BIRD LICE 123 



Through the princely generosity of His Serene High- 

 ness, my Lord, the Grand Duke, I obtained a seal, last 

 winter, which lived out of water four whole weeks with- 

 out food, and would have lived much longer, if it had 

 not been killed for the use of the Pisan anatomical 

 theatre. During the time that I kept it, I tried many 

 times to ascertain if there were any parasites hidden in 

 its thick, soft fur, but I found nothing of the kind. On 

 the other hand, all birds that dive for prey under water 

 and haunt the swamps and pools, have great quantities 

 of lice, that live in their feathers all the year round. 



As I have again mentioned the subject of lice, it will 

 not be inappropriate to speak more in detail of what I 

 have found out concerning them by means of many 

 experiments. Lice are found on all birds, and each kind 

 of bird has its own particular species. I found three 

 kinds of lice on falcons and on guinea-fowl; four on 

 wild duck, two on the swan, the royal wild goose, the 

 kestrel and the plover. It is however true, that some 

 birds have similar, nay even the same kinds of lice, for 

 the royal eagle has large ones such as are found on the 

 kestrel, shown on plate 13. The cow-bird has some simi- 

 lar in shape, not in color to those of the crow, which 

 are represented on plate 16, and the eagle has others 

 like the oval ones of the falcon. A kind of lice found 

 on the bustard, resembles greatly the long-bodied ones 

 of the falcon, plate i. The woodpecker has the same 

 kind as the starling, plate 2. The lice in the feathers of the 

 crane are all white, plate 3, with curious black tracings like 

 arabesques. The same kind, to a hair, are found in some 

 birds, kept in the Boboli Gardens, and lately brought from 

 Africa, where they are called '* Bukottaia '' by the Arabs ; 

 some consider them to be another kind of crane, because 



