ZOOLOGY. 



V, when their loud notes may occasionally be heard. 

 The Tame Swan (C. olor) is a most elegant bird, 

 and a beautiful ornament to our lakes and rivers. 

 Swans are remarkable for their longevity. Genus 

 Anser (Goose) presents several wild and migratory 

 species. They all live on vegetable substances, 

 and are useful as food. The Canada Goose, going 

 northward every summer, is of great use to the 

 Hudson's Bay residents, who kill and preserve 

 great quantities for their winter provision. Our 

 own tame goose is supposed to be derived from 

 the Gray Lag Goose (A.ferus), once very abundant 

 in the fenny districts of Lincoln. Genus Anas 

 (Duck) includes many species, as the Velvet 

 Duck, Eider Duck, Shoveller, and Shelldrake, all 

 of them wild animals, frequenting pools and lakes 

 remote from human haunts. The Mallard or 

 Wild Duck (A. Boschas) is the parent of all the 

 common ducks. The Common Duck, when 

 searching for food amongst mud and turbid 

 waters, is assisted by the sensitive skin of its bill, 

 which enables it to feel for objects which it may 

 devour. Another well-known species is the Eider 

 Duck (Somateria mollissimd) of the arctic portions 



s 



Common Eider Duck (Somateria mollissimd). 



of Europe and America, whose down is used for 



making quilts and similar articles. 

 The family of the Phcenicopteridce (Flamingoes), 

 from having the three 

 anterior toes webbed, 

 are entitled to be 

 placed amongst the 

 Natatores. They in- 

 habit the marshes of 

 hot climates. The 

 Common Flamingo 

 (P. ruber) is about 

 four feet in height. 

 It is purple red on 

 the back, and has 

 rose-coloured wings. 

 The fleshy tongue 

 was used by the 

 Romans during the 

 Empire as a great 

 delicacy. The ex- 

 treme length of their 

 Flamingo legs incapacitates 



(Phoenicopterus ruber). them from sitting on 

 their nests in the 



usual manner, so that they have to place them- 



selves astride of them during the act of in- 

 cubation. 



By Owen the last two families are called 

 Lamellirostres, from the character of the bill, 

 described under the AnaticUe. 



Grallatores. 



ORDER 2. Grallatores (Waders or Stilt-birds). 

 This order derives the name from their habits and 

 conformation. Their bodies are raised upon long 

 legs, like stilts. This elongation is mainly due to 

 the elongation of the tarso-metatarsus. Their legs 

 are unfeathered from the lower end of the tibia 

 downward. They frequent the banks of rivers, 

 lakes, marshes, and the shores of estuaries ; and 

 whilst resting with their feet on the land, derive 

 their nourishment chiefly from the water ; some 

 feeding upon small fishes and reptiles, worms and 

 aquatic mollusca ; whilst others are more terres- 

 trial in their habits and mode of feeding. The 

 more aquatic species have a web to their toes. 

 Their wings are long, and suited for flight Dur- 

 ing flight, they stretch out their long legs behind, 

 to counterbalance their long necks ; and the tail 

 is always extremely short, its function as a rudder 

 being transferred to the legs. They mostly con- 

 struct their nests on the ground, and the young 

 are able to run about as soon as hatched, except 

 in those species which live in pairs. 



Family Grutdce (Cranes) are elegant, large, 

 and stately birds, with the bill strong and sharp- 

 edged. The legs are long and slender. The 

 Crane (Grus dnerea) is chiefly remarkable for 

 its migrations, and it is described as a beauti- 

 ful sight to see thousands of them passing over 

 the Mediterranean in marshalled order, in groups 

 of twenty to sixty, and each group headed by one 

 of the larger birds. It is with reference to the 

 migrations of these birds that Jeremiah (viii. 7) 

 says : ' Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her 

 appointed times.' Its length is nearly five feet, 

 and its weight about ten pounds. 



Family Ardeidce (Herons) : The Common 

 Gray or Crested Heron (Ardea dnerea} is well 



Common Heron {Ardea dnerea). 



known in Britain, It passes the winter in the 

 north of Africa, migrating thither in autumn, 



