sooty-coloured black; the belly
and breast white; the legs and feet are of a sort
of dusky yellow.
The Muscovy Drake is considerably larger
than the generality of fowls of the duck kind,
some of them being as large as a small sized
sfoose; the bill is broad and short, of a reddish
colour, a little hooked at the end ; upon the
upper part of which, between the nostrils,
there grows a small round fleshy excrescence,
that appears red like a small cherry; the iris
of the eyes is white, encircled with a fleshy
sort of red substance, resembling that on the
bill.
The upper part of the head and neck appears
of a dusky colour, a little mottled with white;
the sides of the wings and the back are of a
very uncommon mixture of red, green, brown,
purple,
OF IJIRDS, FISH, k,C, IbT)
purple, and white ; the under part of the body
white, interspersed here and there with a few
small brown feathers; the legs and feet of a
pale red or rather orange colour.
Their flesh differs from that of the common
duck, and is said to be much more pleasant ;
they lay a great many eggs, and are excellent
breeders ; the lien has not the tuberous flesh
growing on her bill, but with respect to colour
it is much the same as the cock.
The ambassador from the duke of Holstein,
in his travels to Muscovy, says, he saw there a
sort of wild ducks, bieg;er than ours, and as
black as crows, with long necks, and forked
bills. They are called by the Muscovites,
bra clan, and are scarcely ever seen but in the
night time: their quills are harder and bigger
than those of a crow.
The Madagascar Duck is in size very little
krger than the common tame duck, and it has a
yellowish brown bill; the circles or iris of the
eyes are red, the head and neck of a dark
green, the breast and lower parts of tile body
more inclining to a dusky brown, the outward
edges of the feathers red ; the back is of a fine
dark purple, intermixed with blue, and the edges
of the feathers red; the scapular feathers are
some
190 NATURAL HJSTOUY
some of them green, - with red" edg^s ; others
more dusky, with a beautiful bluish mixture ;
the first row of the covert feathers is pretty much
of the same colour, the second row green ; the
quill feathers are all beautifully edged whh red 5
the whole mixture of the colours shines with a
curious and uncommon gloss, and appears ex-
ceedingly beautiful. The legs and feet are of an
orange colour.
They are brought from Madagascar, in the
East Indies, and are now bred by the curious in
several parts of England.
The Shoveller weighs very nearly two pounds,,
and is, from the point of the bill to the end of
the tail, one or two and tv/enty inches, and
upwards of eighteen from the extremity of
each wing when extended.
The bill is of a fine black, considerably
broader at the tip than at the base; dented in
the middle, ana rising towards the end, with a
small sort of crooked hook inclining downwards,
each mandible being toothed like a comb ; the
tongue is broad and fleshy, especially towards
the end, the tip of which is of a sort of semi-
circular form. The circles of the eyes are of
a fine yellow ; the neck and head of a shining
dark green; the crop and under part of the neck
whitCj
OF B1KD5, PISH, &C. iQl
white, the upper part of the shoulders of the
same colour, but interspersed with a variety of
bold strokes ; the under part of the body red,
except the feathers under the tail, behind the
vent, which are black; the back is of a brown
colour, beautifully shaded with a shining green
purple and blue, which varies according to the
light in which it is viewed.
The first ten or twelve quill feathers are quite
brown ; the next in the same row have all their
extreme edges of a shining deep green, some of
them varied with small white lines ; others arc
green, with white tips, which when viewed
together, appear like a sort of cross bar upon
each wins:; the covert feathers are manvof them
of a fine blue, others more inclining to an
ash colour; the tail is composed of party-
coloured feathers, some of the borders entirely
white, others on their extreme edges wholly
black. The thighs are interspersed v/ith a con-
siderable number of dusky coloured transverse
lines; the legs and feet of a fine red, resembling
the colour of vermilion; the clav/s black.
The hen bears a near resemblance to the
cock in the shape of its body, but dliTers very
much in its colour; the wings are nearly similar
to those of the male, only the colours are
mors
lyf'i UATDRAL HISTORY
iTJOre faint, and the shades not by any means 50
beautiful. The hea-d, n^^k, aiid ahnost all the
rest of the body both for colour sind shape^ very
much resemble that of the wild- duck .
The membrane that connect? the toes of
each of them is serrated about the edir*s, and
their feet seem to be considerably less than the
generality of the duck kind.
The Golden Fj/e chiefly breeds- in Italy; it
hae a large head and thick body ; tlic neck
short and the bill broad; elevated towards the
point, of a black colour, anxl is, if measured
from the angles of the mouth, abotit an incfh
and three quarters long ; tl\e head, when vari-
ously exposed to the light, appears black*, pur-
ple, and green, with a fine shining silky gloss ;
it has a white spot on each side of the mouth;
the eyes arc of a fine gold colouY; the neck,
breast, and belly, white ; the space between
the shoulders and the back is black; the wing^
of a fine beautiful mixture of black and white.
The tail near three inches long; the legs short,
of a yellowish colour; the toes pretty long, and
more dusky.
ft has a disagreeable fishy taste: they arc
sometimes, but ver)' rarely, taken upon the
English coastr
The
or UIKDS, IISH, 8cc. i()3
The Pintail, though hi appearance nearly of
the same size, seldom weighs more than a pound
and a half. The wing feathers are very lonjr ;
the upper mandible is of a bluish black (mostly
so about the nostrils), the under quite black.
The neck is longer than the generality of bird*
of this kind : it is slender, and of a brown colour,
very much resembling that of rusty iron, with a
tincture of purple behind the ears, on each side
of whichj from the hinder part of the head, there
runs a white line, which passes down the sides
of the neck ; the feathers between the white
lines are black, under which the neck is of an
ash colour ; both the back and neck varied with
black and white transverse lines; the middle
parts of the scapular feathers of the wings are
black, their inner parts varied with a mixture
of white, black, and brown lines ; some of the
tips of the second row of feathers white, others
party-coloured with shades of glossy red. The
breast and lower parts of the body, as far as the
vent, are white ; the under part of the tail
black ; the thighs more pale, and varied with
small specks of black ; the two middlemost fea-
thers of the tail arc extended much longer than
the rest, running into sharp points, from whence
it is said to take the name of pintail : the upper.
VOL* in. C c Dart
1&4 NATURAL HISTORY
part of the tail is of a sort of ash colour ; the
tips of the feathers black : the feet are of a lead
colour^
The Widgeon weighs nearly a pound and a
half : it has a sort of black nail at the end of
the upper mandible of the bill, the other part of
which is of a lead colour ; the structure of the
head and mouth very much resembles the com-
mon wild duck, only the head does not seem
to be quite so large in proportion to the body,
which also appears of a finer shape, and the
wings longer. The crown of the head towards
the base of the bill is of a pale pink colour, in-
clining to a reddish white ; the other parts of
the head and the neck are red ; the sides of tht
body and the upper part of the breast are tinc-
tured with a very fair, glossy, and beautiful
claret colour^ with a few small transverse lines of
black. The feathers on the back are brown, with
the edges more pale, or ash coloured ; the sca-
pular feathers, and those under the fore part
of the wings, are finely variegated with small
transverse black and white lines, beautifully dis-
persed like waves ; the quill feathers are some
of them brown with white tips, others have
their outward webs of a blackish purple ; other
parts, especially those beyond the covert fea-
thers,
WidgecnfMille SeFtniaJt
T..iI.Jj'„h X-F.;,t.,/e.
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. \g5
ihers, of a lovely fine blue ; some of the exte-
rior feathers have their outward webs inclining
to black, with a fine purple gloss upon the bor-
ders, of which there are a number of s-mall light
coloured spots ; the rest of the wing feathers 13
of a beautiful party-coloured brown and white.
The upper part of the tail is ash coloured ; the
under part, behind the vent, black. The legs
and feet are of a dark lead colour, and the claws
black.
They are pretty common in Cambridgeshire,
the Isle of Ely, &c., where the male is called
the Widgeon, and the female the W hewer.
They feed upon wild periwinkles, gras^, weeds,
&c., which grow at the bottom of rivers and
lakes. Their flesh has a very delicious taste,
not inferior to teal, or wild ducks.
The Great-headed Widcreon is larcrer than the
common widgeon, and the make of its body is
considerably thicker and shorter, often weisih-
ing nearly two pounds vv'hen well fed : the bill
is considerably larger and broader than that
of the widgeon ; the head and the greatest part
of the neck are of a fine fulvous red \ the
feathers from the upper part of the head come
down in the form of an acute angle, CT peak,
to the middle of the base of the upper mandi-.
C c 2 ble.
196 NATURAL HISTORY
blc, which is of a lead colour, tipped with
black, the under mandible being entirely black ;
the circles or iris of the eyes are of a fine yel-
low. The small covert feathers of the wings,
and likewise those on the middle part of the
back, are beautifully variegated with brown and
cinereous elegant waving lines. The rump and
feathers under the tail arc black, so that the
tail, which is of a sort of a greyish colour and
about two inches long, appears encircled with a
blackish ring.
The middle part of the breast and lower part
of the belly very much resemble the colour of
the back, only that the lines and points are of
a paler colour.
The quill feathers are of a dark ash colour •
and it is remarkable that all the feathers on the
middle of the wings of this bird are of one uni-
form colour, without the different variations
commonly found in others of the kind.
The feet are cf a lead colour, and the mem-
branes that connect the toes more dark and
blackish.
The Teal is the smallest bird of the duck
kind, and does not usually weigh more than
twelve or fourteen ounces : it is about sixteen
inches from tile point of the bill to the end of
the
OP BIRDS, FISII, he. , 1(J7
the tailj and from the extremity of each v.ing,
when extended, nearly two feet. The bill is of
a dark brown colour ; the head is considerably
hghtcr, inclining to a bay, with a large white
stripe over each eye, bending downward^ towards
the back part of the head ; the neck, back, an<J
tail, are of a more dusky colour.
The breast is of a dirty-coloured yellow, in-
terspersed with dusky transverse lines; the belly
more bright, with yellowish brown spots : the
quill feathers of the wings are of a dusky brown,
with white edges ; the covert feathers appear of
a fine shining green, with their tips white ; the
scapular feathers are more inclining to an ash
colour ; the legs and feet are brown, the claws
black.
They feed on water plants, seeds, and grass.
The French Teal is about the size of the
former : the cock of this tribe has a broad black
bill ; the eyes are of a sort of hazel colour ;
the upper parts of the head and neck are cf a
light brown or bay, with a shining green line
running from each eye to the back part of the
head, with a black spot intervening between,
and a white line passing under the eyes : the
back, the lower part of the neck, and lines
underneath the wings, are beautified with fine
waving
198 NATURAL HISTORY
waving lines of black and white 5 the breast is
more of a yellowish colour, spotted with black,
that bears some resemblance to scales ; the belly
is of a dirty White, or grey.
The wings are of a brown, or dusky colour,
some of them with white tips, and their outward
edges black 5 others green, with yellowish edges;
the covert feathers have some of them white
tips, and the green coverts appear of a yellowish
red ; the whole beautifully variegated with dif-
ferent shades, that make a very agreeable ap-
pearance to the eye : the tail is sharp towards
the end, and about three inches long ; the legs
and feet of a dusky pale colour.
Their flesh is of a delicate taste 5 it affords a
fine nourishment to the body, and may be rec-
koned among the first of its kind.
The Chinese Teal of Edwards, and the Sum^
mer Duck of Catesby, are elegant species : the
former is a native of China, sometimes brought
alive into England, but too tender to be reared
in this country. The other inhabits Mexico
and some of the West India islands, and is to
be seen h^re, at times, in the menageries of the
curious.
OF BIRDS, FISH, hc, 199
THK KINGHSHER.
THE Kingfisher is a peculiar species of
bird, and although it may be said to possess
few characteristics of its own, yet it has a pro-
portion of those of almost every other. Its
appetites for prey, considering its size, are
equal to those of the most rapacious kinds :
it is no less attached to the wateiy clement than
others that we have described. Its plumage is
not inferior in beauty to that of the pheasant
or peacock. ^* It has,'* says a most respectable
writer, *^ the shadings of the humming bird,
*• the bill of the crane, and the short legs of
^^ the swallow.'" In size, this bird is some-
what bigger than a sky lark, but of a very
clumsy shape : it has a strong bill nearly three
inches long, sharp-pointed and straight, black
upon the upper chap, and at the point ; the
angle of the lower chap is of a reddish kind of
yellow ;
200 NAISJRAL HISTORY
yellow ; and it has a broad sharp-pointed tongue*
The under part of the neck and belly is of a
light orange shade ; the under parts of the wings
and tail of a darkish green colour, intermixed
with discontinued bluish lines: it has a reddish
spot between the eyes and the nostrils, which
terminates beyond the eyes in a v;hitish colour;
down the neck and middle of the back to near
the end of the tail is of a bright pale bluish
green, which appears exceedingly splendid and
delightful.
The quill feathers, and those next them, have
their exterior webs of the same beautiful colour,
the interior more dusky ; the smaller rows of
the wing feathers have bluish tips, all except
those covering the base of the wing ; the longer
feathers that spring from the shoulders, and co-
ver the back, arc of a bluish green. The tail is
about an inch and half long, of a dark blue,
but more obscure towards the end.
The legs and feet are short, and of a red co-
lour, and the claws black. There is something-
singular in the disposition of the joints and toes,
the three lower joints of the outmost being
joined to the middlemost. The inner toe is the
least," and not above half the length of the mid-
dle one, and the outer one is almost equal to the
middlemost ;
OF BlllDS, DSH, &c. QOI
middlemost; the back-toe is somewhat bigo-er
than the inner fore-toe. Gessner savs the faTof
this u:rd is red, and xMr. Willoughby affirms the
same. From the sraallncss of its size, its slen-
der sliort legs, and the l)eautiful colour with
which Its plumage is adorned, we are naturallv
inclined to be prejudiced in its favour, and it i's
with difficulty we are led to suppose it one of
the most rapacious little animals that hove^
over the deep; yet such i= the fact, for it feeds
entirely on fish, and is ft,r erer on the wfa-r i„
pursuit of its prey, of uhich it takes Sur-
prising quantities, considering its diminutive-
ness. It generally hovers about the banks of
(he rn-ers, and takes its prey by balancincr it-
self at a certain distance above the watcr°nn-
til the fish appears in sight, when it darts into
the water after it, and will di.e to a considera-
ble depth, seizing its prey with inevitable cer-
tainty. While this bird remains suspended in
the air m a clear sun-shiny dav, its p!uma<.e
exhibits a beautiful variety of the most <lazzlin<.
and brilliant colours. And, from this extraor!
omary beauty, all the wonderful fables that have
been framed of this bird, have, probablv, ori-
ginated ; for, as it has been judiciously re-
marked, « wherever there is any thing uncom-
vor.. ,„. D d
mon.
£02 NATURAL HISTORY
^^ mon^ fancy is always willing to increase the
^' wonder."
It has been boldlv affirmed of this bird, that
she builds her nest in the water, and that in a few
days she hatches and produces her young ; and
to be uninterrupted in this task, it was added,
that she possessed a charm to allay the fury of
the waves, and that during this period the
mariner might sail with the greatest security.
The ancient poets are full of these fables, and
their -historians are not exempt from them.
Cicero is said to have written a long poem in
praise of the halcyon ; of which, however,
there remain but two lines. The emperor
Gordian is also said to have written a poem on
this subject ; but of this there are not any re-
mains. These fables were likewise adopted by
one of the earliest fathers of the church : Be-
'^ hold," says St. Ambrose, ^^ the little bird
"■^ which, in the midst of the winter, lays her
** eggs on the sand by the shore. From that mo-
'*' mcut the winds are hushed ; the sea becomes
" smooth, and the calm continues for fourteen
" da)^. This is the time she requires ; seven days
** to hatch, and seven days to foster her young.
'' Their Creator has taught these little animals
*' to make their nest in the midst of the most
-'' stormv
OF BIKDS, FISH, &C. 20S
"*• Stormy season, only to manifest his kindness
'^ by granting them a lasting calm. The sea-
'' men are not ignorant of this blessing ; they
'^ call this interv^al of fair weather their halcyon
** dai/s ; and they are particularly careful to
^' seize the opportunity, as then tliey need fear
'' no interruption." Tliis, and a hundred other
instances, might be given of the credulity of
mankind with respect to this bird; they en-
tered into speculations concerning the manner
of her calming the deep, the formation of her
nest, and her peculiar sagacity ; at present we
do not speculate, because we know, with respect
to our king-fisher, that most of the assertions
are false. It may, indeed, be alledged, with
some shew of reason, that the halcyon of the
ancients was a different bird from our kincr-fisher;
and it may be urged, that many birds, espe-
cially on the Indian ocean, build a floating nest
upon the sea; but still the historv- of the ancient
halcyon is clogged with endless fable ; and it is
but an indifferent method to vindicate falsehood
by shewing that a part of the story is true.
