350 



OPHICEPHALUS OPHIDIA. 



to the very humblest thing in the whole operations of 

 nature. Bat while we are thus humbled in the un- 

 justifiable part of our vanity, by what appears to us 

 as a spontaneous evolvement without design, so 

 greatly excelling all that we can possibly design, 

 there is still room for us to feel the warmest gratitude 

 for the goodness of our Creator in placing us in that 

 situation which we do occupy. All the other crea- 

 tures, how curiously soever they may carry on their 

 operations, are still ignorant of the fact, that those 

 operations are curious, and they may truly be said to 

 have " no part or lot in the matter," and nothing like 

 intellectual pleasure when their labour is performed. 

 We bear our part, and we enjoy the pleasure ; and, 

 therefore, this is more than a compensation to us for 

 those failures which naturally, and almost necessarily 

 occur in our peculiar kind of practice, though of 

 course they are altogether avoided by those creatures 

 which entirely depend on a higher power. 



In the curious nests of some species of these very 

 interesting birds, only one of the apartments which 

 are partitioned off is destined for the eggs and the 

 hatching of the brood. The other apartments are 

 not, however, without their use ; and there is some- 

 thing very pleasing in contemplating the use to which 

 they are applied. They are a sort of play rooms for 

 the young birds, in which they are enabled to exer- 

 cise their limbs, which are with them by far the most 

 essential organs of motion, so as to have acquired the 

 requisite degree of strength, before they have the 

 accommodations of the maternal dwelling. 



Some provisions made in this way by the birds, 

 and even by insects, so far exceed what human beings 

 can do, that did we not consider from whom they 

 originate, they would be among the especial wonders 

 of the world, all wonderful as it is. But when we 

 reflect on the natural laws according to which the 

 whole system of nature is carried on, we cease to 

 wonder at the matchless superiority which they dis- 

 play. These are all direct results of a Wisdom which 

 is complete in everything which respects the materials, 

 the structure, and the office which that structure is to 

 serve, whereas we are originally in total ignorance 

 upon all these points ; and though we learn ever so 

 long, and with ever so much diligence, still our learn- 

 ing reaches only a very little way, how far from 

 perfection we cannot know in any case, but with most, 

 or, indeed, with all of us, it may be said to be but a 

 mere beginning. There is no department of nature 

 in which we may receive lessons at once calculated 

 to correct that self-sufficiency which tends to make us 

 rest contented in our ignorance, and to produce a thirst 

 for knowing more, than the study of birds, which are so 

 much before our eyes, and which perform such singular 

 labours. The present genus, from its familiarity, is 

 one well calculated for the instruction of those who 

 inhabit the countries that it frequents. Three prin- 

 cipal species are mentioned, all American, and not 

 spending the summer, at least, in the very hottest 

 parts of that continent. Their names and appearances 

 are as follow. 



O. rufus is a native of the southern parts of the 

 United States. The upper parts are russet-brown, 

 and the top and sides of the head dark brown. Over 

 the eye* there is a yellowish-brown streak ; and this 

 also is the colour of the upper side of the wings, 

 which are, however, traversed by a band of russet. 

 The quills are reddish-brown, and so are the flanks. 

 The under part is whitish, the bill brown on the 



upper part and whitish on the under, and the feet 

 black. In its plumage this is but a homely bird ; but 

 its appearance is pleasing. 



O. annumbi. This species is a little larger than the 

 North American one, being seven inches and a half 

 in length. It is reddish-brown, spotted with black 

 on the upper part, bright brown on the forehead, 

 and deeper brown on the top of the head and upper 

 part of the neck. The coverts of the wings and the 

 smaller quills are clear brown, and the primary quills 

 bright reddish-brown. The sides of the 'head are 

 whitish, with a brown streak behind the eye. The 

 throat is white, with a brown streak descending from 

 each angle of the gape, the under part mottled with 

 brown and white. The under coverts of the wings 

 shining white, clouded with reddish. The lateral 

 feathers of the tail are black with brown borders, and 

 a white spot upon the tip of each. The two middle 

 ones are clear brown, the bill reddish-brown, and the 

 feet olive. In its colour this is a much more hand- 

 somely-formed species than the last ; and it is de- 

 scribed as being exceedingly numerous in some of the 

 provinces along the riverof Paraguay and its affluents. 



O. ruber is also a species of Paraguay, and larger 

 than the preceding one, measuring fully eight inches 

 in length. It is also the most gaily coloured of the 

 whole. The upper parts are russet-brown ; the sides 

 of the head brown ; the wing coverts carmine-red ; 

 the larger coverts deeper red with blackish tips ; and 

 the quills reddish-purple. The under parts are white, 

 forming a fine contrast with the bright colours of the 

 upper parts. The feathers on the head and upper 

 part of the neck are stiff, with the shafts projecting a 

 little beyond the webs in small points, which give 

 these parts something of the appearance of being 

 composed of a mixture of feathers and bristles. The 

 bill is blackish above and whitish on the under side, 

 and the feet are greenish-brown. 



With the exception of colour, and partially also 

 in size, all the species of these birds resemble each 

 other very closely ; while the peculiarity of their 

 manners points them outas a well-defined and strongly- 

 marked genus. 



OPHICEPHALUS Serpent Head. A genus of 

 spinous-finned fishes, with cells on the bones of the 

 pharynx fitted for retaining water, so that the fishes 

 can travel for considerable distances and climb up 

 trees, still retaining enough of water to moisten their 

 gills. Their bodies are lengthened and nearly cylin- 

 drical. Their muzzle is short and blunt, and their 

 head is depressed and covered with large polygonal 

 plates, resembling the scales on the heads of serpents, 

 from which they have obtained their name. They 

 have six rays in the gills ; their dorsal fin extends 

 their whole length. Their anal fin is also long, and 

 the termination of the caudal is rounded off. They 

 are chiefly found in the fresh waters of India, where- 

 some of the species grow to the length of four feet, 

 while others do not exceed ten inches in length. The 

 small ones are often exhibited as curiosities in India, 

 from the length of time that they can creep about on 

 dry ground, and the heights to which they can climb. 

 The species are rather numerous, and they are highly 

 characteristic of countries where fishes' food is abun- 

 dant during the floods, and where the fishes them- 

 selves require to follow the ebbing off of the waters 

 when the drv season sets in. 



OPHIDIA, from OPHIS, a snake. The fourth 

 order into which Cuvier divides the class of reptiles, 



