ORLOFF ORNITHOLOGY. 



349 



him into a soil of banishment, ordering him to remain 

 at one of her castles, to be chosen by himself. He 

 went to Zarskoe-Selo. In 1772, however, she became 

 reconciled to him. She gave him a magnificent 

 palace, and he gave her, in return, the celebrated 

 diamond. He now travelled, married, and seemed 

 to live happily. Potemkin, at this time, had become 

 the lover of the empress. Orloff died in 1783, after 

 having been for some time subject to periodical at- 

 tacks of insanity. Alexis, his brother, showed, dur- 

 ing the revolution in 1762, great courage. Dis- 

 guised as a coachman, he drove the empress from 

 Peterhoft" in a mean carriage. He was one of the 

 murderers of Peter III ; rose soon to high dignities 

 in the army ; and, in 1768, was made admiral of the 

 Russian fleet in the Archipelago, with unlimited 

 power, against the Turks, whom he defeated offTsch. 

 esme ; for which exploit he was called Tschesmenskoi. 

 He was yet in the fleet when his brother lost the favour 

 of the empress. In Leghorn, he deceived the daugh- 

 ter of Elizabeth, and had her carried to Petersburg. 

 When he returned, he was brilliantly received. When 

 Paul I. ascended the throne, he and Baratinski, the 

 only survivors of the reputed murderers of Peter III., 

 were obliged to attend the removal of the body of the 

 murdered emperor from the convent of Alexander 

 Newski to the fortress, during which ceremony they 

 had to bear the corners of the pall. He remained 

 ever after in disgrace, and died in 1808. 



ORLOFF, GREGORY, count of, Russian senator, 

 privy-counsellor and chamberlain, who distinguished 

 himself in the sciences, was born in 1777, and was 

 elevated to the senatorship in 1812. He was a mem- 

 ber of many academies and learned societies, and 

 died in 1826, at Petersburg. His chief works are 

 Memoires historiques, politiques et litt&raires sur le 

 Royaume de Naples, &c., with notes by Duval (2 ed., 

 5 vols., Paris, 1825,) translated into German, English, 

 and Italian, and embracing the history of Lower Italy 

 from the earliest times until 1820 ; Histoire des Arts 

 en Italic, the two first volumes of which treat of mu- 

 sic, the others of painting ; Voyage dans une Partie 

 de la France, ou Lettres descriptives et historiques 

 (Paris, 1821.) 



ORLOP ; a platform of planks laid over the beams 

 in the hold of a ship of war, whereon the cables are 

 usually coiled. It also contains the sail-rooms, the 

 purser's, surgeon's, boatswain's and carpenter's 

 cabins, and the several officers' store-rooms. In three- 

 decked ships, the second and lowest decks are some- 

 times called orlops. 



ORMOND, DUKE OF. See Butler, James. 



ORMUZD is one of the spirits mentioned in the 

 Zendavesta. He is subordinate to the Zeroene Ake- 

 rene (infinite and uncreated time,) from whom he re- 

 ceives his power. He is the first-born of all beings, 

 produced by the mixture of original fire and water, 

 infinite, immortal, incorruptible. He was represent- 

 ed as the king of the world, and sitting in the midst 

 of heaven, upon a high throne, " the throne of the 

 good and the perfect," surrounded by celestial spirits 

 and the souls of the happy. He was called the eternal 

 source of sunshine and light : the sun and moon re- 

 ceived their brightness from him. He carried, as a 

 badge, upon his hand a ring, the symbol of his 

 supreme power, and is sometimes represented as 

 crowned with rays. He is also described as a vene- 

 rable old man, resting upon the primeval bull, the 

 emblem of the whole organic creation. 



ORNE; a department of France. See Depart- 

 ment. 



ORNITHOLOGY is that branch of natural science 

 which treats of the feathered tribe, or, to use the de- 

 finition of Cuvier, of vertebrated oviparous animals, 

 with a double circulation and respiration, organised 



for flight. The symmetry and beauty displayed in the 

 graceful forms and varied colours of this part of cre- 

 ation, strike the most casual and inattentive observer ; 

 and the wonderful adaptation of their structure to 

 their peculiar habits and modes of living, is a source 

 of constant admiration to the student of nature. Al- 

 most every peculiarity in the external appearance of 

 birds is fitted for the element they inhabit, and con- 

 ducive to swiftness of motion. Every part of their 

 frame is formed for lightness and buoyancy : their 

 bodies are covered with a soft and delicate plumage, 

 admirably calculated to protect them from cold or 

 moisture ; their wings, although of the lightest ma- 

 terials, are furnished with muscles of such power as 

 to strike the air with great force, and to impel their 

 bodies forward with astonishing rapidity, whilst the 

 tail acts as a rudder, by which their course can be di- 

 rected at pleasure. Their internal structure is in 

 perfect consonance with those external peculiarities. 

 Their lungs are fixed against the ribs, and enveloped 

 with a membrane pierced with large holes, which 

 permit the air to pass into cavities in the breast, ab- 

 domen, and even into the interior of the bones. This 

 conformation not only renders them more buoy- 

 ant, but also prevents any interruption in their 

 respiration, by the rapidity of their motion through 

 a resisting medium, and increases their vital 

 energy. Some idea may be formed of the capacity 

 of birds for respiration from the fact stated by Lavoi- 

 sier, that two sparrows consume as much air as a 

 Guinea pig. The anterior extremities of birds, being 

 solely fitted for the action of flying, are useless either 

 for resting or grasping ; hence these animals are bi- 

 ped, and take objects from the ground with their 

 mouth, for which purpose the neck and beak are 

 elongated and very movable ; the body is also incli- 

 ned forward beyond the feet ; the thighs are in ad- 

 vance, and the toes of such a length as to form a suf- 

 ficient basis. The pelvis is very long, to give origin 

 to muscles supporting the trunk on the thighs, and a 

 set of muscles pass from the pelvis to the toes, soar- 

 ranged that the simple weight of the bird retains the 

 toes in a flexed condition ; in consequence, they are 

 able to sit perched upon one leg with security, and 

 without becoming fatigued. The posterior parts of 

 the pelvis (in common language known as the side- 

 bones) are elongated and separated, to give room for 

 the development of the eggs. The bill of all birds 

 consists of two mandibles, the upper and lower, the 

 former being generally fixed and immovable, though 

 in the parrots it has the power of motion to assist 

 them in climbing. None of the feathered tribe have 

 teeth, but the horny case which covers the mandibles 

 supplies the place of these instruments, and is some- 

 times serrated, so as to resemble them. In some 

 birds, as the falcons, the base of the beak is covered 

 with a skin called the cere ; and in the turkey, the 

 carrier-pigeon, &c., it is covered with a carneous 

 appendage. The bill is in some kinds straight ;* in 

 others curved upwards or downwards ; in some flat ; 

 in others conic, wedge-shaped, or hooked, &c. It 

 enables the bird to take hold of his food, to strip or 

 divide it, to carry materials for building his nest, or 

 food to his young, and is a formidable weapon in the 

 rapacious tribe. The libstrils are usually of an oval 

 form, and placed near the base of the beak. The 

 eyes are so disposed as to distinguish equally well 

 near and distant objects, and their sense of sight is 

 exceedingly acute. The sparrow-hawk discerns small 

 birds from an incredible distance. Besides the ordi- 

 nary eyelids, there is a third, called the nictitating 

 membrane, which is translucent, and defends the eye 

 of the bird from the direct rays of the sun, without 

 obstructing the sight. Birds have no external ear, 

 with the exception of the nocturnal tribes ; these 