The king-fisher, with which we are ac-
quainted at present, has none of thos& pov/eis
of allaying the storm, or building upon the
waves ; it is contented to make its nest on the
D d 2 banks
£0'i NATURAL HISTOIIY
banks of rivers^ in such situations as not to be
affected by the rising of the stream. When it
has found a place for its purpose, it hollows out
with its bill a hole about a yard deep ; or if it
find the deserted hole of a rat, or one caused
by the root of a tree decaying, it takes quiet
possession of it. This hole it enlarges at the
bottom to a good size; and, lining it with the
down of the willow, lays its eggs there without
any farther preparation.
Its nest, or rather hole, is very different from
that described by the ancients, by whom it is
said to be made in the shape of a long-necked
gourd, with the bones of the sea-needle. The
bones, indeed, are found there in great quan-
tities, as well as the scales of fishj but these
are the remains of the bird's food, and by no
means brought there for the purposes of warmth
or convenience. The king- fisher, as Belon
says, feeds upon fish, but is incapable of di-
gesting the bones and scales, which he throws
up again as eagles and owls are seen to do a
part of their prey. These fill the bird's nest
of course; and, although they seem as if de-
signedly placed there, are only a kind of nui-
sance.
hi
OF BIRDS, FISH, &.C. Q05
In these holes, which^ from the remains of
fish brought there, are very fcetid, the king-
fisher is often found with from five to nine
eo-crs. There the female continues to hatch
CO
even though disturbed ; and though the nest be
robbed, she will again return and lay there;
'•'* I have had one of those females brought me,'*
says Reaumur, " which was taken from her nest
** about three leagues from my house. After
^' admiring the beauty of her colours, I let her
''^ fly again, when the fond creature was in-
^^ stantly seen to return to the nest where
*^ she had just before been made a captive.
*' There, joining the male^ she again began to
'^ lav, though it was for the third time, and
'' though the season was very far advanced. At
" each time she had seven eggs. The older
^^ the nest is, the greater quantity of fish bones
" and scales does it contain : these are disposed
'^ without any order, and sometimes take up
'' a good deal of room.*'
The female begins to lay early in the reason,
and excludes her first brood about the bes^in-
ning of April. The male, whose fidelity exceeds
even that of the turtlcj, brings her large provi-
sions of fish while she is thus employed ; and
?}ie, contrary to most other birds, is found
pumip
206 NATURAL HISTORY
plump and fat at that season. The male, that at
other times used to twitter, now ^enters the nest
as quietly and privately as possible. The young
ones are hatched at the jexpiration of twenty
days ; but are seen to differ as well in their
size as in their beauty.
As the ancients have had their fables con-
cerning this bird, so have the modern vulgar.
It is a generally received opinion among them
that the flesh of the king- fisher will not cor-
rupt, and that it will even banish all vermin.
This has no better foundation than that which
is said of its always pointing, when hung up
dead, with its beak to the north. The only
truth which can be affirmed of this bird when
killed is, that its flesh is utterly unfit to be
eaten; while its beautiful plumage preserves its
lustre longer than that of any other bird we
know\
The Smj/rna Kirtg-faher is nearly three times
as large as the former, and has a long bill, very
thick at the base, of a red colour, ending in a
sharp point ; the iris of the eyes is white.
The top of the head and neck, the lower part of
the beliy and thighs, are brown ; a broad stripe
of white runs across the breast, and terminates
under the scapular feathers of the wings; the
winr?.
OP i^IRDS, FISH, &C. £07
wings, back, and tail, are all of a fme dark
green, and the legs and feet of an admirable fine
red.
They are found by the river sides at Smyrna,
as the former are here in England.
Barbot describes a bird found on the coasts
of South Guinea, whose wings and upper part
of his bodv, he says, are entirely blue, inclinincr
to sky colour 5 his breast of a dark yellow,
mixed with some red and blue feathers \ his bill
very thick and long, and his feet of a reddish co-
lour, which seems to be a bird of this kind.
The large Bengal Kirig-fishcr is as large as
the common thrush ; the bill is very thick at
the base, of a line scarlet colour, and nearly three
inches long, ending in a sharp point like the
former ; the iris of the eyes of a beautiful yel-
low; the head, the upper part of the neck, and
back, brown; the breast, throat, and part of
the belly white, with five large brown spots on
each side ; the wings, the lower part of the
back, and the tail, of a fine bright coloured
bluish green, the covTrt feathers of the wings
excepted, which are nearly the same colour
as the neck and upper part of the back ;
the leo;s and toes short, and of ati orange co-
0-0
lour.
M. Pomet
208 NATURAL niSTOUY
M. Pomet describes a bird found in the king-
dom of Cambaya, which he calls the Indian
king-fisher, and says, that when they arc going to
breed, they throw out of their mouths a white
froth, with which they build a nest, of the
size and sljape of a round dish, where they lay
their eggs, and hatch their young ones ; these
nests are of a white colour, tending to yellow,
and of a hard, dry consistence, the taste being
insipid, and almost like that of vermicelli.
These nests, as well as those of a certain bird
very much like a swallow, are brought from the
East Indies into France and other parts of Eu-^
rope, where for their fine flavour they are es-
teemed a very great delicacy, and are said to
afford very good nourishment, being boiled in
water with 'jl fowl and ginger.
The small Bengal King- fisher is about the
size of the common English king- fisher ; the
bill of a fine scarlet colour, shaped like the for-
mer, with a spot of yellow upon the forehead,
adjoining to it, and a large spot of white under
the throat, with a broad black line intervening
from the bill, and encompassing the eyes.
The top of the head is of a dirty coloured
red, under which there runs a dark blue line,
which is separated from the back by a broad
stripe
FIG. 60.
Crown-Bu'ii .
OF lilKDS, FISH, Sec. COD
Stripe of white; the back is a dark bkie ; the
wings something darker; the rump and upper
part of the tail red ; the under side of the belly^
thighs^ and tail, of a very beautiful yellow ;
the legs and feet much like the former^ only of
a deeper colour, and more inclining to a scarlet.
This species of birds are said to dive under
the w^ater for their prey, which is chiefly small
fishes.
THE AVOSETTA.
WE have gone through the various tribes
tjf birds which are most generally known, or
at least such of whom as any considerable part
of their natural habits and manners have been
discovered, without, as already observed, pre-
tending to lay down a positive axiom as to their
classes ; for some, which we may have thought
to bear strong affinities, may possibly ]}e, in
reality, very distinct families ; but should that
VOL. ni. E e be.
C 1 0 N A T 13 K A L II I S TO 11 Y
be the case^ vc^ry few, in the precc<ting page.*,
can be chari»;cd witli being out of their places,
since they arc, in general, arranged according
to their similarities; a system, \vc presume,
more calculated to e:ive satisfaction, than anv
theoretical system founded upon imaginary
proofs of semblance and ideal speculation.
It may, however, be thought consistent with
our plan, to give also some brief account of
those v/ho are distinguishable for any pecuUari-
ties J and brief it must be, as in most cases wc
can do no more than give a description of their
size and plumage ; but even that v/ill be some
satisfaction to the curious.
The fir^t we shall mention of this kind is tht
_/^rosf/?/ff, which is principally found near Milan,
in Italy ; frequently at Rome and Venice, and
sometimes on the eastern coasts of Suffolk and
Norfolk, in the winter. The body is about the
size of a pigeon, but very slender and tall in
its niakc, being from the tip of the bill to
tlic end of the tail fourteen inchiCS long, and
wei2;hs about nine ounces; his beak is black,
flat, and sharp at the end, about four inches
lono", hooking upwards, which is peculiar to this
'.i'lrd only; the tongue short, and not cloven. He
has
or BHiDs^ risii^ &CC. <2\ \
Jus a fine stately pace, or way of walking; l^is
head is not large, but round, and black on the
top, and a little way down the back part of the
neck; the body entirely white on the under
side; the back and covert feathers white, spotted
with dusky brown spots ; the legs Ion"', of a
lovely bright azure colour, bare of feathers
above the knees, the clavv^s black, and very
small; it has a back toe, which is also small.
From its being bare of feathers above tlie
knee, v/e may naturally conclude that it lives
by wading in the waters, and that it has also
some affinity to the crane kind, by its slender
figure ; yet it differs from them in one most es-
sential characteristic, namely, that of being
web-footed like the duck. Johnson says, that
It has a chirping, pert note ; but of its oilier
habits he gives us not the smallest account, and
which, indeed, still remain unknown.
From all the circumstances that have hitherto
been collected, the Corrira of Aldrovandus
seems to be related to the above ; but of this
still less is known than of the former, and all
the inforn]ation we have is from that author,
who says, (hat it has the longest legs of all wcb-
fooicd fowls, except the flamingo and avosctta ;
that tlie bill is straiglit, yellow, and black at
E c 2 the
212 NATURAL HISTORY
the ends ; that the pupils of the eyes arc Sur-
rounded \yith two circles, one of which is bay,
and the other white : below, near the belly, it
is whitish ; the tail has two white feathers,
black at the extremities; and that the upper
part of the body is of the colour of rusty iron.
OF BIRDS, FlSil;, &t. <il,1
TlIE CROVVN BIRD.
THIS is a fine stately East India fowl, about
the size of an English turkey; the body is co-
vered with lono; slender feathers resemblinsr
hair, of a dark green colour, with a purplish
cast on the sides and back, and a few broad
stripes of red upon the wings, tending down-
wards ; the thighs are a sort of buff' colour,
the claw3 black. It has a large bluish or gold
coloured tuft on the top of the head, which
growls up in shafts or stalks, with little balls upon
the tops, that bear some little resemblance to an
earl's coronet, according to some; others sav it
is more like the tuft on the head of a Virginian
jiightingalc. A little above the bill, upon the
fore part of the head, is a small red comb, and
two red marks, resembling ears, on each side of
the head ; the bill is short and thick, bending
downward, and of a yellow colour.
This seems to be the bird described by Mr.
Tavernier in his travels into India; great num-
bers
214 NATURAL UlSTOUY
bers of which are found in the territories of
Cambaya, Broudra, &c. and which in the day-
time walk about the fields, but in the night roost
upon the trees. The flesh of the young ones,
he says, is white, and well tasted. In those
parts where the Mahometans govern, you may
catch them without danger ; but in those terri-
tories where idolatrous rajahs are masters, it is
very dangerous to kill them, or any other bird
or animal 3 for the Banians count it sacrilege,
and will severely punish any they can seize.
They whipped a Persian merchant to death,
and took all his money, to the value of three
hundred thousand rupees, for shooting a pea-
cock.
The Mexican Crown Bird has a thick, short
bill, of a sort of flesh colour, or tawny, with
2l large crest of green feathers upon its head,
which it raises and falls at pleasure. The head,
neck, back, breast, and part of the belly and
thighs are of a brownish dusky colour. The
four first quill feathers of the wings arc a fine
scarlet, the last having fine long white marks
upon the outward web ; the rest of the quill
feathers and the tail are purple, as are also the
covert and scapular feathers of the wings, with
a fine mixiure of green interspersed through
OF TJiitDs^ risii, ScC. <1\5
the whole. The legs and feet are bluifli, or
lead colour. It is m size pretty near to that of
a. fieldfare.
Barbot, in his description of his voyage to
South Guinea, describes this as a fine bird, and
of various colours, such as white, black, brown,
red, fky colour, blue. Sec. having a long tail,
the feathers of which, he says, the blacks wear
on their heads. He describes some of them
which are of a gold colour, and others with
charming blue tufts on their heads, much like a
\'ir£;inian nishtinjrale.
THE CARASOW.
THIS bird takes its name from a part of
the West Indies, whence it is brought ; the
Indians call it the Mountain Bird, and some
travellers «:ive it the name of a wild tuikev ;
it is a bird which is easily made tame and
sociable, so as to accompany other fowls. It
is
Sl6 KATUKAL HISTORY
is black upon the head and neck^ resem-
bHng velvet, and has a high crest of cu-
rious rufHed black feathers like a half circle,
which rises spirally from the top of its head,
with a white circle running across them ; these
it can erect or let fall at pleasure. The rest
of the body, excepting the lower part of it,
of tlie cock, is black; that of the hen rather
of a dufky brown ; the tail is black, w'.th four
bars of white running across it near the extre-
mity, at equal distances. The bill is thick, on
the upper mandible of which there is a round
excrescence as big as a hazel nut ; the eyes are
blacky and the legs pretty long, and the size of
its body not a great deal less than a common
turkey.
M. V/., in his description of the kingdom of
Mosqueto, calls it a smn.ll Indian turkey, and
says they are very welcome gam.e to the hungry
traveller, who may shoot all he meets with, one
after another, they being so very tame, that they
will scarcely fly away : they keep frequently
ten or a dozen in a flock, and are excellent
meat.
The author of the Buccaniers of America
takes notice of this bird under the name of
Oecos, and says it very much resembles the
European
OF jjiiiD.% risH, &c. 217
European turkey; and that the feathers of some
of the male kind are inchning to red, but those-
of the female to black.
Dr. Gemelli says, they have abundance of
them in New Spain, winch about the new of
the moon are easily killed, for when one falls,
he says, there is no danaer of the rest flvin^-
away at the noise of the guns.
The Red Bird seems to be a species of the
Carasow, and the discrepancies between them no
more than what may arise from the different
places where they are bred, -or such as are com-
mon among many fowls of the same kind, both
wild and tame. Upon the head of this bird
there appears a vQ\y beautiful crest^ the outer-
most edges of which are black ; the under par!,
nearer to the head, and part of the neck, are of
a lead colour; the rest of the body, a vtvy fine
red, except the wings and tail, which are some-
what darker that the other parts. The legs and
feet black.
Her late Majesty Ouecn Caroline, when
Princess of Wales, had one of them' kept at
Richmond amongst her collection of rarities,
where the name seems to have been imposed
upon it on account of its colour, and ignorance
of its real one,
VOL. HI. p f
i21S NATURAL HISTORT
THE GAULDING.
THERE are several varieties of this spe-
cies, the most remarkable of which is the
Large White Gaulding, which measures from
the end of the bill to that of the tail about
three feet and a half, and about four feet from
the extension of each wing; the bill is very
long, angular, and of a yellow colour, in which
there are two long slits for nostrils. The neck
is very crooked, resembling in some degree a
Roman S, and is about eleven inches long.
The feathers that cover the whole body are of
an exceedingly beautiful milk-white colour.
The thighs, legs, and toes, arc about ten inches
long, and are covered with large scales, of a
bluish black colour. It has four toes, one be-
hind, and three before, the middlemost of which
is nearly three inches long; the claws are black;
and there is a ^niall web between the two outer
most toes.
It
OF BIRDS, nsH, &c. 219
It feeds upon small fish, and frequents the
sea marshes and salt pools.
Captain Wood observes, that in the North
West parts of Greenland there is a sort of
fowl which the natives catch with springes and
snares, chiefly for the sake of their skin and fea-
thers, which being thick, they dress and make
garments of, like furs, wearing the feathers out-
ward in the summer time, and inward in the
winter. He says two or three of his men killed
1 .500 of them in one day.
From this account, one would imagine,
snares would be as unnecessary here as in the
bird island in America, mentioned by the Earl
of Cumberland, who says, there are such in-
credible numbers of birds found in it, that there
needs no artifice to take them ; for a man may
catch with his hands alone almost enough to
serve a whole fleet.
The Blue Gaulding is from its bill to the
end of the tail about eighteen or twenty inches,
and from the extension of each wing about a
yard. The part of the bill towards the head
is of a bluish colour, and black towards the
extremity ; it is very sharp, and about two
inches and a half long ; it has a greenish skin
about the eyes^, and a tuft of thin small longish
. F f 2 feathers
220 NATURAL HISTORY
feathers upon the head ; the neck is about six
inches long, covered with thin feathers of a
bluish black colour ; the whole body of the. bird
being nearly the same colour, except the breast,
belly, and under the wings, which appear some-
what lighter.
