CAN1VOKOUS BIRDS. 



kitown to kill a man instantaneously. The method 

 which nature has provided for the preservation of this 

 curnfus texture of feathers with which the volatile 

 part of the creation is clothed, will merit our atten- 

 tion. 



Lest they should be damaged by their violent attri- 

 tion against the air, or by imbibing the moisture of 

 the atmosphere, birds are furnished with a gland, si- 

 tuated on the rump, containing an oil, which they can 

 press out with the bill, and with which they anoint 

 their Feathers. In water-fowls this oil is so plentiful 

 that by it their plumage is rendered completely wa- 

 ter-proof. 



In all birds the rye is peculiarly calculated for dis- 

 tant vision, and the ear for accurate and quick per- 

 ception; and their sense of smelling is exceedingly 

 acute. Their legs and feet are admirably adapted to 

 the diiTbront purposes for which they are design* d, 

 being light, compact, and bony. In water-fowl the 

 toes are joined by a ligament of tough skin, to facili- 

 tate their swimming, and render them fit for the ele- 

 ment in which nature has destined them chiefly to 

 live, while in others they are constructed for their se- 

 curity in perching upon trees. 



Carnivorous birds, like carnivorous beasts, have but 

 one stomach, and their intestines are much shorter 

 than those of such as are granivorous. The latter 

 have, in addition to the crop, or stomach, where their 

 food is moistened, a second stomach, called the gizzard, 

 in which the digestion is completed. This is com- 

 posed of two hard and strong muscular substances, 

 and its extraordinary powers in comminuting the 

 food, would exceed the bounds of credibility, were 

 they not attested by incontrovertible facts, the result 

 of experiments made by Spalanzani, who proved that 

 the stomachs of turkeys and common poultry, had 

 the power of breaking to pieces and digesting glass, 

 tin, and iron. Some of the experiments of this natu- 

 ralist, however, seem to be of too cruel a nature to be 

 proposed for imitation; and it does not appear con- 

 histent with the will of the Great Author of Nature, 



