57 8 B E R N A C L E. Class IF. 



feet five inches; the bill is black, and only one inch 

 three-eights long; the head is fmall •, the fore- 

 head and cheeks white*, from the bill to the eyes is 

 a black line •, the hind part of the head, the whole 

 neck, and upper part of the breafr and back are 

 of a deep black; the whole underfide of the bo- 

 dy, and coverts of the tail are white ; the back, 

 fcapnlars and coverts of the wings, are beautifully 

 barred with grey, black, and white ; the tail i^ 

 black, the legs of the fame color, and fmall. 



Thefe birds appear in vaft flocks during winter, 

 on the north weft coafts of this kingdom : are ve- 

 ry (hy and wild ; but on being taken, grow as fa- 

 miliar as our tame geefe in a few days ; in Febru- 

 ary they quit our fhores, and retire as far as Lap- 

 land y Greenland and even Spitzbergen to breed *. 



They live to a great age: the Rev. Doctor Bicck- 

 -worth of Spalding had one which was kept in the 

 family above two and thirty years ; but was blind 

 during the two laft : what its age was when firft 

 taken was unknown. 



Thefe are the birds that about two hundred years 

 ago were believed to be generated out of wood, or 

 rather a fpecies of fhell that is often found flicking 

 to the bottoms of mips, or fragments of them ; 

 and were called Free-geefe f. Thefe were alfo 



* Amce?i. Acad. VI. 585. Barents njoy. 19. 



f The fhell here meant is thelepas anatifera. Li-a.fjft. 663. 

 Jrgcn-uille Conch, tab. 7. the animal that inhabits it is furniihed 

 with a feathered beard ; which, in a credulous age, was be- 

 lieved to be part of the young bird. 



thought 