The legs are covered with greenish scales, and
.are about seven or eight inches long ; it has four
toes, one behind and three before, the middle-
most of which is about two inches long; and it
has black crooked sharp claws.
They feed on shrimps, young crabs, spiders,
and field crickets 3 and frequent ponds and
watery places.
OF BIRDS. FISH, &C. 221
THE OTIS, OR TARDA.
THIS bird is about the size of a large cock,
has only three claws on a foot, an oblong head,
full eyes, a sharp bill, a bony tongue, and a
slender . neck. Belon and Gessner, describe it
as much larger and stronger, and as weighing
sometimes thirteen pounds and a half. The
head, which- is but indifferently shaped, is of
an ash colour, as is likewise the neck down to
the breast. It has a strong bill, and a serrated
or saw-like tongue, sharp on both sides, and
hard towards the end ; with so wide a ear, or
auditory duct, that the end of a finger may be
introduced. And, upon examining under the
feathers, two cavities will appear, one towards
the bill, and the other leading directly to the
brain. It has a plump round breast, is co-
vered with white feathers on the belly and
to the middle of the thighs, and has a great
many dark brown and blackish spots on the
back.
222 NATURAL HISTORY
back. The larger feathers in the wings are
white, but black towards the end, and at the
roots red. Those of the tail are of a dark red,
and adorned with a great many fine streaks and
black spots on the outside, and on the inside
with red. The legs are about a foot in length,
pretty thick and scaly.
This seems to be a sort of bustard, such as
are found upon the hills and in the woods in
the northern parts of Germany. The flesh is
said to resemble that of the pheasant, and was
so acceptable to the Emperor Caligula, that,
as Suetonius relates, he would have offered it in
sacrifice in his temple.
OF BIRDS^ FISH^ &C. £CS
THE BRASILIAN NIGHT BIRD.
THIS bird is variously described with regard
to size ; some contending they are seldom larger
than a fowl, while others maintain they are
bigger than a goose : the probability is_, that
there are some not only of both, but also of the
intermediate sizes." It is an ill-favoured bird ;
the head is something similar to that of a cat ;
it has a crooked bill, the upper mandible hang-
ing a good way over the under ; the eyes are
large and sprightly, shining like crystal, and the
inner circle appearing of a whitish yellow ; it
has two large tufts of feathers, nearly two fingers
long, upon the head, resembling ears ; the tail
is so short that it is not seen when the wings,
which are very long, are closed.
The thiffhs and leo;s are covered with short
down, or feathers, as low as the feet, which
are armed with ftrong crooked claws, nearly
three
224 NATURAL HISTORY
three inches long, and very sharp. The fea-
thers of the whole body are of a gold colour,
sprinkled up and down with black and white
spots.
THE BLUE AND SOLITARY THRUSHES.
BOTH these are very curious species, and per-
fe&ly resembling each other in habits arid in
manners. Their plumage is in general blue,
though the latter has a cast of brown. It is
hot uncommon in France and Italy, where it
chuses the most frightful precipices for its re-
sidence, whence it probably receives its name.
As it is rarely caught, it is in high estimation
even in the countries where it breeds, but dill
more valuable when carried from home. It
not only whistles in the most delightful manner,
but speaks with an articulate, distinct voice.
It is so docile, and observes all things with such
diligence, that, though waked at midnight by
any of the family, it wull speak and whistle at
the word of command.
OF IlIRDS^ FISH, &C. no
■•^o
THE BENGAL QUAIL.
THIS is k beautiful bird, and larger tiian
the European quail; it has a dark brown bill •
the top part of the head is covered with black
feathers, like a cap, under which there runs a
large yellow streak, which is continued from the
root of the bill to the hick part of the head;
the eye is encompassed with a large black line'
which reaches from the corner of the mouth
to the other side of the head, under which
there runs a white streak or line. The under
parts of the body are of a yellowish or buff co-
lour, except that part next the tail, w^hich i.
spotted with red. The hinder part of the neck
and back, with the covert feathers of the wings,
are of a yellowish green, except a large divi-
sion of a pale bluish green upon the pinion of
the wings, and another pretty much the same
upon the rump; the legs and feet .are a sort of
orange colour, and the claws of a dark red.
''^''■'/^' Gg M.Mis.
22fi NATUUAL HISTOUY
M. Misson, in his voyage to It?ly, observes,
that vast quantities come into those parts every
spring from the African shore ; and that they
are so tired with their long voyage, that they
will settle on the first ships they meet, whence
they are taken with very little trouble. It is
surprising how a bird that has no very strong
wing should be able to continue so long a flight.
Josephus says, the Arabian Gulph breeds more
quails than any other place. Varro and others
remark, that such large numbers have, in the
spring time, lighted upon ships at sea, in their
passage from one climate to another, as to sink
the ships ; and that a hundred thousand quails
and swallows together have been taken in a
day. And Diodorus Siculus gives much the
same account of taking them at Rhinoculara,
on the edge of the wilderness where the chil-
dren of Israel were fed.
Beauplan, in his description of the Ukraine,
in TarLary, says there are a sort of quails in those
parts, with blue feet, which are present death to
any that cat of them.
OP BIRDS^ FISH, &,C. 1'27
THE HOOPQE.
IN the shape of the body, the cock re-
sembles the plover, but the hen is much less,
and more slender. The head is adorned with
a double row of feathers, reaching all along the
top of it, from the bill to near the nape of the
neck, which fonns a beautiful crest about two
inches high, and is made up of twenty-four
feathers of different lengths, which it can raise
or let fall at pleasure; the tips of them are
black ; under the black, white ; and of a fine
chesnut, inclining to yellow, on the remaining
part under the white : the neck is of a pale
reddish yellow, and the breast white, with some
few black strokes tending downwards ; the back
and wings are variegated with black and white
cross lines or bars. It has a black sharp bill,
about two inches and a quarter long, bending
downwards. It is said to weigh about ten or
G g 2 twelve
(228 NATUllAL HISTORY
twelve ounces, and is, from the tip of the bill to
the end of the tailj twelve inches, or upwards,
and about eighteen inches in breadth when the
wings are extended.
They are very rarely seen in England, but are
very common in High Germany, especially
about Cologn, where they are distinguished by
the name of JVidehuppe, and generally sit upon
the ground, but sometimes upon the willow
trees ; they feed upon beetles and various other
ipsects^ much like the common Woodpecker,
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 229
THE RED LEGGED HORSEMAN.
THIS is a singular and uncommon bird ; it
is supposed to be a native of the Low Countries :
very few of them have been seen in England,
and those few in the eastern parts of Essex,
where they acquired their name, which cannot,
however, be justly applied on account of the
colour of their legs, for although those of the
cock are of a pale red, those of the hen are
green. The top of the head and the neck are
of. a fine light brown ; the bill is slender, and
nearly two inches long, of a reddish colour at the
base, and black at the point. The covert fea-
thers in the middle of the wings black, but
downwards, within two inches of the end of the
tail, they are of a brown colour, edged with
white. The legs are pretty long; the claws
small, and black. They are said to be about
sixteen or eighteen inches from the point of the
bill to the end of the tail ; and in breadth, when
the wings are fully expanded, two feet. In
weight, about half a pound.
530 NATURAL HlSTOlir
THE EAST INDIAN MARTIN.
THIS is about the size of a common magpie,
of a black colour, with a yellow bill, and a large
yellow tuft upon the head ; the middle part of
the wings is white; the feet are yellow, with
large crooked claws. The Javanese are great
admirers of this bird, and frequently teach them
to. whistle and talk, which they do as distinctly
as a man, but with somewhat a rougher voice.
There is another sort of them that is of a smaller
size.
They are found all over the Indies, and feed
upon rice and other fruits of the earth.
«F BIRDS, FISH, &C. tS\
THE POKKOE.
THIS is a Guinea bird, as ugly as it is rare,
exactly the size of a goose j its wings extraordi-
narily long and broad, made up of dark coloured
feathers; the under part of its body covered with
ash coloured feathers, or rather hairs, for they
are as like the one as the other; it has under it«
neck a maw or bag about a span long, as thick
as a man's arm, like a red skin, in which it lays
up its food, as the monkeys do in their pouches }
the neck, which is pretty long, and the red knob
on the nape, are garnished with the same sort of
feathers or hairs as the under part of the body, in
proportion to which the head is much too large,
and, excepting a very few hairs, it is very bald ;
the eyes are large and black; the bill extraordi-
narily long and thick.
This creature feeds commonly on fish, which,
when tossed, it catches very nimbly, and swal-
lov/s down whole into its crop, or maw,; and
will
2S2 NATURAL HISTORY
will at once devour as much fish as would serve
four men; it is likewise a lover of rats, and will
swallow them whole.
When a boy or dog is set upon them^ they
will make a good defence, pecking and striking
them with their bills very smartly, which makes
a noise as if two sticks were clashing one upon
another.
THE BEE-EATER.
IN the shape of its body this bird very much
resembles the king-fisher, and is about the size
of a common black-bird; the bill is large, and
nearly two inches long, but bends downward, and
is a good deal more arched than the king-fisher's;
the tongue is slender, but appears rough towards
the end, and jagged, as if it were torn. The
eyes arc, in some, hazel ; in others, of a beau-
tiful red colour.
It has a large oblong head : the feathers at
the base of the upper chap are white, shaded
with
OF BIRDS, FISH, 6CC. Q35
with a sort of green and yellow colours; the
back part of the head of some is of a deep
red ; in others, there is a mixture of green
amongst it; from the corners of the bill, along
each side of the head, there is a black stroke
extends itself beyond the eyes 3 contiguous to
which, on the under part of the head, the fea-
thers are of a pale yellow ; the belly, neck, and
breast, are of a bluish green ; the scapular fea-
thers in some are blue ; in others green, with
a mixture of red. The large wing feathers are
of a sort of orange colour, with black tips, in-
termixed with some few green ones ; the rest
of the wino- feathers are in some birds more red,
m others more blue. The tail is upwards of
three inches long, and consists of about twelve
feathers, the two middlemost of which are
considerably longer than the rest, and end in
sharp points ; the colour of the tail varies; in
some it is green, in others blue ; the under
side of a dark brown.
The legs and feet very nearly resemble those
of the king-fisher, the toes being joined much
in the same manner : they are generally of a
blackish colour, but sometimes of a sort of brown
or dusky red; the claws are black.
VOL. lu^ H h , BelcT)
234 NATURAL HISTOllY
Belon savs it is common in the Island of
Crete, and sometimes is seen in some parts of
Italy^ but is unknown upon the continent of
Greece. It feeds not only on bees, but upon
cicada, beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects,
and also on the seed of nipplewort, bastard
parsley, turnips, Sec. They fly in flocks, and
frequent the mountains that bear wild thyme.
Aristotle says they build in hollow places or
caverns three or four cubits deep, and lay six or
seven eggs.
The Btiigal Bee- eater is about the size of
the former, and has a black bill, thick at the
base, bending downwards, nearly two inches
long; the eyes are a fine red; a black stroke is ex-
tended on each side of the head, which begins
at the corners of the mouth, and passes beyond
the eyes. The base of the upper chap, and
under the chin, is covered with bright pale blue
feathers ; the upper, and back part of the head,
of a dusky yellow ; the back and wings of the
same colour, only shaded pretty strongly with a
green ; the tips of the quill feathers brown ;
the breast and belly green ; the thighs and im-
der part iiear the vent of a pale yellow, with a
small green mixture. The tail consists of the
same
or BIRDS^ FISH, &c. 235
«ime number of feathers as the former; the
outermost, on each side, are of a green and
yellow mixture, about three inches in length ;
the two middlemost twice that length, ending in
sharp points, of a brown or dusky colour; the
legs and feet black, much like the former.
THE WRY-NECK.
THIS bird is nearly the size of a common lark,
has a short lead-coloured bill, something less
triangular than the rest of the birds of this kind,
and has a round tongue, which ends in a sharp
bony substance, and pointed like a thorn, with
which it generally strikes the ants that are its
food, and v/hich, by the glutinous matter it con-
tains, and the contraction of the bird's tongue, it
swallows without ever touching them with its
biU.
Its plumage, in general, is very elegant and
curiously coloured ; the upper part of the body
being variegated with a great many colours,
H h 2 and
£36 NATURAL HISTOIIVT
and a beautiful sharp line that runs from the
crown of the head along the middle of the
back. As a means of distinouishins; the cock
from the hen, Mr. Derham has been so curious
as to observe, that the black line upon the cock
runs no farther than the upper part of the
neck, but that of the hen, he says, reaches aU
most to the very bill; also, that the cock's belly
13 naked, as is the her/s when she sits; whence
he concludes it takes its turn in incubation.
The lower part of the belly and the throat are
yellowish, with some black transverse lines;
the prime feathers of the wings are spotted
with large white spots ; the rump of an ash
colour. The tail is about two inches long,
crossed at distant intervals with black, and sprin-
kled with little dark coloured specks, but docs
not bend inwards, as those of other woodpeck-
ers. The legs and feet arc short, and the claws
disposed in the same manner as other birds of
this kind.
There is something ridiculously odd in its
gesture, frequently turning its head quite back
to its shoulders ; whence the ancients have
given it the name of Tor quill a. The body of
the hen is of a paler or more cinereous colour
than the cock.
OF BIRDS^ FISH^ &C. 237
THE KOKOI.
THIS is a Brazilian bird of the crane kind; it
is very pleasing to the sight, and is about the
size of a stork; their bills are straight and sharp,
about six fingers in length, of a yellowish colour,
inclining to green; the neck is fifteen fingers long,
the body ten, the tail five; the neck and throat
are white; both sides-of the head black, mixed
with ash colour. On the undermost part of the
neck are most delicate white, long, and thin fea-
thers, fit for plmncs; the wings and tail are of
an ash colour, mixed with some white feathers ;
all along the back are long and light fea-
thers like those on the neck, but of an ash colour ;
the legs are very long, and covered above halt
way down with feathers. Their flesh is verv
good, and of a grateful taste.
258 NATURAL HISTORY
THE VULTURINE EAGLE, AND OTHERS OF THE
EAGLE KIND.
THE Vulturine Eagle is nearly the size
of the common eagle/ and is bald on the
top of the head and neck, excepting some
parts that are covered with a sort of whitish
down j the bill is black, and straight, for nearly-
half way,' the other part, especially towards the
point, bending downwards into a remarkable
hook, and a good deal resembling that of the
common vulture. The under part of the bill,
and sides of the face, about the eyes, are covered
over with a dusky-coloured down. The pupil of
the eye is black, and the irides yellow. The
belly and breast are of a p.ilish cream colour,
spotted with dusky oblong spots ; the covert fea-
thers of the wings and the back are of a reddish
brown ; the quill feathers and the tail are black ;
the legs and the upper part of the feet are lead
colour, the under side brown; the talons are
black, large, and hooked.
Mr.
^^yAe C?a^4ty cy^, ^-4^^^,eai^i/^\
\y/fy {yO/r/rA V't^^Aea C^aa/e^^.
I'liJ'Jij-hfJ hy H.Ji.i'vn„m,l.<- Juju i.iSo^.
^xy/tfy (Zaa^^ {^ ^yM^m/e^ J^}/e^.
^A/M.e/^.
P„Mi.,/u:l hvHJXSvm.-iuh- Jim. liS.'S.
or BiKDs, risH, Sec. <23()
Mr. Clayton, in his account of Virginia,
printed in the Philosophical Transactions, says
they have there three sorts of eagles: the largest
is what they call the grey eagle, being much of
the colour of our kite, or gledge ; the second is
the bald eagle, for the body and part of the neck
and head are covered with a white sort of down,
whence it looks very bald, and it derives the
name ; the third is the black eade, resembling
most of all the English eagle; they generally
build their nests on the top of some tall old tree,
stripped of its boughs, and near a river side, and
the people usually fell the tre^ when they take
the young. When this eagle observes that the
fishing-hawk has struck a fish, he takes wino-
immediately, and it is sometimes very pleasant
to see the flight; for when the fishing-hawk
perceives himself pursued, he screams and makes
a terrible noise, till at length he drops the fish
to make his escape, which the eagle frequently
catches before it reaches the earth or water.
