! 528 



cf 



low water, and at other times in deep water. 

 It is usually seen of the length of twelve or 

 fifteen inches, but is sometimes found, espe- 

 ; chilly in the northern seas, measuring from 

 1 two to three feet. Its form is extremely 

 I slender, gradually tapering towards the ex- 

 tremity ; of a palish brown colour, varied 

 throughout its whole length with broad al- 

 I ternate zones of a deeper hue, slightly varie- 

 i gated : the laminae with which the joints of 

 the body are covered, appear to be finely ra- 

 diated from the centre by numerous streaks: 

 the dorsal fin is thin, shallow, and small, the 



pectorals are small and slightly rounded ; 

 nding shape and 



and the tail is of a correspo 



I size. In spring, the ova of this genus are 



| found lying in a longitudinal division at the 



lower part of the abdomen ; and from these 



are hatched the young, completely formed. 



The LITTLE PIPE-FISH (Syngnathm ophi- 

 dian) is about five or six inches long, slender, 



nearly cylindrical, and tapering off to a 

 It wants both the pectoral and caudal 

 fins ; and is covered with a smooth skin, 



point. 



whereas the other kinds are covered with 

 sort of crust. They are either olive green, 

 or tinged with yellowish-brown. 



But by far the most extraordinary species 

 is the FOLIATED PIPE-FISH (.Syngnathus fo- 

 liatiis). In its general shape it is greatly 

 allied to the Hippocampus, but is consider- 

 ably longer : its great singularity, however, 

 consists in certain large leaf-shaped appen- 

 dages with which the back, tail, and ab- 

 domen are furnished ; these appendages are 

 situated on very strong, rough, square spines 

 or processes, and, were it not for the regu- 

 larity of their respective proportions, might 

 be mistaken for the leaves of some kind of 

 fucus adhering to the spines. The colour of 

 the whole animal is a dusky olive, thickly 

 sprinkled on all parts, except on these ap- 

 pendages, with small, round, whitish specks, 

 and accompanied by a kind of metallic gloss 

 on the abdomen : the fins are soft, tender, 

 and transparent. This remarkable species 

 is a native of the Indian seas. 



PIPING CROW. (Barita tibicen.) A 

 striking bird, by some placed among the 

 Shrikes, by others among the Crows. As the 

 crow in the fable was proved unable to sing 

 or chant, and as our present bird is decidedly 

 most musical, his talents ivouJd remove him 

 from that despised group, even if his cha- 

 racters were not somewhat different. It is a 

 common species in New South Wales, whence 

 it is not unfrequently brought alive to this 

 country. The visitors to the Zoological Gar- 

 dens in the Regent's Park cannot have failed 

 to be amused with his peculiar musical pipe, 

 as well as his pleasant look : black is the most 

 prevalent colour of his plumage ; the hinder 

 part of the neck, and the top of the back, 

 and the base of the wing-coverts are white, 

 tinged with grayish blue : by some authors 

 this genus is named Cracticus For another 

 species see CKOW-SHRIKE. 



PIPIT. (.Anthus.) The Pipits are birds 

 very much resembling the Larks, both in 

 regard to their generally having a long hind 

 claw and in the colour of their plumage. 



The TKEE PIPIT (Ant/ius arboreus), a mi- 

 gratory species, and very sweet songster, is 

 of common occurrence in Britain. This bird 

 generally rises singing from the ground, 

 and after attaining a certain height, de- 

 scends and rests on the summit of a tree ; 

 from which it again rises and descends 

 singing to the ground. Its colour is a 

 streaked olive-brown above, paler under- 

 neath, with longitudinal dark spots on the 

 breast, and two pale transversal bands on 

 each wing. The COMMON PIPIT (Anthus 

 pratensis) is extremely common throughout 

 Europe, inhabiting mountain moors, and 

 lowland heaths and marshes. It is a more 

 slender bird than the preceding. The 

 SHORE PIPIT (Anthus aquaticus) abounds on 

 the sea coast, and is very rarely met with 

 inland. It is larger and darker coloured, 

 and is a superior songster to the last named. 



PIPRA. A genus of Dentirostral birds, 

 comprehending the different species of Ma- 

 nakins. They are for the most part natives 

 ot the warmer regions of America, and noted 

 for the brilliancy of their colours. They 

 have a compressed bill, higher than broad, 

 emarginate, with great nasal fossce. Their 

 tail and limbs are short ; and their general 

 proportions occasioned them to be long re- 

 garded as allied to the Tits. They frequent 

 woods, are very active, and their flight is 

 short, but quick. 



In Mr. Edwards's narrative of a * Voyage 

 up the Amazon,' he says, the Manakins, in 

 their different varieties, form a beautiful 

 family, the most numerous of any, and cor- 

 responding much in their habits to our 

 Warblers. " They are tiny things, gene- 

 rally having black bodies, and heads of 

 yellow, red, white, and other colours. Like 

 perpetual motion personified, they move 

 about the branches and low shrubs, always 

 piping their sharp notes ; and, unless upon 

 a feeding-tree, almost defying shot." 



PITHECIA. The name given to a genus 

 of South American Monkeys. [See MON- 



BY".] 



PLACUNA. A genus of Conchiferous 

 Mollusca, family Ostracea. The shell is 

 compressed, thin, equivalve, and nearly equi- 

 lateral ; planorbicular, fibrous, foliaceous, 

 and nearly transparent : hinge flat. The 

 most noted species is the Flacima placentia, 

 or Chinese Window Oyster, which is used for 

 windows, lanthorns, &c., in China, as horn 

 used here. The valves, when closed, are 

 so thin as to appear to touch ; the animal is 

 consequently exceedingly flat. The Chinese 

 ,lso use the powder of this shell for silver in 

 their water-colour drawings. 



PLACUNANOMIA. A genus of Con- 

 chiferous Mollusca ; the shell of which is 

 thin, smooth, inequivalve, plaited round the 

 edge ; attached by a bony substance passing 

 through a fissure in the lower valve. It 

 partakes, as its name denotes, of the cha- 

 racters both of Plac.una and Anomia ; the 

 hinge resembling the former, and the open- 

 ing in the lower valve for the passage of the 

 tendon being like the latter. 



