60 CLASS II. BIRDS. ORDERS IV.- AND V. 



and clefts they find in the bark, for the purpose of drawing out 

 worms and the larvae of insects, which constitute their food. 



The Toucan is principally remarkable for the enormous size 

 of its beak, which is almost as large and as long as its whole 

 body. It is of a light, cellular structure, and furnished with a 

 long tongue, straight, and armed on each side with barbs like 

 a feather. The toucans live in small flocks in the warm parts 

 of America. When they have seized their food, they throw 

 it into the air, and catch it with their beaks, in order to swal- 

 low it with more ease, as they are incapable of masticating it. 



TV. Gallinacea, the Gallinaceous birds. Of this order 

 are the peacock, the turkey, the common fowl, the pheasant, 

 the partridge, the quail, the pigeon, &,c. Among them are 

 nearly all those birds which have been domesticated, and are 

 raised in poultry yards. Their wings are short and weak, and 

 of course they are not constructed for long-continued flight ; 

 but they are capable of running with considerable rapidity. 

 They have a large crop and a very powerful gizzard, their food 

 consisting principally of hard grain. Their flesh in general 

 furnishes excellent food. The males are distinguished by a 

 stately gait, and frequently by a tail ornamented with long 

 feathers. They do not live in pairs ; their eggs are very 

 numerous, and are/laid in nests built of chaff or straw upon 

 the ground. Their young are generally able to run about as 

 soon as hatched. 



The Pigeons form in some particulars an exception to the 

 general characteristics of the gallinaceous birds, and approach 

 to a resemblance to the Passeres. They fly very well, live in 

 pairs, build their nests upon trees or in the clefts of rocks, 

 and produce seldom more than two eggs at once. They nour- 

 ish their young by bringing up from the crop the food partly 

 digested, with which they feed them. The most remarkable 

 species among them is the crowned pigeon of the Molucca 

 islands, which is equal in size to a turkey. Its voice is exceed- 

 ingly loud and harsh, and is said to have frightened sailors, who 

 landed on the islands it inhabits, by its resemblance to the 

 yells of the savage natives. 



V. GrallcB, the Waders, otherwise called Shore birds. 

 They are distinguished by their very long and naked legs, 

 which permit them to wade to a considerable depth in the 

 water without wetting their feathers. The length of their neck 

 and beak corresponds to that of their legs, and they are conse- 

 quently able to search in the sand and mud at the bottom of 

 the water for their food, which consists of fishes, reptiles, and 