These eagles kill young lambs, pigs, &c.
Martin, in his description of some of the
Western Isles of Scotland, says the natives^
there observe, that the eagle, in destroying the
deer, fixes his talons between their horns \ and
beating its wings constantly about their eyes,
while
240 NATURAL HISTORY
while several other eagles flying at the same
time on both sides^ force the deer^ upon a con-
tinual run, till it at last falls into some pit, or
down a precipice, where it is destroyed, and be-
comes a more easy prey to its enemies.
The Ossifrage. The head of this bird is
wholly white, and the body is like the vul-
ture's, with long wings, and along tail. Al-
drovandus mentions two sorts of this bird, the
first of which is larger than the other, the head
whitish, the beak crooked like the hawk's, the
top part of which next the head is white, the
rest black ; the circle round the ej'cs is white,
the ball black. The colour of the whole body
is a dark chesnut, inclining to blackish.. He is
found in the woods and mountains of Syria and
Egypt.
Its food is chiefly dead carcasses of other
fowls and reptiles.
It is said by the ancients that this bird is im-
patient of cold, the body being of a hot nature
by eating of flesh.
A modern author takes it to be of the caaic
kind, a bird of prey, and the same as mentioned
by Moses.
The Tunis or Barbary Falcon is a sprightly
maje&tic bird, and has a large black bill, with
open
OF J3IRDS^ FISH, &C.. 241
Open yellow nostrils ; the eyes are of a sort of
blackish brown, or dark hazel colour, with
small circles of yellow round them. The top
of the head is of a pale ash colour, beautifully
spotted with black ; the back and scapular fea-
thers, and some of the covert feathers of the
wings, are pretty much of the same colour ; the
back having some fine black spots intermixed,
much like those on the top of the head. The
breast, belly, and thighs, are more of a yellowish
•colour, inclining to white; the upper part of
the breast pretty much shaded with a blue.
There is a large spot or two of white on the
second row of the covert feathers of the winp-s.
The wings are very long, reaching, when closed,
almost to the end of the tail. The tail is of a
bluish colour, with six or seven dusky coloured
rings running across it. Some part of the thighs,
and under part of the belly, are spotted with
curious long black spots, resembling ermine.
The legs and the feet are yellow, and the clavvs
or talons black.
VOL, III. I i
242 NATURAL HISTORY
THE BOATBILL.
THIS is a very curious blrd^ and is found in
the southern parts of America, of which it is a
native ; it is about the size of a common fowl.
The general colour of the bill is dusky, and the
skin beneath the under jaw is capable of disten-
sion. From behind the head springs a long
black crest. The plumage on the forehead is
white, and the rest of the bird is a pale bluish
ash colour; the feathers which hang over the
breast are loose, like those of the heron. There
are varieties of this bird, both spotted and brown,
but they appear simple varieties, and not at all
entitled to the denomination of species. Like
the king- fisher it preys upon fish, which it
catches by perching on trees that overhang the
streams, and dropping on the fish as they swim
bv.
-^K^n^ f/^f/ze/^ c>n.^yYrr€a.
i::^/ie ^^ui^/d o/^/ne ^ ^/y^j ,
l^iliTuyhf'U by H.Ji.S%'nnr,uls June 1. 1 ? ,> S .
OF TIIRDS, FISH, &C. 543.
THE UMBRE.
THIS bird is brought from the Cape of Good
Hope ; it is the size of a crow^ and not much
differing in colour, as it is of a deep brown, or
umbre. The bill is three inches and a half in
length, with a furrow on each side the upper
mandible; and from the head springs a large
crest of black feathers more than four inches in
length.
THE JACANA
IS found in most of the tropical climates, but
is most common in South America : it is re-
markable for the length of its toes, and for the
wings being armed in front with sharp spurs.
'There are about ten species differing in size from
that of a common fowl to that of a water-rail.
They vary also in their plumage, some being
I i 2 brown,
244 NATURAL HISTORY
brown, some black, and some variable. The
faithful jacaria is a most useful bird at Cartha-
gena in South America. The natives, who
keep poultry in great numbers, have one of
these tame, who attends the flock as a shepherd,
to defend them from birds of prey. Though
not larger than a dunghill cock, the jacana is
able, by means of the spurs on his wings, to
keep off birds as large as the carrion vulture,
and even that bird himself; and it never deserts
its charge, but assiduously takes care to bring
the whole flock safe home at night. It feeds on
vegetables, and cannot run but by the help of
its wings.
OF BtRDS^ FISH^ &C. ^45
THE SHEATHBIlX.
THIS is an inhabitant of New Zealand, and is
remarkable for a horny sheath which covers the
upper part of its bill, which is also moveable,
and may be raised upwards or laid flat on the
bill. We know but of one species, which is as
large as a pigeon^ and as white as snow. They
feed on shell fish and carrion.
THE CRAI^.
THIS is a bird well known in many parts of
Great Britain, but it is still more common in Ire-
land. In shape it much resembles the water-rail,
and was once erroneously supposed to be the
same bird, differing only by a change of colour at
a cer-
246 NATURAL HISTORY
a certain season of the year. The bill^ however,
is in this species short and thick, exactly resem-
bling in shape that of the common gallinule, or
water-hen, from which it however differs not
only in its plumage, which is a reddish brown,
but in its habits, as it never frequents watery
places, but is always found in grass, corn, or
furze. With us it is a bird of passage, and on
its first arrival about April is very lean, not
weighing more than six ounces ; but before its
departure it weighs more than eight. The flesh
is good food.
THE HORNBILL.
THIS is a race of birds, consisting, as it haS
been stated by some nomenclators, of eleven
species ; it is nearly allied to the toucan, and in-
deed seems to hold the same place in the warm
climates of the old continent as the toucan does
in the new. The distinguishing characteristic
of this genus is an immense bending bill, v^rith
frequently
Olfc- BIRDS, FISH, &C. g47
frequently a large protuberance in the upper
part of it resembling an additional bill.
The Rhinoceros Hornbillf or Rhinocfros birdy
is nearly as large as a turkey 3 the bill is ten
inches long, and two and a half thick at the base.
On the upper part is an appendage as large as
the bill itself^ and turning upwards^ which mea-
sures eight inches in height. There is nothing
else remarkable in the bird^ as the general co-
lour of the plumage is black. This bird^ is
found in most parts of the East Indies_, where,
like the raven, it feeds upon carrion.
The Helmet Hornhill is remarkable for hav-
ing the same prominence of a conical form j and
in the Philippine isles there is a species, the horn
of which reaches backwards beyond the eyes,
ending in two angular points, which produce
the effect of a bird with two horns.
The Pied Hornhill of Malabar is distin-
guished from the rest of its kind by the breast,
. belly, and part of the wings being white ; the
remainder of the body is, like the rest of these
animals_, black.
24S NATURAL HISTORY
THE CHATTERERS.
THESE, though so little of their habits are
known^ form a very beautiful race of birds, in-
cluding about ten species. That which is call-
ed the Waxen or Bohemian Chatterer is the size
of a large lark, viz. eight inches. Its head is
adorned u^ith a beautiful pointed crest. The
upper parts of the body are of a reddish ash
colour ; the breast and belly of a pale purplish
chesnut -, a black streak passes over each eye ;
the chin also and quills are black. Their native
country is Bohemia, whence they wander in
fiocks all over Europe, and were formerly super-
3titiously considered as the presage cf a pesti-
lence. They are seldom seen in the south parts
of Britain.
The Carunculated Chatterer is a native cf
Cayenne and Brasil. It is about twelve inches
long. The plumage of the male is of a pure
white, except a tinge of yellow on the rump,
ouilis.
OJ*»BIIlDSj FISH, &C. 249
quills, and tail. The female has the upper
parts of the plumage olive grey, and the lower
parts grey, edged with olive. Both have a
fleshy caruncle at the hase of the bill, which
projects over it like that of a turkey cock.
Their voice, like that of all the kind, is so loud
and noisv, that they may be heard at the distance
of half a league.
THE CRACKLE.
OF this kind there are about eleven species
inhabiting America and the tropical climates,
some of them the size of a magpie, and others
about that of a blackbird. Their general plumage
is black. They live on maize, fruits, and insects ;
but one species in the Philippine Islands, which
is called, from its beauty, the Faradife Grackle,
is remarkable for its being an extraordinary de-
stroyer of grasshoppers. It stands upon record,
that the inhabitants of the Isle of Bourbon,
VOL. II r, K k being:
o^O NATURAL HISTORY
being greatly infested with that insect^ imported
a pair of these birds, which presently relieved
them from that pest. In process of time, how-
ever, the grackles became very numerous, and
the inhabitants thinking them injurious, pro-
scribed them by an edict, when the grasshoppers
again increased so fast upon them, that they
were obliged to send for more, which presently
dispatched every grasshopper on the island.
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a native of Ja-
maica. Its plumage is black, and it is remark-
able for the feathers of its tail forming a hollow
like a boat on the upper surface, so that it may
be compared to a hen's tail with the under side
turned uppermost. This bird is the size of a
cuckoo.
-^M/" -i^'^a rrrf//
'//
.j^^e ^arr^^z £^of/:/eu
Tublishcd by JLD.Sym^rnds.Junci-i/oS.
of BIRDSj FISH^ fiCC. Q,oi
THE FLYCATCHERS.
WITH us these are only summer birds, and
take their name from feeding upon insects. The
Spotted Flycatcher, however_, eats fruit, and is,
on that account, called in Kent, the cherry-
sucker. It is, in general, of a mouse-colour,
the head spotted with black, and the wings and
tail edged with white. The Pied Flycatcher
is less than a hedge-sparrow, and is known by a
white spot on the forehead.
The Fan-tailed Flycatcher is a native of New
Zealand. It is about the size of the bearded
tit-mouse, may easily be tamed, and will sit on
any person's shoulder to pick off the flies.
The whole head is black, with a white collar ;
the upper parts of the body olive brown ; the
under parts, a yellowish nut colour, and the tail
white, except the two middle feathers^, which are
black.
Kkii
252 NATUUAL HISTORY
THE TROPIC BIRD.
THIS includes only three known species,
which are all distinguished by a wedge-like tail,
the two middle feathers extending a vast length
beyond the others.
The Common Tropic Bird is about the size
of a widgeon. The length to the tip of the two
long feathers is nearly three feet. The bill is
three inches long, and red. The head, neck,
and under parts of the body, are quite white.
The upper parts of the plumage white also,
but marked with black lines. The two middle
feathers of the tail measure twenty inches, and
project fifteen inches beyond the rest. It takes
ils name from being chiefly found within the
tropics. It frequently flies very high, but ge-
nerally attends upon the flying fish in their
escape from their watery enemies ; and they
have now and then been found in calm weather
supinely floating on the backs of the drowsy
tortoises.
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 25S
tortoises. Their flesh is not good, but is some-
times eaten by the hungry sailors.
On the Palmerston island there is a black
billed tropic bird; and at the Mauritius there is
a tropic bird with a bill and tail of a beautiful
rose colour.
THE DARTER.
ALL the birds of this kind are distinguished
by a peculiarly long and slender neck.
The white-bel/ied Darter is scarcely as large
as a mallard, but its neck is so long that it
measures two feet ten inches. The bill is three
inches long, straight, and pointed. The neck is
covered with downy soft feathers, of a reddish
grey ; the upper parts of the plumage are dufky
black, dashed with white; the under parts pure
silvery white. It is a native of Brasil, and is
extremely expert at catching fish.
The
254 NATURAL HISTOUY^ 8cc.
The black-bellied Darter is the size of the
common duck. The head, neck, and hreast,
are light brown. The back, scapulars, &c.
marked with stripes of black and white. The
quill feathers, belly, thighs, and tail, are deep
black. The four toes are united like those of
the cormorant. In the islands of Ceylon and
Java it sits on the shrubs that hang over the
water, and in a country where people are so ap-
prehensive of serpents, it often terrifies the pas-
senger, bv darting out its long and slender neck,
which in their surprise they mistake fer the at -
tack of some fatal reptile.
OF FISH.
THE PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF FISH.
MATHEMATICIANS have computed that
the surface of the terrestrial globe contains one
hundred and ninety-nine millions and a half of
square miles ; that the sea is in proportion to
the land as 155, .5 to 55 ; consequently that it
occupies nearly three fourths of the whole sur-
face, or, in round numbers, one hundred and
forty-nine millions of miles.
This immense and almost unknown space
contains myriads of creatures, to whose very
form we are almost strangers, and of whose
dispositions and manners we are perfectly so.
Curiosity has, indeed, drawn some, and neces-
sity more, from the bosom of their retreat, and
shewn us that they differ essentially from every
other part of animated nature ; but of their pe-
culiarities, our information is equally limited and
inaccurate.
Au
256 NATURAL HISTORY
An extraordinary degree of Divine wisdom is
observable in the structure of fish, and in their
conformation to the element in which they are
destined to live. Most of them have the same
external form, sharp at each end, and swelling
in the middle, by which configuration they are
enabled to traverse the watery element with
greater ease and swiftness. From their shape
men have taken the idea of those vessels which
are intended to sail with the greatest speed; but
the progress of the swiftest sailing ship, with
the advantage of a favourable wind, is far infe-
rior to that of fish : ten or twelve miles an hour
is no small degree of rapidity in the sailing of a
ship ; yet any of the larger species of the watery
tribe would soon overtake her, play round as if
she did not move, and even advance considerably
before her.
As the progression of fish is performed in a
different way from that of fowls or quadrupeds,
they require neither anterior nor posterior ex-
tremities, but are provided with machines, con-
sisting of a number of elastic beams, connected
by firm membranes, and with a tail of the
same texture. Their tails are so framed as to
contract to a narrow space when drawn toge-
ther
OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. '257
ther on cither side, and to expand when drawn
to a strait line with their bodies :— thus by the'
assistance of this broad tail, and the fins on
their sides, they make their progression much
in the same way as a boat with oars on its sides,
and a rudder at its stem.
The FINS of fish are denominated from their
situation.
The pectoral are placed at a little distance be-
hind the opening of the gills, and are large and
strong, and serve as well to balance the body as
to assist the motion of the fish.
The ventral are placed towards the lower part
of the body, under the belly, and serve chiefly
to raise or depress the fish in the water.
The dorsal is situate on the ridge of the back,
and is very large in flat fish : its use, like the
pectoral ones, is to keep the body in equilibrio,
as well as contribute to its progressive mo-
tion.
The anal fin is placed between the vent and
the tail, enabling the fish to keep an upright
position.
The FINS in some are much more numerous
than in others; a fish completely fitted for
swimming with rapidity is generally furnished
VOL. HI. LI with
•268 NATURAL HISTORY
with two pair an the sides, and three single ones,
two above and one below ; yet it does not alwayn^
happen, that the fish. which has the greatest num-
ber of lihs is the swiftest swimmer. The shark
is thought tp be one of the swiftest, and yet it
has no fins on his belly, while the haddock
seems more completely fitted for motion, and yet
does not move so quickly.
The chief use of the fins seems indeed to
be the keeping the body in equilihrio : if
the fins are cut off, the fish can still swim, but
will turn upon its sides or its back, v/ithout
being able to keep itself in an erect posture as
before. When the fish is in a state of repose,
it spreads all its fins, and seems to rest upon the
pectoral ones, or those near the gills, and the
ventral, or belly fins, near the bottom; it. has
rlie power of folding up its pectoral fins, and
bv that means inclinin2; to the side on which the
fin is folded. To produce a retrograde motion,
the pciitoral fins are struck in a contrary di-
rcction. If the creature desire to turn, a blow
from the tail sends it about in an instant ; but
if tlie tail strike both ways, then the motion
is progressive. And it is observable, that some
li-h tliat have no Cms at all, such as lobsters,
dart iot'vvard with prodigious rapidity by means
of
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 259
of their tail, which is now found to be the in-
strument of progressive motion in ail the aquatic
Species ; and when the tail is cut off, the fish
loses all motion, and gives itself up entirely to
the impulse of the water.
Fish are also, in general, furnished with a
slimy glutinous matter, which defends their
bodies from the immediate contact of the sur-
rounding fluid, and which, likewise, in all pro-
bability, assists their motion through the water.
