294 



of flatuval |$t' 



sisting cliicfly of two notes ca-wzoc, ca- 

 iac frequently repeated; which is com- 

 pared by Latham to a door turning upon its 

 rusty hinges, or to an ungreased axle-tree. 

 During the night it perches on high places, 

 and if disturbed, alarms everything within 

 hearing by its unceasing cry. It scrapes in 

 the ground like the hen, and delights in 

 rolling in the dust to free itself from insects. 

 In a wild state these birds associate in flocks, 

 giving the preference to marshy places, where 

 they subsist almost wholly on insects, worms, 

 and seeds. They formed a part of the Roman 

 banquets ; and they are greatly esteemed in 

 this country by many persons, who consider 

 their flavour to resemble that of the pheasant. 

 In Jamaica and other islands in the West 

 Indies, the Guinea-fowls come in numerous 

 coveys from the woods, and scattering them- 

 selves in the provision-grounds at early dawn, 

 commit serious depredations by scratching 

 up and devouring the seed-yams, &c. ; and 

 as they are birds of extreme caution and 

 suspicion, it is no easy matter to get at them 

 without the assistance of a dog ; but when 

 pursued by an animal whose speed exceeds 

 their own, they instantly betake themselves 

 to a tree, where, their attention being in- 

 tently flxed upon the dog beneath, they may 

 easily be shot. They are also sometimes 

 caught, Mr. Gosse tells us, by the following 

 stratagem : a small quantity of corn is 

 steeped for a night in proof rum, and is then 

 placed in a shallow vessel, with a little fresh 

 rum, and the water expressed from a bitter 

 cassava, grated : this is deposited within an 

 enclosed ground to which the depredators 

 resort. A small quantity of the grated cas- 

 sava is then strewed over it, and it is left. 

 The fowls eat the medicated food eagerly, 

 and are soon found reeling about intoxicated, 

 unable to escape, and content with thrusting 

 the head into a corner. Frequently a large 

 part of the flock are found dead from this 

 cause. 



The CRESTED GUINEA-FOWL. (Numida 

 crista.ta.) This species inhabits the hottest i 

 parts of Africa, and is smaller than the one j 

 above described. The occiput, upper part 

 of the neck, and the throat, are nearly des- 

 titute of feathers : the sides and hinder part 

 of the neck are of a deep blue colour ; the 

 space round the ears is blue gray ; and the 

 anterior part of the neck is of a crimson red : 

 the head is surmounted by a fine crest, com- 

 posed of black feathers, with delicate webs, 

 drooping over the hind head and beak. The 

 general plumage is black ; the body, with 

 the exception of the neck and breast, being 

 spotted with small points of faint blue, en- 

 circled with a brilliant blue : the large wing 

 feathers are dusky brown and spotless ; the 

 secondaries are the same, with four longi- 

 tudinal stripes down the shafts : three or 

 fbur of these have a large white spot ex- 

 tending the whole length of the under webs ; 

 the rest nearer the body having the longi- 

 tudinal blue rays : legs and feet dusky ; hind 

 claw elevated from the ground, and blunt. 

 They live in flocks of many hundreds ; and 

 their cry, uttered at the rising and setting 

 of the sun, is very harsh and discordant. In 



their food and habits they differ very little, 

 if at all, from the other species. 



GUINEA-PIG. [SeeCAVY.] 

 GUINEA- WORM. [See FILAIUA MEPI- 



UENS1S.] 



GULL, (iartw.) The birds of this web- 

 footed and well-known marine genus are 

 numerously dispersed over every quarter 

 of the world, and are met with, at certain 

 seasons, in some parts, in prodigious multi- 

 tudes. They assemble together in a kind of 

 straggling mixed flocks, consisting of various 

 kinds, and greatly enliven the beach and 

 rocky cliffs by their irregular movements, 

 whilst their shrill cries are often deadened 

 by the noise of the waves, or nearly drowned 

 in the roarings of the surge. They occasion- 

 ally take a wide range over the ocean, and 

 are met with by navigators many leagues 

 distant from the land. They are all greedy 

 and gluttonous, almost indiscriminately de- 

 vouring whatever comes in their way, 

 whether of fresh or putrid substances, until 

 they are obliged to disgorge their overloaded 

 stomachs ; but, at the same time, it appears 

 that they are able to endure hunger a long 

 while. The larger kind of Gulls are most 

 common in cold climates of the north, where 

 they breed and rear their young, feeding 

 chiefly upon the rotting carcasses of dead I 

 whales, &c., which they find floating on the 

 sea, among the ice, or driven on shore by the 

 wind and waves. In temperate and culti- 

 vated countries some species occasionally 

 leave the shores for the interior, probably to 

 search for a change of food, such as worms, 

 slugs, &c., and of these they find, for a time, 

 an abundant supply on the downs and pas- 

 tures which they visit. Their general cha- 

 racteristics are a strong and straight bill, 

 but bent downwards at the point ; the lower 

 mandible has an angular prominence on the 

 under side, which tapers towards, and forms 

 its tip ; the tongue is a little cloven. The 

 body is clothed with a great quantity of 

 down and feathers, which, together with the 

 large head and long wings, give these birds 

 an appearance of bulk, without a propor- 

 tionate weight. The legs are small, naked 

 above the knees : feet webbed, and the back 

 toe detached, and very small. 



The COMMON GULL. (Larus canus.) This 

 bird, which is one of the most numerous of 

 the genus, breeds on the ledges of cliffs that 

 overhang the sea ; and, during the winter 

 season, frequents almost every part of the 

 British coasts where the high bold shores 

 present a favourable situation. Like other 

 rapacious birds, it lays but few eggs. It 

 generally measures about seventeen inches 

 in length, and thirty-six in breadth : the 

 bill is yellow ; the head, neck, tail, and the 

 whole under side of the body, are pure 

 white ; the back and the coverts of the 

 wings are gray ; and the legs are a dull 

 white tinged with green. 



The BLACK-BACKED GULL. (Larus ma- 



rinus.) This species measures from twenty- 

 six to twenty-nine inches in length, and 

 five feet nine inches in breadth. The bill 



