1505.] 



Antmah found in Norfolk. 



127 



MAMMALIA. 



THE COMMON Sf-AL. ' 



** The Vitidv.s Marinus, lea-calf,' or 

 feal, \i often taken flceping on the 

 fhore, in the Norwich river, nearSurling- 

 hani. If ihtTe animals can be brought 

 to fted, they may be kept fir rrany 

 months in ponds. The bladder, the enfi- 

 form cartilige, the figure of the throttle, 

 the cluikrcd atiH racemous for'n of tTie 

 kid"-ies, and the flat and comprefTed heart, 

 are remarkable parts in the feal. In 

 the (tomachs of all that I opened I found 

 nr-ny worms.", 



Ot'j'ci'-vatiofts.—Se^h are by no means 

 fo CO nnun on any of the fouthern flioies 

 o! this kingdom as they were at the time 

 that Sir Thoinas Browne wrote his ac- 

 count ; and of late years very f w indeed 

 have been f.en on the coafts of Norfolk, 

 As to the ailertion that they may he k<pt 

 in ponds, it is to be fufpefied that the 

 writer msant in fuch ponds only into 

 which fak-water is admitted. There can 

 be no doubt that in fre/h-water they 

 wogid foon languifii and die. The fpe- 

 cies of worms above-mentioned were moft 

 p.obably either afcaru phoca or tar.ia 

 ihrjCiE, of Linnaeus, perliaps both s if fo, 

 ■ liis is the o-.Ay place in which they have 

 i)cen noted as Englifii, 



THE OTTER. 



" Ycungoittrr5 are fonittimes preyed np- 

 €n by buzzards, having occafion.ally been 

 found in tile nefts of thefe birds. By 

 many perftni they are accotmted no bad 

 di(h. Otters may be rendered perfectly 

 tame ; and in fome houfes they have been 

 known toferve the office of turnfpits." 



THE SPERMACETI-WHALE. 



" A fpermaceii-whale, of fixty-two feet 

 Sn length, was taken near Wells. An- 

 other of the fame kind, about twenty 

 years beLr.;, wz" caug'u at Hunftanton ; 

 and not far from the l-ntter place eight or 

 Bine were driven allioie. It is faid that 

 two of thtfe h-id yrunt;; one* after they 

 were forfaken by the water." 



THE PORPE^SE. 



" The (tTfij, or \ o.'| e(Te, is common.'* 

 " The DoLPHi.N', though more rare 

 tlnn the porpeHb, is C metimes taken. — 

 i Ixfetwoanimals are co'iiounde I by many 

 perlors j but ti e do p'lir, has a more waved 

 line al ing the (ki-, is fliarper t uvards the 

 tad, lia> its head l.-m^ei , its noii^ more ex- 

 tended, (which makes good the fi;i;ure of 

 Rcndelrtiur,), and its flerti m le red. The 

 laiti-r, when w .'I cooked, is genirally al- 

 l-wed 'o be a ; ,<A dlfli, much fuptrior 

 »•' thcfliH' of a i-ci pelfe." 



THE GRAMPUS. 



" A grampus above fixieen feet Jon? 

 was caught at Yarmouth about the year 

 1694." 



BIRDS. 



With refpeft to tlie migration of birds. 

 Sir Thomas BrOA-ne fays, t.hat " ihofe 

 which come in the fpring come for the 

 moft part from the fouthwaid, and t^liofe 

 in the autumn or winter from the narth. 

 ward. They are obferved to cume in great 

 flocks with a north-eaft wind, and to de- 

 part with a fouth-weft wind ; and they do 

 not appear in flocks of one kind, but of 

 many kinds together, as woodcocks, field- 

 fnr s, thrufiies, and fmall bi^ds. Thefe 

 come and alight together, attended fre- 

 quently by hawks or oher birds of prey." 

 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



Sir Thomas Browne had not feen thJs 

 bird in a will ftate in Norfolk j but of 

 other e-gles he informs us there were 

 fcveral kinds. 



THE SEA-EAGLE. 



(Jalco Offifragus of Linnaus ?) 

 " We have the hal) asms or fenneeagles, 

 f Jtne of which meafure three yards and a 

 quarter in the extent of their wings. One 

 of thefe being caught alive, grew fo tame 

 that it went ab ut my court-yard, feeding 

 on firti, red-herrings, ^di, or any kind 

 of offal, without the haft trouble." 



THE OSPREY. 



(Fj.'/.'o Halialus of Lin/iaus.) 

 " Th'.r.-; is alio a lefiTer fi rt of eajle, 

 called an olprey, which hovers about the 

 fens, and will dp his claws in o the wa- 

 ter, and often take up a fifli. Fur this 

 piirpofe its feet are fingulariy conftrufted ; 

 and, the better t.) fe'cuieits prey, eicii of 

 the outer toes may on occafion be turned 

 backwards. It is faid to catch coots in 

 the lame manner." 



THE KITE. 



" There are fome kites ; but they are 

 not in fuch qv.antity as Aldrovandus fays 

 are often to be feen hovering about the 

 Thames near London. There aie allb 

 the grey and bald-liuzzards i.i grea- num- 

 bers, owing to the bro<id waters anl war- 

 rens, which afford them m; re footl thaa 

 they can obtain in woodlar.d countries." 



Obfrvation. — It is difficult to fay 

 whu two biids are here meant by grey and 

 bald buzzard. The bald-buzzard of all 

 the Englilh writers is the ofprey bef(4e 

 noted. 



THE MERHN. 



"Tin's is called a hobby-bird, becaufe it 



comts in eith.r with or a little before the 



hobbies inlhofir.ng. It is marvelloudv 



fubj a 