Beneath this, in many kinds, is found a sirong;
covering of scales, which, like a coat of mail,
defends it yet more powerfully 5 and under that,
before we come to the muscular parts of the
body, lies an oily substance, that also tends
to preserve the requisite warmth and vie:our.
The scales of this cuticle are laid one on the
other like tiles on a building, and their use
is analogous to the hair, wool, feathers, &c. of
other animals ; and below which may be disco-
vered their proper cnticula and cutis.
Though fish are formed for living entirely
in the watct, yet they cannot subsist without
air. On this subject Mr. Hawksbi^t made
several experiments, which are recorded in
the Philosophical Transactions. The fish he
L 1 (2 employed
260 NATURAL HISTORY
employed were gudgeons ; a species that ,are
very lively in the water, and can live a con-
siderable time out of it. Three of them were
put into a glass vessel, with about three pints
of fresh water, which were designed as a standard
to compare the others by. Into another glass,
to a like quantity^ of water, were put three more
gudgeons, and thus the water filled the glass
to the very brim. Upon this he screwed down
a brass plate with a leather below to prevent
any communication between the water and the
external air, and, that it might the better
resemble a pond frozen over, he suffered as
little air as possible to remain on the surface of
the water. A third glass had the same quantity
of water put in.it, which, first by boiling, and
then by continuing It a whole night in xacuo,
was purged of its. air as well as possible ; and
into this also were put three gudgeons. In
about half an hour_, the fish in the wate.r
whence the air had been exhausted began to
discover some signs of uneasiness, by a more
than ordinary motion in their mouths and gills.
Thpse that had no communication with the
eternal air would at this time also frequently
ascend to the top, and suddenly swim down
again : and in this state they continued for a
considerablfc
OF ilRDS, FISH^ &C. 2^1
considerable time, without any sensible altera-
tion. About five hours after this observation,
the fish in the . exhausted water were not so
active as before, upon shaking: the glass which
contained them. In three hours more, the in-
cluded fish lay all at the bottom of the glass
with their bellies upwards ; - nor could they be
made to shake their fins or tail by any motion
given to the glass. They had a motion with
their mouth^;, however, which shewed that
they were not perfectly dead. On uncovering
the vessel v/hich contained them, they revived
in two or three hours, and were perfectly well
next morning ; at which time those in the ex-
hausted water v/ere also recovered. The vessel
containing these last being put under the re~
ceiver of an air-pump, and the air exhausted,
they all instantly died. They continued at top
while the air remained exhausted, but sunk to
the bottom on the admission of the atmosphere.
The gills of fish are generally supposed to
be intended for an operation somewhat similar
to that of the lungs in other animals ; their
motion is very analogous to our breaihino;;
yet the use of air to these creatures is difficult
to be designated accurately; and the means of
obtaining what they want is not easily to be
accounted
262 NATURAL HISTORY
accounted for, or rendered intelligible. The
following is however the general explanation of
this phenomenon.
The fish first take a quantity of water into
their mouth, which is driven into the gills ;
these close and keep the water which is swal-
lowed from returning by the mouth, while the
bony covering of the gills prevents it from go-
injr throuefh them, until the animal has drawn
the proper quantity of air from it; then the
bony covers open, and give it a free passage,
by which means also the gills are a^ain opened,
and admit a fresh quantity of water. If the
fish is prevented from the free play of its gills,
it soon falls into convulsions, and dies.
This appears a pretty plausible explanation of
the respiration of fish ; yet there remains still
a difficulty not easily to be solved, what is
done with this air ? There seems to be no re-
ceotacle for containing it, excepvt the air-
bladder, or swim, which many modern philo-
sophers are of opinion is only to enable the fish
to rise or sink at pleasure, and not destined to
answer any vital purpose.
The air-bladder is a vesicle found in the bo-
dies of all spinous or bony fish (though not in
those of the cartilaginous or cetaceous kind),
situated
OF BIRDS, FISH, &,<:. 2()3
situated towards the back of the fish, oDcnino:
to the maw or gullet, and composed of one,
two, or three divisions. It is thought that the
animal possesses a power of distending or con-
tracting this bladder, and of consequence be-
coming specifically lighter or heavier than the
fluid in which it swims, and thence to rise ta
the top, or sink to the bottom of the water at
pleasure ; and that such is its use, seems dedu-
ciblc from the following experiment:
A carp being placed in an air pump, and
the air exhausted, the fish soon swelled to such
a degree that his eyes started from his head, and
the bladder burst by its expansion. The carp
continued to live on being thrown into water,
but was unable afterwards to rise to the top.
The same circumstances are consequent upon
any prick or wound of the bladder by which
the air may escape ; for in such cases the fish
continues to move at the bottom. And such
animals as river cray-fish, oysters, lobsters,
crabs, &c. that never quit the bottom of the
water, are found destitute of any air-bladder.
On the other hand; that this vesicle does
not merely serve for the purpose of varying the
specific gravity of fish, but for some purposes
essentially necessary to life, is an opinion gene-
rally
264 NATURAL HISTORY
rally entertained by the ancient philosophers.
Dr. Priestley also conjectures that it may serve
some other intentions in the animal economy,
besides that of the raising or depressing of the
fish.
Among the many arguments which arc urged
on this side of the question, the most conclusive
is, that all the cartilaginous kind of fish want
air-bladders, and yet they rise to the top, or sink
to the bottom without any difficulty ; and alsoy
that though most of the eel-kind have air-
bladders, yet they cannot raise themselves in the
water without great difficulty.
On this subject of the air, or swimming'
bladder, Dr. Monro has stated some interesting
facts: It has long been known, says he, that
in the flat fish there is no swimming-bladder ;
and in a few long-shaped fish, as in the macka-
rel, it is also wanting. It is likewise known,
that in many fish the air-bag communicates by
a duct with the oesophagus. On examining
this matter, he found in a sturgeon a round
hole, nearly an inch in diameter, in the upper
and back part of the stomach, by which it com
municates with a very large air-bag.
In the salmon, he found a hole so large as to
admit readily the largest size goose-quill, lead-
ing directly through the coats of the oesopha-
gus
OF BIKDS, FISH, oCC. C65
gas into the air-bag ; and if, as in the carp,
liiere are two air-bags, the duct leads to the
posterior has;, from which there is a passage
into the anterior. From these circumstances
he concludes tliat the air found in the swim-
ming bladder passes into it through the above-
mentioned ducts ; and for which purpose thev
seem well suited ; for as in the common horizon-
tal situation of the fish their beginning* is at the
upper part of the stomach, it is easy to conceive
that the air which they take in at their mouth,
when they ascend, or tliat v/hich may, by
some more latent process, be disengaged from
the water, is applied to the ducts ; and that the
fish, by an instinct of nature, distinguishes the
irritation of air from that of water, and pro-
pels the air into the air-bag, but excludes the
water.
But in the cod and haddock, though the air-
bag is very large, and its sides remarkably
strong, yet the Doctor was not able to discover
any communication of it with the mouth,
ccsophagus, stomach, or intestines. The air-
bag was not enlarged by blowing into the ali-
mentary' canal, nor could it be emptied without
bursting it.
VOL.111. Mm Furthi'is
^2G0 NATURAL 1IISTUU¥
Further, on the inner side of the air-bag ot
t!^e cocl_, haddock, Sec. \\-as found a red coloured
organ, the surface oF which is very extensive,
composed of a vast number of leaves or mcm-
hranes doubled ; but in those fish where the air-
bag communicatGS with the ahmcntary canal,
this red body is either very small and simple in
itS: structure, as in the conger eel, or entirely
w^mting, a& in the sturgeon, salmon, carp. Sec.
Hence, he thinks it reasonable to suppose, that
the air may be secreted from this red body, some-
what in the same vv-ay in which it seems to be se-
creted into the swimming bladders of aquatic
plants, or perhaps into the air-bag of the egg of a
bird as the chick grows. Many readers_, hov/-
cver, may perhaps be of opinion, that the cod^^
?iaddock, 8cc. have an air-duct which has as
yet escaped observation.
But what is the use of ilic red body ? doc^
it, like the gills, receive somewhat useful, or
discharge scimewhat hurtful to the animal ? or,
;».re we to suppose that the air-bag not only
serves to render the body of the fish specifically
lighter, but also that the air received into it i>
(;f benefit to the constitution, by adding some-
vvhat useful, or taking avN-ay somewhat noxious, r
in
OL BIRDS, riSII, Sec. 267
In ail the fish which fe-l under the dissection
of Dr. Monro, he found the heart to consist of
but one auricle and one ventricle ; and that from
the latter one artery is sent out, which is en-
tirely spent on the gills. That from the gills
therefore the returning blood passes to all the
other parts of the body, without the intervention
of a second auricle, as in man. From his ob-
servations and experiments, the Doctor con-
cludes, that the circulation of the blood being
carried on in the cartilaginous fish in the same
manner as in the cetaceous and bonv, and the
whole mass of blood passing through their "ills,
ihey must breathe, or they cannot possess the
pnlmo arbitrariuSy which naturalists have as-
signed to them.
From the circumstance of very large and nu-
merous lymphatics being dispersed upon the
gills of the scates, and the additional one that
lisli soon die when put into water from which
the air has been extracted, and yet that such
water is capable of washing off exhaled matter
from the gills, and of taking up phlogiston
readily. Dr. Monro is led to suppose that the
gills or lungs not only discharge hurtful matier,
but serve also to take in from the air which is
mixed with the water somewhat necessary fc^r
M m 2 life.
26o ^'ATUItAL HISTORY
life, but the precise nature of 'which experiments
have not yet distinctly ascertained.
Many naturahsts seem inchncd to place the
aquatic race of beings in a very inferior scale to
either quadrupeds or birds ou the score of ani-
mal faculties. Their sense of ficeling, sav
such writers, must be very obscure, on account
of the scaly coat of mail in which they are
wrapped ; but in reply it may be said, that even
these scales may be endued with as great or nice
a power of sensation as we can imagine: for the
^ense of feeling is not properly connected with
softness in any organ, more than with hardness
in it.
A similar argument may be used with regard
to SMELLING. We know not, indeed, hov/
smells can be propagated in water, yet that is
by no means a proof that they are not so : on
the contrary, as water is found to be capable of
absorbing putrid effluvia from the air, nothing
is more probable than that these putrid effluvia,
when mixed with the water, may affect the
olfactory organs of fish, as well as they af-
fect ours when mixed with the air. But this
idea is carried farther by a very eminent natu-
ralist, who asserts that, " The olfactory organ in
fish is large, and they have a power of dilating
and
OF BIRDS, FISH, ifec i!6y
and contracting the passage as occasion re-
quires. It is chiefly by their acute smell that
they discover their food ; and their sight appears
to be of less use than that sensation in searching
for their nourishment. If a fresh worm be thrown
into the water, a fish shall distinguish it at a con-
siderable distance ; and that this is not alone by
the eye is plain from observing that after the
same worm has been a considerable time in the
water and lost its smell_, no fish will come near
it 3 but if the worm be now taken out, and a
fev/ small incisions made into it, in order to
transmit fresh efHuvia, the former effect will
take place. For it is supposed that had the
creatures discovered the bait with their eyes,
they would have come equally to it in both
cases."
In consequence of smelling being the principal
means that fish have of discovering their food,
we may frequently observe their allowing them-
selves to be carried down with the stream that
they may leisurely re-ascend against the current
of the v.ater : thus the odoriferous particles
swimming in that medium being applied more
forcibly to their olfactory organ^ produce a
stronger sensation.
The
270 NATURAL HISTORY
The capacity of distinguishing tastes ha«;
been also, by the same writers, denied to the
objects of this division of animated nature. The
palate of most fish, they say, is hard and bony,
consequently incapable of the powers of relish-
ing different substances; and accordingly the
voracious part of these animals have often been
known to swallow the fisherman's plummet in-
stead of the bait. Indeed no voracious animals
seerii to be endued with much sensibility in this
respect, nor would it probably be consistent with
that way of promiscuously devouring ev'ery crea-
ture that comes within its reach, without which
they would not be able to subsist; though cer-
tainly the other kinds are as well able to distin-
guish their proper food from what is im proper »
as other animals.
Of the senses which have touching and taste
for their object, there can be little room for
remark ; in all fish, however, external open-
ings for smell are very evident, generally on
each side in the osseous fish, and which seve-
rally lead to a complex organ, the surface of
which is of considerable extent, and terminate
upon a pair of large or olfactory nerves. In some
fish, as the haddock, the olfactory nerve, says
Dr.
OF BIIIDS, FISH, &;C. «7 1
Dr. Monro, in its course between the' head
and nose, passes through a cineritious ball,
resembling the cineritious or ash -like matter
connected in our body to the olfactory nerve
within the cranium. He therefore infers, that
there can be no doubt that they ejnoy the
sense of smelling : but there is great reason to
believe, that suited to their surrounding element,
they are much more sensil)le of odorous bodies
dissolved in water, and applied by its medium,
than we should be, if the application of the
object were to be made to our organs of smell
by the same medium.
The brain of fish is sensibly smaller in pro-
portion to their bodies than in quadrupeds or
birds; yet the nerves it sends oft are as laro-e in
proportion to ihe several organs, as in those two
classes. The hke principal division into brain
and cerebellum is found in it; and these are
hollow, and have ventricles within them.
The arguments against the sight of fish
arc the weakest or all : daily instances occur to
shcvv' us that fish have a very acute sight, not
only of objects in the water, but also of those
in the air: their jumping out of the water to
catch flics is an abundant proof of this; and
they will continue to do rl)is in a fine summer
cvcninof.
272 KATUKAL HlSTOK\
evening, even after it is so dark that we cannol
distinguish the insec4;6 they attempt to catch.
Dr. Monro, whose experiments and observa-
tions tend to establish the perfection of sight in
^sh, remarks that the humours of the eyes of
these creatures are proportionally in greatci*
quantity, or much larger than those of animals
living in air; the eye of the cod being nearly of
the same v/eight and depth, and its axis of the
same length as the eye of the ox.
The primary use of the almost completely
spherical figure of the crystalline lens of fish, or
great convexity, especially of the anterior part
of their lens, which the Doctor found to pro-
ject in the cod about seven-fortieths of an inch
beyond the iris, is to take a large field of the
objects around them, which was particularly ne*
cessary, as the motion of their neck is inconsi-
derable.
To enable them, v.ilh the same length of the
axis of the eye as in the quadruped, to collect
into a focus on the retina the rays of light^
coming from the dense medium of the water,
four chief circumstances concur.
In the first place, we observe that their ciys-
talline lens is more convex, or composed of por-
tions of smaller spheres, 'than in land-animals.
la
OF BIRDS, FISH, &:c. 273
In the next place, we have found that their
•crystalhne lens is, in corresponding parts,
much more dense than in animals which live
in air.
Thirdly, that the lens in fish possesses a power
of refracting light far beyond what has been
calculated by authors, who have proceeded on
the supposition that these powers were propor-
tioned nearly to its speciiic gravity.
In the last place, the vitreous humour of fish
being lighter than that of land-animals^ the rays
of light issuing from their lens will be re-
fracted in a greater degree, or brought sooner to a
focus.
It has been thought by some naturalists that
fish are totally destitute of hearing; while on the
other hand, it is urged, that when kept in a
pond, they may be made to answer to the call
of a whistle, or the ringing of a bell; thai
they appear terrified, and sink to the bottom of
the water upon any sudden noise, as thunder,
cr the firing of guns. Most of the ancients
were of opinion that fish had the sense of hear-
ing, though they by no means could ascertain
the auditory passage, or determine the matter by
experiment. Aristotle, Scaliger, Nierembcr-
gius, Geoflfrcv, and Johnson, are of the sai^e
VOL, J II. Nn opinion i
'i74 NATUKAL HlSTOIiY
opinion; and Dr. George Serger, author of a
dissertation on this subject in the German Ephe-
merides, says, that having been to take a walk
with some of his friends in the fine gardens of
the Archbishop of Saltzburg, the gardener con-
ducted them to a very clear piece of water, tlK.^
bottom of which was paved with stones of
diilerent colours, and in which they did not at
first sec any fish ; but the man had no sooner
rung a little bell, than a multitude of trouts
came tagether from all parts of the pond, to
take what the gardener had brought them, and
disappeared as soon as they had eaten it up. The
irardencr assured his company that he alwavs
did the same, whenever he had a mind to give
them any thing to eat. Having continued to
\\ aik about the garden half an hour longer, and
rcturjiing to tlic pond, they had again the plea-
sure of seeing all the trouts re-assemble at the
ringing of the bvll.
