PALMIPEDES. -85 



ORDER VII. 



Palmipedes.* 



THE birds belonging to this Order display decidedly aquatic 

 habits. They swim with facility, haunting rivers, lakes, 

 and seas, and their whole structure adapts them for such stations ; 

 hence they have obtained the expressive name of Water-Fowl. 

 As a rule, they are awkward on land, and the more so the more 

 exclusively they tenant the water, for in order to render the stroke 

 of their paddle-feet effective, their legs are placed behind the 

 centre of gravity, and thrown as far back as possible ; hence, on 

 the ground, these birds have either to maintain their balance by 

 dint of muscular exertion, as we see in the swan when it labours 

 over the grassy bank, or, as in the auks, they are obliged to 

 assume an erect attitude. The feet are webbed, but in a different 

 manner in different families. The form of body in the water-birds 

 is boat-like, and in those that dive the ribs are strong, and carried 

 down so as almost entirely to surround and defend the internal 

 viscera from undue pressure. The plumage is thick, close, and 

 waterproof There is a dense under-garment of down overlaid by 

 large, sometimes silky feathers, which throw off the water as if 

 their surface was oiled. In many the neck is long and the tail 

 very short ; in some the tail, composed of rigid plumes, acts as a 

 rudder in the act of diving. A few are utterly incapable of flight, 

 and use their wings as paddles in the water. From among these 

 birds man has reclaimed sev'eral species for the sake of their flesh, 

 which is excellent. 



This Order comprises the Ducks, the Divers, the Auks, the 

 Petrels, the Pehcans, and the Gulls. 



* By some naturalists this order is named Anseres. 



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