61 



Qtoadurg cf $atttral 



found " an old fir tree on the coast of Scot- 

 land, covered with bernacle shells, and that 

 in every shell that he opened he found a 

 perfect sea-fowl ; the little bill, like that of 

 a goose ; the eyes marked ; the head, neck, 

 , breast, wings, tail, and feet formed j the 

 I feathers every where perfectly shaped, and 



I blackish coloured ; and the feet like those of 

 other water-fowl 1 " Such are some of the 

 | wild chimeras that have been handed down 

 concerning the origin of these birds ; such 

 the dangerous contagion of the errors of sci- 

 ence, where the imagination is allowed to 

 soar beyond the region of common-sense. 



There are several other species, some of 

 which we shall briefly describe : 



The RED-BREASTED BERNACLE. 

 (Bernicla ruficollis.) This is a beautiful bird, 

 about twenty-two inches in length ; the 

 beak is brown, with its hook black ; between 

 the beak and the eye is a white space ; be- 

 hind the eyes and on the sides of the neck it 

 is white ; the top of the head, the throat, 

 belly, tail, and all the upper parts are deep 

 black ; the vent, under tail-coverts, and 

 rump are pure white ; but the breast and 

 fore part of the neck are bright red. A band 

 of black extends the entire length of the 

 hinder part of the neck ; the greater wing- 

 coverts are tipped with white ; and the legs 

 are black. This beautiful bird inhabits ttie 

 arctic countries of Asia, living on the borders 

 of the Frozen Ocean : it appears periodically 

 in Russia, and occasionally in Germany ; 

 but in England it is very rarely seen. A 

 British-killed specimen, however, has been 

 seen by us in the British Museum. 



The WHITE-WINGED BERNACLE. 

 (Bernicla kucoptcra.) This bird varies in 

 length from about thirty-two to forty inches; 

 the head, neck, lesser wing-coverts, and 

 under parts of the body, white ; the lower 

 part of the neck behind, and as far as the 

 middle of the back, crossed with numerous 

 dusky-black lines ; the two middle tail- 

 feathers black i the rest white ; and the lega 

 black. It stands pretty high upon its legs ; 

 walks and flies with great ease ; and has not 

 that disagreeable cackling cry peculiar to 

 the rest of its kind. The rlesh is wholesome 

 and nourishing. It inhabits the Falkland 

 Islands, where it is called the Bustard 

 Goose. 



The ANTARCTIC BERNACLE. (er- 



nicla Antarctica.) This is rather smaller 

 than a tame goose : beak narrow, short, and 

 black ; the whole plumage of a dazzling 

 snowy whiteness ; on the bend of the wing 

 a blunt knob : legs yellow. It inhabits 

 Christmas Sound, in Terra del Fuego. Its 

 flesh is unfit to be eaten. 



BEROE. (Bertie, or Cydippe pilcus.) A 

 small marine animal belonging to the class 

 Acalcpha, and to which the name CW>/: 

 is now very frequently applied. This little 

 animal is nearly of a globular form, some- 

 what elongated, and about three-fourths of 

 an inch in length. It is composed of a ge- 

 latinous substance, strengthened by eight 

 bands of rather firmer texture, which are 

 covered with rows of large vibratile cilia, ar- 



ranged side by side, so as to form narrow 

 plates of a fin-like character. There are, in 

 the most common species, from three to 

 seven cilia in each row, and about twenty 

 rows on each ridge : over these the Berile has 

 complete control ; it can retard or stop their 

 movements at pleasure ; and arrest the play 

 of one, two, or more rows, whilst the re- 

 mainder continue in rapid vibration, and 

 act like so many little paddles. By these 

 i means it is capable of swimming through 

 ] the water with considerable activity, and of 

 changing its course at will. These little ani- 

 | mals are of a bright faintly-blue aspect ; and 

 the cilia when in motion present vivid iri- 

 descent hues. The mouth is situated at one 

 end, which is always directed forward when 

 the animal is in motion, and is then widely 

 dilated. From the stomach, there passes a 

 narrow straight intestine, which terminates 

 at the opposite extremity of the body. When 

 I the BerOe is in active movement, therefore, 

 a continual stream of water will enter its 

 mouth, and pass out again behind ; and from 

 I the minute particles contained in the water, 

 | it evidently derives its nourishment ; ex- 

 ceedingly minute Crustacea may indeed be 

 seen in the transparent stomach for some 

 time after being swallowed. From the pos- 

 terior part of the body arise two lengthened 



OYDIFFB FILEUS.) 



filaments, or tentacula, furnished on one side 

 with cirri, which are sometimes spread out 

 as delicate hairs, and, at others, are spirally 

 convoluted, or coiled like the tendrils of a 

 pea. When the main filaments have been 

 ejected from the body, the little tendrils be- 

 gin to uncoil. If a Beroe is placed in a vessel 

 of sea-water, its various movements may be 

 watched with interest : sometimes it remains 

 at the bottom, projecting its long filaments 

 upwards ; at others, it darts swiftly upwards, 

 drawing its long filaments after it, and al- 

 ternately retracting and extending them ; 

 not unfrequently it remains for some time 

 at the top of the water, till at length, wishing 

 to descend, it turns over, drawing up its fila- 

 ments suddenly, and then swims, mouth- 

 downwards, to the bottom. 

 In a small but intertesing volume oft the 