(icoificv, iii ills Dmertatio}! sur rOrgaiie dc
rOiiie, gives i particular description of tljc
oriraiis of iiearing belonging to several species:
i\or can it be, thought tliat water is an improper
niediuui of sound, as daily experience shews
us, tiUit sounds mrA' be conveved not onlv
iiinuqb. v.c^ier, but tiirci-.oh the most sol.d bo-
dies.
OF BIRDS, FISH, Sec. 27d>
dies. We shall terminate the disciission of this
matter by some extracts from the writings o£
two of the most distinguished anatomists and
naturalists of our times, Doctors Monro and
Hunter.
Dr. Monro had an opportunity of dissecting
one of the cetaceous division, namely the pho-
c^ena; and after a very nice anatomical investi-
gation, observes, with regard to the hearing of
fish, ^^ that while they float upon the surface
of the ocean, impression is n^.adc: on the se-
veral parts of their c^ir in the same manner as in
man."
It has been proved by experiment that sounds
are conveyed through water almost with the
same facility with which they move through
air. A bell rung in water returns a tone as
distinct as if rung in air. Derham, indeed, ob-
served that it came a quarter deeper. Natural-
ists in general had bclicvc^d that fish had a strong
perception of sounds at the bottom of deep ri-
vers -J but the anatomical researches of the
above jzentlemen clearlv demonstrate the auri
cular organ in these animals. These experiments
hy Dr. Monro were, made in 17i>0, to judge of
the efiect of sounds in water, and sre curious.
N n G lie
275 NATUKAL HISTORT
' He employed for this purpose two bells, the
sounds of which he was used to ; one of them
a small tea-table bell, the other much larger
?.nd thicker, so that the sound of it could be
very well heard at the distance of a quarter of a
mile. When these were plunged under wa-
ter and rung, he observed that the sound of
them was very sensibly graver ; but still the
ringing tremor of both was very distinguish-
able. On performing an accurate experiment,
the tea-table bell was found in air the hiohest
G of a harpsichord ; but in water it sounded
a fifth false lower, or it sounded the C sharp
under the G.
He next plunged his head under the water
while he rung the bell in the air, and heard the
sound of it distinctly. As the tone of th? bell
is louder and more acute in the air than in the
water, its sound is necessarily better heard- when
the head of the person making the experiment
is under the water and the bell above it, than
when the bell is rung under the water while the
head is above it.
The Doctor ne^t plunged his whole body
with the bells under the water, holding their
handles in his hands, and then rung them^ and
was
OF BIRDS, FiSHj &C. 277
was surprised at the loudness and distinctness
of their sounds, and could readily distinguish •
their different tones.
In hke manner, when plunged under the
water^ he struck two stones held in his hands
against each otlier, and was surprised at the
shock communicated to the ears.
This experiment confinns Dr. Franklin's
oninion, *^ that water will convey sound far-
ther and more readily than air. He thinks he
has heard a smart stroke of two stones together
under water, his ear being also under water in
the same river, near a mile : hovy much farther
it may be heard he knows aot, but supposes a
great deal farther, because the sound did not seem
faint, as if at a distance, like distant sounds
through the air, but smart ar^d strong, as if
present just at the ear."
Our author, afterwards, ' by means of a
string tied to the handle of the largest bell, and
to nn- inflated bladder, suspended that bell in a
very deep pool, six feet under the surface of the
water, and then took held of a cord twelve vards
Jong, which he had previously tied to the han-
dle. He plunged under the water and pulled
the cord., and found that the sound v/as instantly
conveyed to his e;a,rs.
He,
27 S NATURAL HISTOUY
He, in the last place, thought of tryhig an c-x-
perimentj to determine whether air or water
conveyed sound quickest; but there being no
lake near Edinburgh above 800 feet broad, he
found it hnpossible, independently of the diffi-
culty of constructing a proper apparatus, to
perform the experiment in a satisfactory and de-
cisive way. tie, iiowever, made the following
experiment. He charged three English pint
bottles each with about ten ounces of gun-
powder.- He then inserted a' tin tube four feet
in length into each bottle, and prevented the
water from getting into the bottle by wrapping
a piece of wet bladder round the neck of it
and the neck of the tube which entered into
it, and tying the tube and neck of the bottle to
each other. After filling the tube with gun- ■
powder, he fixed to the top of it a piece of
match paper ; and into the match paper, just
over the top of the tube, he put two ounces of
gunpow'der.
He then sunk the bottle near the side of a
lake to the depth of about two feet, and went
into the water at the greatest distance possible,-
which was about 800 feet, and laid himself on
his back in the water, with his ears under its
surface, and nose and eyes above it. The match
was
ij¥ BuiDS, risii, Sec. '27U
was then set fire to by anotlier person ; and as
it was midnight, he saw the flash of the gun-
powder contained within the match, and soon
after heard the noise of the explosion of the
gunpowder within the bottle. But he found it
impossible in this way to determine the velo-
city of the sound with accuracy, as the gun-
powder in the bottle was not set fire to through
the tube so instantaneously as was expected.
For want of being provided with a proper
apparatus, the piece of water not being of suffi-
cient extent, and the experiment too seldom re-
peated, the only conclusion the Professor could
draw, was, that after the bottle burst, he heard
one, but did not hear two explosions ; so that the
water seemed to convey the sound nearly in the
- same manner as the atmosphere.
The organs of hearina: in fish are very mi-
nutelv described by J. Hunter, F.R.S. They
are, he observes, placed on the sides of the
skull, or that cavitv which contains the brain ;
but the skull itself makes no part of the organ,
as it does in the quadruped and the bird. In
sonic fish, this orean is wholly surrounded by
the parts composing this cavity, which in many
is cartilaginous, tlie skeleton of these fish be-
insT
280 NATURAL HISTORY
ing like those of the ray kind ; in others^ also^ as
in codj salmon, &c. whose skeleton is bone_, yet
the part is cartilaginous.
'■'In some fish this organ is in part within the
cavity of the skull, or that cavity which also
contains the brain, as in the salmon, cod, &c.
the cavity of the skull projecting laterally,
and forming a cavity there.
The organ of hearing in fish appears to grov/
in size with the animal, which is not the case
with the quadruped, &:c. the organs being in
them nearly as large in the growing foetus as in
the adult.
It is much more simple in fish than in all
those orders of animals which may be reckoned
superior, such as quadrupeds, birds, and am-
phibious animals ; but there is a regular grada-
tion from the first to fish.
It varies in different orders of fish ; but in
all it consists of three curved tubes, ail of which
unite with one another : this union form.s in
some only a canal, as in tl^e cod, salmon, ling,
Sec. and in others a pretty large cavitv, as in
the rav kind. In the jack ther£ is an oblong
bag, or blind process, which is an addition to
those csnals, and v/hich comm.unicates with
them
.OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC. 281
them at their union. In the cod, See. that
union of the three tubes stands upon an ovaj
cavity, and in the jack there are two of those
cavities : these additional cavities in these fish
appear to answer the same purpose with the ca-
vity in the ray or cartilaginous fish, which is
the union of the three canals.
The whole is composed of a kind of cartila-
ginous substance, very" hard or firm in some
parts, and which in some fish is crusted over
with a thin bony lamella, so as not to allow
them to collapse : for as the shell does not form
any part of these canals or cavities, they must
be composed of such substance as is capable of
keeping its form.
Each tube describes more than a semicircle.
This resembles in some respect what we find in
most animals, but differs in the parts being dis-
tinct from the skull.
Two of the semicircular canals are similar
to one another, may be called a pair, and are
placed perpendicularly ; the third is not so long ;
in some i-t is placed horizontally, uniting as it
were the other two at their ends or terminations.
In the skate it is something different, being only
imited in one of the perpendiculars.
VOL. HI. O o The
282 tfATUllAL HISTORY
The two perpendiculars unite at one part iii
one cavity, by one arm of each uniting, while
the other two arms or horns have no connect
tion with each other, and the arms of the ho-^
rizontal unite with the other two arms of the
perpendicular near the entrance into the com-
mon canal or cavity.
Near the union of those canals into the com-
mon, they are swelled out into round bags, be-
coming there much larger.
In the ray kind they all terminate in one ca-
rity, as has been observed ; and in the cod they
terminate in one canal, which in these fish i»
placed upon the additional cavity or cavities.
In their cavity or cavities there is a bone or
bones. In some there are two bones ; as the
jack has two cavities, we find in one of thosf
cavities two bones, and in the other only one ;
in the ray there is only a chalky substance. At
this union of the two perpendiculars in somf
lish enters the external communication, or what
may be called the external means. This is the
case with all the ray kind, the external orifice
of v.hich'is small, and placed on the upper flat
surface of the head ; but it is not every genus
or species of fish that has the external open-
The
OQ'A
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. S8
The nerves af the ear pass outwards from
the brain, ■ and appear to terminate af once on
the external surface of the swelling of the semi-
circular tubes above described. They do not
appear to pass through those tubes so as to get
on the inside, as is supposed to be the case in
quadrupeds; we should therefore very much
suspect that the lining of those tubes in the
quadruped is not nerve, but a kind of internal
periosteum.
It may after all be reasonably questioned whe-
ther every species of fish be endued with the
oro-ans of hearing:, especially those which are de-
prived of eyes, as oysters, muscles, and all testa-
ceous fish with hard shells. For though in some
instances they contract and shut themselves up
within their cells, this seems to be operated less
by hearing than the sentiment of touch, excited
by the agitation of the water.
The teeth of fish are not calculated for
breaking their food into small morsels, but ra-
ther to grasp their prey, and hinder the creatures
they have once caught from escaping again;
they feed chiefiy on smaller fish, or other ani-
mals that need no trituration in the mouth, but
sDontaneouslv and gradually dissolve into a liquid
Oo2 chyle;
t$4 KAtUKAL HISTORY
chyle; there are also two round bodies in the
posterior parts of the jaws, which, as well as
the basis of the bronchi^ have a number of
tenter-hooks fixed in them in such a manner, as
that iany thing can easilv get down, but is hin-
dered from getting back.
As these creatures have nothing that can be
called a neck, the oesophagus, or gullet, is of
course very short, and scarcely distinguished
from the stomach ; for, in fact, the food lies
equally in both.
The stomach is of an oblong figure, which,
in large fish, is commonly found to contain
some smaller ones, still retaining their natural
form, but when touched melting down into a
jelly. From this, and the great quantity of li-
.quors poured into their stomachs, it is con-
cluded that digestion is solely brought about in
them by the power of a menstruum, and that
no trituration takes place. The guts are very
short,- making only three turnings, the last of
which ends in the common cloaca for the fasces,
urine, and semen, situated about the middle of
the inferior part of the body.
Fish are remarkable for their longevity.
• <■' Most of the disorders incident to mankind
• (s^ys Bacon) arise from the changes and alte-
rations
OF Biitas, risH, &e. fi85
rations m the atmosphere ', but fish reside in. aa
element Httle subject to change : theirs is an
uniform existence ; their movements are with-
out effort, and their Hfe without labour. Their
bones also, which are united by cartilages, ad-
mit of indefinite extension ; and the different
sizes of animals of the same kind, among fish,
are very various. They still keep growing :
their bodies, instead of suffering the rigidity
of age, which is the cause of the natural de-
cay of land-animds, still continue increasing
with fresh supplies ; and as the body grows,
the conduits of life furnish their stores in
greater abundance. How long a fish, that
seems -to have scarce any bounds put to its
growth, continues to live, is not ascertained :
perhaps the life of a man would not be suffi-
cient to measure that of the smallest." There
have been two methods fallen upon for deter-
mining the age of fish ; the one is by the circles
of the scales ; the other is by the transverse
section of the back bone. When a fish's
scale is examined by a microscope, it is found
to consist of a number of circles one within
another, in some measure resembling those which
appear on the transverse section of a tree, and
is supposed to give the. same information. For,
285 NATURAL HISTORY
as we can in trees tell their age by the num-
ber of their circles ; so, in fish, we can tell
theirs by the number of circles in every scale,
reckoning one ring for every year of the ani-
mal's existence. The age of fish that want
scales may be known by the other method,
namely, by separating the joints of the back-
bone, and then minutely observing the number
of rings which the surface, where it was joined,
exhibits.
Fish are, in general, the most voracious ani-
mals in nature. In most of them, the maw
is placed next the mouth ; and, though possessed
of no sensible heat, is endowed with a very
surprising faculty of digestion. Its digestive
power seems, in some measure, to increase in
proportion to the quantity of food with which
it is supplied. A single pike has been known
to devour a hundred roaches in three days.
Whatever is possessed of life seems the most
desirable prey for fish. Some that have but
very small mouths, feed upon worms, and the
spawn of other fish; others, whose mouths
are larger, seek larger prey; it matters not of
what kind, whether of their own species, or
any other. Those with the largest months pur-
sue almost every thing that hath life ; and often
meeting
CF BlRDSj FISH, &C. t287
meeting each other in fierce opposition^ the
fish with the largest swallow comes off victo-
rious, and devours its antagonist. As a coun-
terbalance to this great voracity, however, fish
are incredibly prolific. Some bring forth their
young alive, others produce only eggs ; the
former are perhaps the least fruitful ; yet even
those produce in great abundance. The vivi-
parous blenny, for instance, brings forth tvv'o or
three hundred at a time. Those that produce
eggs, which they are obliged to leave to chance,
either on the bottom where the water is shallow,
or floating on the surface where it is deeper,
are all much more prolific, and seem to pro-
portion their stock to the, danger there is of
consumption. Lewenhoeck assures us, that the
cod spawns above nine millions in a season.
The flounder commonly produces about one
million, and the mackarel above five hundred
thousand. Scarcely one in a hundred, however,
of these eggs brings forth an animal ; they are
devoured by all the lesser fry that frequent the
shores, by water-fowl in shallow waters, and by
the larger fish in deep waters. Such a prodigi-
ous increase, if permitted to come to maturitv,
would overstock nature; even the ocean itself
would not be able to contain, much less provide
for.
2^B NATURAL HlSTOllV
foFj one half of its inhabitants. But two wise
purposes are answered by their amazing increase 5
it preserves the species in the midst of number-
less enemies^ and serves to furnish the rest with
a sustenance adapted to their nature.
Mr. Thomas Harmer having observed a very-
great difference in the accounts given by various
writers of the fecundity of fish, set himself to
ascertain with exactness the number of eggs in
a great variety, and communicated the result of
his labour to the Royal Society.
He observed the size of the eggs to be nearly
the same in great and small fish of the same
species ; but that the number is in proportion to
the animal.
In a Carp 203,109
In a Cod 5,686,760
In a Flounder .... 1,375,100
In a Herring 36,960
In a Lobster Sl,699
InaMackarel .... 564,681
Iri a Perch 28,323
1.1 a Pickrel . . . . ^ 80,338
In a Prawn 3,806
In a Roach 81,586.
In a Shrimp ..... 6,807
In a Smelt . . . . . 38,278
In a Soal^ 100,000
In a Tench 383,252
With
OF BIRDS, FISH, Scc. <^^[)
With respect to the generation of many kinds
t>f fish, the common opinion is, that the fe-
male deposits her spawn or eggs, and that the
male afterwards ejects his sperm, or male semen,
upon it in the water. The apparent want of
the organs of generation in fish gives proba-
bility to this ; but it is strenuously opposed by
Linnjeus. He affirms that there can be no possi-
bility of impregnating the eo^gs of any ani-
mal out of its body. To confirm this, the ge-
neral course of nature, not only in birds, qua-
drupeds, and insects, but even in the vegetable
world, has been called in to his assistance, as
proving that all impregnation is performed while
the eogs are in the body of its parent ; and he
Supplies the want of the organs of generation
by a very strange process, affirming^ that the
males eject their semen always some days be-
fore the females deposit their ova or spawn ;
and that the females swallow this, and thus
have their eggs impregnated with it. He says,
that he has frequently seen, at this time^ three or
four females gathered about a male, and gree-
dily snatching up into their mouths the semen
he ejects. He mentions perch, and some of the
cyprini, in which he had seen this process.
