UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 31 



hall, he became so familiar, that at dinner time 

 he stood behind his master's chair ; but the ser- 

 vants were obliged to watch him, as sometimes 

 he would snatch a whole fowl off the table. He 

 used to roost among the high trees, from whence, 

 even at two miles distance, he could spy dinner 

 carrying across the yard, when, darting home, he 

 regularly walked in with the last dish. As he 

 stood near the dinner table, he appeared as if 

 listening to the conversation, turning his head 

 alternately to \vhoever spoke. 



The mcst curious thing about this species is 

 the pouch. Dr. Adam, of Calcutta, supposes 

 that it helps to sustain the birds in their great 

 flights in the air, and also assists them in the 

 waters in searching after their prey. From the 

 structure of their limbs they cannot swim; and 

 it appears that they have the power of distending 

 this bag with air when they go beyond their 

 depth. He says 5 that in the month of October, 

 when the sky is not obscured by a single cloud, 

 it is a beautiful spectacle to observe hundreds of 

 these birds performing their graceful evolutions 

 at a vast height above the earth ; with a telescope, 

 however, he could not perceive whether the bag 

 was distended. 



This huge bird occupied so much of our visit, 

 that I scarcely recollect any thing else that I saw, 



13th. My aunt has been reading to us several 