VOL. iij. Pp B\U
2!50 KATUilAL HISTORY
But such is the shyness of these creature*-
ihat we cannot easily attain to any accurate ob-
servations upon their way of copulation, and
\Ve are consequently but little acquainted with
this part of their natural history. The apparent
organs of generation are two bags situated in
the abdomen, uniting near the podex. Those
in the male are filled with a whitish firm sub-
stance, called the tnill; and in the female with
an infinite number of little oza, clustered toge-
ther, of a reddish yellow colour, called the
roe. Both these, at spawning time, are very
much distended j whereas, at another time,
the male organs can scarcely be distinguished
from the female; nor is there any character-
istic mark to ascertain the sex. It is generally
supposed, that when the ova of fish are throwa
out and deposited in the sand, the male i<
ready to impregnate them, and that they are in-
cubated by the heat of the sun. .
It is curious to remark with what care
these creatures seek for a proper place to depo-
sit their ova, by swimming to the shallow,
where they can better enjoy the sun's rays, and
slum the voracious jaws of larger fish. The
river lish, again, spawn in some creek, freer
from th*:^ hazard ol" the impetuous stream. But
whether
or BIKDS, FISH, &C. 2Q1
whether this mixture be brought about in fish
by the simple application of the genitals to
e'ach other, or whether both of them throw out
their liquors at the same time in one place, and
thus bring about the desired mixture, it is not
easy to determine.
In our history offish, we shall pursue that or-
der, or chain of connexion, which is so strongly
and firmly marked by Nature herself ; and ar-
range them under the three grand divisions of
Cetaceous, Cartilaginous, s^nd Spinous, all clearly
differing from each other, as well in their con-
formation, as in their manners, habits, and ap-
petites. This division was originally framed by
Aristotle, and has been adopted by the most
rational naturalists, as well as by the bulk ot
mankind ever since.
1. Cetaceous Fish: — the characters of
which are, that they have no gills ; have an
orifice on the top of the head, through which
they breathe and eject water; and a flat hori-
zontal tail.
C. Cartilaginous Fish: — characterized
by their breathing through certain apertures
leading to the gills, generally placed on each
side of the neck, but in some instances beneath,
in some above, and from one to seven in num-
P p 2 her
§9^ NATURAL HlSTOllY
ber on each part ; the muscles supported by
cartilages^ or gristles, instead of bones.
o. .Bony or Spinous Fish, includes4hos.e
which have their muscles supported by, bones^
or spines, and which breathe through gills co-
vered or guarded by thin bony plates, open on
tlie side, and dilatable, or capable of being wi-
dened by means of a certain row of bones on
their lower part, each separated by a thin web,
which bones are called the gill- covering rays;
an invariable character.
This arrangement fully includes every spe-
cies of niarine animal, of whose existence we
can speak with confidence or authority. Aris-
totle has hideed asserted that every thing exists
which it is possible to exist, or the existence of
which does not imply a contradiction; and it
seem?, neither an impossibility nor a contradic-
tion that there should be a marine animal of the
human form, which can live in the water as
we do in the air; or even that this animal
should not have two legs, as we have, but
should end in a tail like a fish. Those who
are disposed to set bounds to the works of the
Deity may dispute the fact; but reasoning men
will not presume to limit the operations of
Omiiipotencc, suggested by infinite benevo--
lencc;
OF UlIiDS, FISH, ^C. ^(JS
lence ; or to deny the production of every sen-
sitive being that is capable of receiving plea-
sure, and of enjoying a happiness suitable to it?
nature. However rare such animals may be^ or
even should they no longer exists it does not
hence follow that they never existed : for
the fact is well ascertained that there were
once whole species of animals in various coun-
tries that are not now to be found there ; and
of this, the w'olf is a trite and familiar instance
in Great Britain.
it is generally believed that quadrnfteds once
existed much larger than what we find them at
present, since man has exerted his powers of de-
struction over the brute creation ; powers
which he has even extended into the midst of the
ocean, and cut oif enormous animals that had
perhaps existed for ages. The whales, once
common in the Northern seas, are not less re-
duced in number than in magnitude. Two
centuries ago, it is well known and attested,
that they w^ere often caught of the enormous
length of two hundred and fifty feet, though
they are now dwindled into a race of compa-
ratively diminutive animals, from fiftv to ei<^htv:
yet even this size appears a wonderful mass
of animation : and yet there msy be animal^ •
of
294 NATURAL HISTORY
of much greater hulk concealed in the deep,
and perhaps increasing in magnitude for
centuries, which we have not had opportunities
of exploring. The most seemingly fabulous
accounts of the ancients, concerning sea-mon-
sters, are rendered credible by the productions
of the Norwegian sea ; and the sea-snake, or
serpent of the ocean, is no lon2:er considered as a
chimera. In ]7oG, say the historians of Nor-
way, one of them was shot by a master of a
ship f its head resembled that of a horse ; the
mouth was large and black, as were the eyes ;
it had a white main hanging from its neck; it
floated on the surface of the water, and held its
head at least two feet out of the sea : between the
head and neck were seven or eight folds, v/hich
were very thick ; and the length of this snake
was more than a hundred yards, some say fa-
thoms. They have a remarkable aversion to the
smell of castor ; for which reason, ship, boat,
and bark masters provides themselves with quan-
tities of that drug to prevent being overset ; the
serpent's olfactory nerves being remarkably ex-
quisite. The particularities related o his animal
would be incredible, were they not .tested upon
oath. Egede (a very reputable author) says,
that on the 6th day of July, 1 734, a large and
frightful
OF IllRDS, FISH, he. ^O-"*
f rio-htful sea-monster raised itself so hiffh out of
the water^ that its head reached above the main,
topmast of the ship ; that it had a long sharp
snout, broad paws, and spouted water like a
whale; that the body seemed to be covered
with scales ; the skin was uneven and wrinkled,
and the lower part was formed like a snake.
The body of this monster is said to be as thick
as a hogshead : his skin was variegated like a
tortoise shell ; and his excrement, which floats
upon the surface of the water, is corrosive, and
blisters the hands of the seamen if they handle it.
" I should be under a great difficulty,"" conti-
nues our Norwe2;ian author, " in mentioning
the krakeu, or korveii, were not its existence
proved so strongly, as seems to put it out of all
doubt. Its bulk is said to be a mile and a half
in circumference ; and when pan of it appears
above the water, it resembles a parcel of small
islands and sand banks, on which fish disnort
themselves, and sea-weeds grov/ ; upon a far-
ther emerging, a number of pellucid attenae,
each about the height, form, and size of a mo-
derate mast, appear ; and by their- action and
rc-action he gathers his food, consistino* of
small iish. When he sinks, which he does
gradually, a dangerous swell of the sea succeeds,
and
^2{^(f NATURAL mSTOIlV
and a. kind df whirpool ts actually formed in the
Watef. tn 1680^ a young kraken perished
among the rocks and cliffs of the parish
of Alstahong ; and his death was attended
with such a stench, that the channel where
it died was impassable/* Without entering
into any romantic theories, we may safely say,
that the existence of this fish being proved,
accounts for many of those phenomena of float-
ing islands, and transitory appearances in the
Sea, that have hitherto been held as fabulous by
the learned, who could have no idea of such
an animal.
^^ To believe all that has been said of the
sea-serpent, or kraken, (says Goldemith) would
be credulity ; to reject the probability of thei^
existence, would be presumption."
Pontopiddan, the learned Bishop of Norway,
says, the mer-mcn and iner-women hold theif
residence in the Norwegian seas, though I can-
not sfive credit to all that is related of them by
the natives. The mer-man is about eight
spans long, and undoubtedly has as much ^re-
semblance as an ape has to the human species ;
a hio:h forehead, little eyes, a fiat nose, and
large mouth, without chin of ears, characterize
its head ; its arms arc short, but without joints
or
OF lilRDSj FISH, &CC. 297
\)r elbows, and they terminate in members re-
sembling a hnman hand, but of the paw kind,
and the fingers connected by a membrane :
the parts of generation indicate their sexes;
though their under parts, which remain in the
water, terminate hke those of fish. The fe-
males have breasts, at which they suckle their
young ones.
To the inquisitive reader, uninfxuenced by
prejudice or system, we shall state some parti-
culars on this subject from the authority of
Lord Monboddo, a writer of acknowledo-ed <re-
nius, learning, and industr)^
" Pliny says that the ambassadors to Augustus
from Gaul declared that such sea women were
often seen in their ncigh])ourhood."
Theodorus Gaza relates, '^ that when he uas
in the Morea, such a woman was driven on that
coast by a violent storm ; that he saw her, and
she was very well looked ; that she sighed ai^d
seemed very much concerned when a number
of people came round her ; that he had pity on
her, and caused the people to stand at a dis-
tance 3 that she profited by the opportunity :
and by the help of her fins and rolling, she 2i"ot
into the water, and escaped."
VOL, III. Q q GecrTlus
1296 NATURAL HISTORY
Gcorglus Trapanzantlus says^ '' he saw froii*
the sea-shore such a mermaid, very handsome,
appear several tunes above water ; and in Epirus
a sea man was caught, with some difficulty, but
lA'hich never could be prevailed upon to eat."
'^ Bartholinus, in his Centuria Hijioriarum
yinat. Far., printed in ]6o4, informs us, that
in his time one of these creatures was caught
upon the coast of Brasil, and taken to Leyden,
and there dissected : he says it was in the form
of a woman down to the waist.
^^ Ludoricus Vives declares, that in his time
a sea-man was taken in Holland, and carefully
preserved for two years, but at last made its
escape and got into the sea. The Portuguese
speak of mermaids as a common thing on the
coasts of Zofala and Mosambique.
'' But passing by a cloud of witnesses,'* con-
tinues his Lordship, '' of remoter periods, we
have a historian of our own times, who adds
respectable confirmation to the opinion that
such creatures do exist : Mr. Valentyn, mi-
nister of the gospel at Amboyna, a person
esteemed by the Dutch of Batavia, among
v.hoin he lived several years, as a man of per-
fect veracity, has collected many circumstancci;
rclatinar
OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 299
relating to mermaids, which shew him to have
been learned, curious, and industrious. After
many relations from reading and hearsay, he
declares what he saw himself on his voyage from
Batavia to Europe, in the year 1714.
'^ In 12 deg. 38 min. south latitude, on the
first day of May, about eleven o'clock in the
forenoon, I, the captain, purser, and mate of the
ship, and a great many of the ship's com-
pany, it being very calm, and the sea smooth
as glass, saw, about the distance of thrice the
length of the ship from us, very distinctly on
the surface of the water, seemin.dv sittin-x v.ith
his back to us, and half the body above the
water, a creature of a grizlish or grey colour,
like that of a cod-fish skin. It appeared like
a sailor, or a man sitting on something ; and the
more like a sailor, as on its head there seemed
to be something like an English cap of the same
grey colour : he sat somewhat bent, and we
observed him to move his head from one side to
the other upwards of five and tv/enty times ;
so that we all agreed it must certainly be some
shipwrecked person. I, after looking some time,
begged the captain to order them to steer the
ship more directly towards it, being somewhat
on the starboard side, which was dcno acr
P q 2 cordinolv ;
300 NATURAL HISTORY
cordingly ; and we bad got within a ship'c
length of him, when the people on the forecastle
made such a noise^ that he phmged down head
foremost, and got presently out of our sight ;
but the man who was on the watcli at the mast-
head declared that he saw him for the space of
two hundred yards, and that he had a very long
tail.''
'^ In 17 K), in the month of January, a sea-
man appeared near Raguza, a small city on the
Adriatic sea. The accounts given by the
various persons Vvho saw it, and published in
the newspapers of that time, are so uniformly
the same, that there is no room left to question
the veracity of the story.
^' But the most substantial story of all, and
with which I shall dismiss the subject, is that of
a sea-man that was seen by the whole crew of a
French ship, off the coast of Newfoundland,
in the year J 720, for two hours together, and
often at the distance of not more than two or
three feet. The account was drawn up by the
pilot of the vessel, and signed by the captain
and all those of the crew who could write, and
was sent from Brest by Monsieur Hautefort
to the Compte de Maurepas, on the 8th of
September 172,0. The story is told with so
many
OF BIRDS, FISHj &C. 301
many circumstances, that it is impossible there
can be any deception or mistake in the case ;
but if it be not true, it is as plausible and impu-
dent a forgery as ever was attempted to be im-
posed on the public.''
In a very scarce pamphlet, entitled, " A Dis-
course and Discovery of Newfoundland, by Cap-
tain Richard Whitbourne,'' printed in l62^>
we have the following particulars relative to
this disputed animal : *^ As there are others that
have vvritten of these creatures,'*' observes Mr.
Whitbourae, ^'' I have presumed to relate what
I have seen, and is most certainly true.
^' In the morning early, as I was standing
by the river's side in the harbour of St. John's,
in Newfoundland, a siu'prising creature came
very suiftly swimming towards me, looking
cheerfully on my face : it was like a woman
by the face, e3''e3, nose, mouth, chin, ears, neck,
and forehead. Round the head it had many
blue streaks resembling hair, but certainly it
was not hair. Yet I beheld it long, and
another of my company also. At its approach
I stepped back, for it v\as come within the
length of a log pike of mc, supposing it would
have sprung on land to me ; and bv its actions
I verily
SO'l NATURAL HISTORY
I verily believe it had such a purpose ; hut when
it saw that I went from it, it did thereupon
dive a little under water, and swam from the
place where I had stood, often looking back to-
wards me, whereby I beheld the shoulders and
back down to the middle to be as square, white,
and smooth, as the back of a man ; and from the
middle to the hinder part it was pointing in
proportion something like a broad hooked ar-
row. How it was in the fore part from the
neck and shoulders downwards, I could not
discern/'
Not to multiply extracts or quotations on
this subject, we shall only observe that such
a creature as alluded to was exhibited at the
fair at St. Germains, in 1759? from which a
drawing was made and published by the cele-
brated Gautier. Another was found among
the rocks ni the island of Noirmartier, in June
1761 5 of which a particular description was
given in the Mercure de France ; and seems to
establish the fact that such animals (or mon-
sters, if the reader pleases) do exist.
The Syrens of antiquity, and of the poets,
are no other than the mermaids of the moderns.
Artedi, a very sensible naturalist, supposes them
to constitute a peculiar genus of cetaceous fish,
and
OF JilllDSj VISII, &c. 303
iind wishes for an opportunity of seeing and ex-
amining them accurately : though he is not at-
tached to the beUef of their existence^ he can-
didly remarks, " that it is better not to judge
of a thing not seen^ than to pronounce any thing
rashly against the accounts of respectable au-
thors.'^ ^
CETACEOUS FISH.
THIS division comprehends three genera;
r. The WHALE.
2. The CACHALOT, PHYSETER, or SPERMA-
CETI WHALE.
3. The DOLPHIN.
We are informed by the learned Johnson
that by the term Cotus the ancients understood
every species of fish of a very large and unwieldy
kind. Nature has bestowed on this class cf
animals an internal structure perfectly corres-
ponding with that of quadrupeds ; and, in a
few, even the external parts are ver}' similar :
so much so. indeed^ that Linnaeus has placed this
tribe
304 NATURAL HISTORY
tribe among his mammalia, or what other
writers call quadrupeds : though to have pre-
served his chain of beings entire^ he should
have made his genus oiphocal or seals, and that
of the tricheus, immediately precede the whale 5
the seal being, in respect of its legs, the most
imperfect quadruped ; while the hind feet of
the manati coalescing, assume the forai of a
broad horizontal tail. This horizontal or flat
situation of the tail, in respect of the body, is
peculiar to the whale, and distinguishes it from
the other classes; it also enables the fish to
force themselves suddenly to the surface of the
water to breathe, which they are frequently
constrained to do, so often, indeed, as every
two or three minutes ; when they also spout out
through their only nostril the water they had
sucked in while gaping for their prey. Though
they have many peculiarities in common v.ith
land animals, there still remain others which ren-
der it more natural to place them in the rank of
fish : the form pf their bodies agrees with that
of fish ; they are entirely naked, or covered
only with a smooth skin ; they live constantly in
the water, and have all the actions of fish.
The cetaceous tribe, like land anim^als,
breathe by means of lun2:s^ being destitute of
gills.
Of lilllDS, FISH, 6CC. S0.5
gllh. This obliges them to rise frequently on
the surface of the water to respire^ to sleep, and
to perform several other functions : they have
also a RiidrifFj a stomach, intestines, liver,
spleen, and bladder; the heart also resembles
that of quadrupeds ; its partitions are closed up
as in them, and propelling warm red blood in
circulation through the body ; and as a protec-
tion to keep these parts from the cold, their
bodies between the skin and muscles are entirely
surrounded with a thick layer of fat or blubber,
analogous to the lard on hogs. They are fur-
nished with the organs of generation, copulate,
bring forth their young, and suckle them like
land animals, whom they also resemble in their
appetites and affections, especially in their ten-
derness of attachment to their vouno;.
But it is in the circumstances attending the
propagation of their species that the cetaceous
class of fish shew an eminent and distinouishine;
superiority. The spinous and cartilaginous,
after depositing their spawn, leave its maturation
to accident ; but the class we are speaking of,
discharge the parental office with much apparent
sentiment : they never produce above one
young, or two at the most, and this the mother
suckles in the manner of quadrupeds, her
VOL. in. R »• breasts
306 NATURAL HISTOllY
breasts being placed^ as in the humiln kind;;,
ibove the navel.
The number of fins on this tribe never exceed
three, viz. two pectoral, and one dorsal ; though
in some species the last is wanting. The fins
6f other fish are formed of straight spines ;
but those of the cetaceous tribe are made up of
bo>:es and muscles ; and the skeleton of one of
them very much resembles the skeleton of the
human hand. The peculiarity of the tail has
been already noticed. Their senses appear
much superior to most of the aquatic animals,
particularly those of sight and hearing ; and it
may be remarked, that, besides their known at-
tachment to their progeny, they are much less
inimical to the human race than many of the
lower orders of their companions of the deep.
WJuOe^.
^cu-W/ude.cr Sia l^nieorrt.
Sptrtnacffi H7ia/f .
t)T BIRDS, FISH, &C. 3()7
THE WHALE.
THE characters of this genus are, a horny
plate on the hpper jaw, instead of teeth ; and
a double fistula or pipe for throwing out water.
The species are four, viz:
1. The Mi/sticetus, or common whale,
which has many turnings and windings in its
nostrils, and has no fin on the back. This is
the largest of all animals; it is even at present
sometimes found in the northern seas ninety
feet in length ; but formerly they were taken
of a much greater size, when the captures
were less frequent, and the fish had time to
grow. Such is their bulk within the arctic
circle ; but in those of the torrid zone, where
they are unmolested, whales arestiliseenahundred
and sixty feet long. The head is very much dis-
proportioncd to the size of the body, being one
third the size of the fish ; the under lip is much
R r 2 broader
J03 NATURAL HISTORY
broader than the upper. The torigue is com-
posed of a soft spungy fat, capable of yielding
Jive or six barrels of oil. The gullet is very
small for so vast a fish, not exceeding four
inches in width.
In the middle of the head are two orifices,
through which it spouts water to a vast height,
and v/ith a great noise, especially when dis-
turbed or v/ounded. The eyes are not larger
than those of an ox, and w-hen the crys-
talline humour is dried, it docs not appear
larger than a pea. They are placed towards
the back of the head, being the most conve-
nient situation for enabling them to see both
before and behind; as also to see over them,
where their food is principally found. They
are guarded by eye-lids and eye-lashes, as in
quadrupeds, and they seem to be very sharp-
sighted.
Nor is their sense of hearing less perfect;
for they are vsrarned, at a great distance, of
any danger preparing against them. It would
seem as if Nature had designedly given them
these advantages, as they multiply little, in or-
der to continue their kind. It is true, indeed,
that the external organ of hearing is not per-
ceptible, for this might only embarrass them in
their
OF r,IRDS, FISH, Stc. 300
their natural element; but as soon as the thin
scarf-skin above mentioned is removed^ a black
spot is discovered behind the eye, and under
that is the auditory canal, which leads to a regu-
lar apparatus for hearing. In short, the animal
hears the smallest sounds at a very great dis-
tance, and at all times, except when it is
spouting water, which is the time when the
fisliermen approach to strike it.
What is called whale-bons, adheres to the
upper jaw, and is formed of thhi parallel lami-
nce; some of the longest are four yards in length.
Of these there are commonly three hundred and
fifty on each, but in very old fish mere ; about
two hundred of them are of 21 lencrth fit for use,
the others being too short. They are surround-
ed with long strong hair, not only that they may
not hurt the tongue, but as strainers to prevent
the return of their food when they dischar2:e the
water out of their mouths. The real bones of
the whale are hard, porous, and full of marrow.
Two great strong bones sustain the upper lip,
lying against each other in the shape of an hatf-
moon.
The tail- is broad and semi-lunar ; and, when
the fish, lies on one side, its blow is tremen-
dovis. It makes use of this alone to advance
itself
510 NATURAL lUSTOKT
itself forward in the water ; and it is surprising
to see with what force and celerity its enormous
bulk cuts through the ocean. The fins are
made use of only for turning in the water, and
giving a direction to the velocity impressed by
the tail. The female also makes use of them,
when pursued, to carry off her young, clapping
them on her back, and supporting them by the
fins on each side from falling.
The whale varies in colour ; the back of
some being red, the belly generally white.
Others are black, some mottled, others quite
white, according to the observation of Martin,
who says, " that their colours in the water
are extremely beautiful, and their skin is very
smooth and slippery.** The outward or scarf
skin of the whale is not thicker than parchment;
but this remov^ed, the real skin appears of
about an inch thick, and covering the fat or
blubber that lies beneath : this is from eight to
twelve inches in thickness, and is, when the
fish is in health, of a beautiful yellow. The
muscles lie beneath, and these, like the flesh of
quadrupeds, are very red and tough. The pe-
nis is eight feet in length, inclosed in a strong
sheath. The teats in the female arc placed in
the lower part of the belly.
In
OF iflKDS, FISH, &C. 311
In copulation the female joins with the
male, and once in two years, as it is asserted,
that she feels the accesses of desire. Their
fidelity to each other exceeds whatever has been
told even of the constancy of birds. Some fish-
ermen, as Anderson informs us, having struck
one of two whales, a male and a female, that
were in company together, the wounded fish
made a long and terrible resistance ; it struck
down a boat with three men in it, with a single
blow of its tail, by which all went to the bot-
tom. The other still attended its companion,
and lent it ever)^ assistance, till, at last, the fish
that was struck sunk under the number of it»
wounds ; whilst its faithful associate, disdaining
to survive the loss, with great bellowing,
stretched itself upon the dead fish, and shared
his fate.
The whale goes with young nine or ten
months^ and is then fatter than usual, particu-
larly v.hen near the time of bringing forth.
It is said, that the embryo, when first per-
ceptible, is about seventeen inches long, and
white ; but the cub, when excluded, is black,
and about ten feet long. She generally pro-
duces only one, and never above two. When
she suckles her young, she throws herself on
one
312 NATURAL HISTORY
one side on the surface of the sca^ and the
young attaches itself to the teat.
Nothing can exceed the tenderness of the
female for her offspring, which she carries
with her wherever she goes, and^ when hardest
pursued_, keeps it supported between her fins.
Even when wounded, she still clasps her young
one, and when she plunges to avoid danger,
takes it to the bottom, but rises sooner than
usual, to give it breath again. In Waller's
poem of the Summer Islands there is a stor)*,
founded on historical authority, to shew the
maternal attachment and tenderness of these
creatures; which, instead of the poetical extract,
we shall abridge nearly in the words of GckU
smith :
'' A vvhale and her cub had got into an arm
of the sea, where, by the defection of the tide,
they were entirely enclosed. The people on
shore beheld their situation, and drove down
upori them In boats, with such weapons as could
be hastily collected. The animals were soon
severely wounded, and the sea tinged uith their
blood. After several attempts to escape, the
old one forced over the shallow into the depths
of the ocean. But though in safely herself, she
could not bear the. danger that awaited her
vouns:
OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 31,;
ybung one ; she therefore rushed in once more
where the smaller animal was confined^ and re-
solved, when she could not protect, at least to
share its danger. The story concludes with
poetical justice; for the tide comins:* in, ena-
bled both to escape from their enemies, thouejli
not without sustaining an infinite number of
wounds in every part/'
The young one continues at the breast for
A year, during which time they are called bv
the sailors, short-heads. They are then ex-
tremely fat, and yield above fifty barrels of
blubber.
ThiQ mother at the same tiine is equally lean
and emaciated. At the age ofKwo years thev
are called stunts, as they do not thrive much
inmiediately after quitting the breast; they then
yield scarcely above twenty or twenty-four barrels
of blubber : from that time forward they are
called sheill fish, and their age is wholly un-
known.
Every species of whale propagates only will)
those of its kind, and docs not at all minole
with the Test ; however, they are generally
seen in shoals, of different kinds together, and
make their migrations in large companies from
one ocean to another. They are <)Teorari;jus
VOL. III. S s animals:
5i4 naYukal history
anima,]s : which impHes the want of mutual
defence against the invasions of smaller but
more powerful fish. It seems astonishing^
therefore, how a shoal of these enormous ani-
mals find subsistence together, when it would
seem that the supplying of even one with food
Vv'ould require greater plenty than the ocean
could furnish. To increase our wonder, we
not only see them herding together, but usu-
ally find them fatter than any other animals of
whatsoever clement. We likewise know -that
they cannot swallow large fish, as their throat
is so narrow, that an animal larger than a her-
ring could not enter. How, then, do they sub-
sist and grow so f?tt ? A certain sort of small
fish, or (as Linnaeus says) the medusa^ galley-
fish, or sea-lobster, is sufficient for this supply.
^Content with this simple food., it pursues no
other animal, leads an inofTensive life ih its ele-
mcnt, and even is harmless in proportion to its
>-trcnG:th to do mischief.
As the whale is an inoifensive animal, it is
not to be wondered that it has many enemies.^
willing to take advantage of its disposition, and
inaptitude for combat. Inhere is a small ani-
mal of the sheli-ii<!i kind, called the zchalc-^
lonH, that stick:> lo lis body, as we see shells
sticking
OF TJIKDS, FISH, 8tC. Sl5
clicking to the foul bottom of a ship. This
insinuates itself chiefly under the fins ; and
whatever efforts the great animal makes, it
still keeps its hold, and lives upon the fat,
which it is provided with instruments to arrive
at.
The Sword fish, and a species of sfjuaius^
called the Thrthher, arc, next to the human
race, the most terrible enemies to tlie whale.
The latter keeps on the back of the whale,
while the former wounds it underneath in the
belly, which occasions him to rise to the sur-
face of the water, and to give the thresher an
opportunity of assisting in the combat. Tliis
he does by throwing himself into an erect
posture, and, like a boy tumbling neck over
heels, falls down with astonlshins: force on the
back of his prey ; and thus they go on till the
poor whale is destroyed. The grampus, and
other large fish of the cetaceous order, are at-
tacked and destroyed by the same enemies in a
similar manner.
The whale has another desperate enemy, a
kind of shark, of different sizes, from six feet
to eighteen in length ; so voraciou?, that it
tear? large pieces of flesh from the whale, as if
thev had been dus; vvith shovels.
S s 2 The
Sl6 NATLRAL HISTORY
The fin fish is distinguished from the com-
mbti whale by a fin on the back, placed very
low and near the tail. The length is equal to
that of the common kind, but much more
slender. It is furiiished with whale-bone in
the upper jaw mixed with coarse hair, but short,
knobby, and of little value. The blubber in
the body is very inconsiderable ; it is extreme-
ly fierce, and the capture of it is both difficult
and dangerous, on which account it is entirely
neglected by the fishermen, who, on its appear-'
ance, retire out of those seas.
The natives of Greenland, however, hold
it in much esteem, as it affords a quantity of
flesh which, to their palate, is very agreeable.
The lips are brown, and like a twisted rope^
the spout-hole appears to be split in the top of
its head, through which it blows its water with
much more violence, and to a greater height,
than the common whale.-
The Boops, or pike-headed whale, has a
double pipe in its snout, three fins like the
former, and a hard horny ridge on its back;
and the belly is full of longitudinal folds. This
species takes its name from the shape of its
nose^ which is narrower and sharper-pointed
than
OF BIRDS, PISH, &,C. S17
than that of the other whaks. It has beei^
taken on the coast of Scotland of the length of
forty- six feet, and twenty in circumference.
The Musculus has a double pipe in its front,
and three fins ; the under jaw is much wider
than the upper one. It is frequently found
along the coasts of Scotland, and feeds upon
herrings.
The Nar Whale, Monodon, or Sea Unicorn,
as it is frequently termed, differs from the
foregoing species principally in its large teeth
pointing directly forward from the upper jaw,
from nine to fourteen feet in length 5 and
of all the weapons with which the marine
animals are gifted, this is doubtless the most
formidable. The nar whale is seldom so long
as the common whale^ is much slenderer, and
less abounding in blubber: in other respects
their manners and appetites arc perfectly simi-
lar: they are harmless^ peaceable, and rather
avoid tban seek contention. They are gre-
garious, and seldom found alone ; but so rapid
in their flight, that they could seldom be taken
v/cre it not for those very teeth which seem in-
tended for their chief defence; for when attacked
in a crowd^ they are so embarrassed and locked to-
firether
518 NATURAL HISTORY
gether by their tusks, that some are certain
of falling a prey to the fishermen.
This weapon is sufficiently singular to de-^
serve a minute description. It is commonly
as straight as an arrow, about eight or ten inches
in thickness, generally wreathed as we some-
times see twisted bars of iron, and is whiter,
heavier, and harder than ivory, which it far
surpasses in all its qualities ; and the extreme
length of them has induced naturalists to con-
sider them rather as horns than teeth, though
in every respect resembling the tusks of the boar
and the elephant. It springs from the left side
of the head, from a socket in the upper javi-,
into which its root enters above a foot and a
half, and darts directly forward in a line with
the body.
The animal is generally found with but one
of these dreadful instruments : yet in the Stadt-
house at Amsterdam, as well as at Hamburgh,
there is to be seen the skull of a nar whale, in
which there are two teeth, which tends to
contradict the opinion that the animal is fur-
nished but with one; and gives room for the be-
lief that the nar whale's wanting a tooth is an
accident in consequence of the encounters it may
be
OF BIRDS, FISH, &c. 319
be supposed to be engaged in. Nor is this de-
fensive weapon confined to the male sex, a;s
both have been found armed in the same man-
ner^ The teeth which are preserved in a skull
at Hamburgh are each above seven feet, long,
and eight inches in circumference.
Before the art of catching whales was known
to Europeans, this tooth was deemed a rarity
worth extraordinary pursuit, though seldom
met with but by accident, and then attributed
to a wrong owner, namely the unicorn of the
•ancients. The error is, however, at present
sufficiently detected, and the curiosity is held in
its proper degree of estimation.
With all the powers of destruction, with
dreadful weapons, amazing strength, and match-
less celerity, the nar whale is one of the most
peaceable inhabitants of the ocean ; and in con-
sequence of his social disposition is beheld inof-
fensively sporting among the monsters of the
deep, without making war on any living crea-
ture ; and even so regardless of his o\Vn wea-
pons, that they are generally found covered
with the filth of the sea, and rather becomin'^
an impediment than a defence.
The Greenlanders, as well as our own fisher-
iTien, call tiie nar whale the forerunner of the
whale ;
3tO NATURAL HISTORY^ 8cc.
whale; for wherever it is seen, the whale is
shortly after sure to follow. A circumstance
arising, no doubt, from their both living on the
same sort of food, which is the insect, or fish
(for writers are not agreed in which class it
should be placed), that has already been men*
tioned..
In the Philosophical Transactions, No. 447>
we have a description of a nar whale caught in
the year 1736, in the river Oste, in Germany,
four German miles from the sea. ^^ The skin
of this fish was spotted with dark brown spots
npon a white ground; the epidermis was trans-
parent, and under it Vas another skin, very thin
and spotted, but the true skin was fero^^'n, and
near an inch in thickness. The body was
smooth and slipper}-, like that of an eel ; twenty
feet long, and about four feet in diameter;
but the head small in proportion, not exceed-
ing sixteen inches in length, and the eyes not
bigger than a sixpence.
** Among other uses for which the horn of this
animal may be intended, is mentioned that of
breaking the ice for the purpose of obtaining air,
and which is a very probable conjecture/'
END OF TUE THIRD VOLUME.
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