0f 



upon a very moderate average, some hun 

 i dreds of tliem daily. The death of everj 

 i King-bird is therefore an actual loss to the 

 farmer, by multiplying the numbers of de 

 structive insects, and encouraging the depre 

 ; dations of crows, hawks, and eagles, who 

 ! avoid as much as possible his immediate 

 I vicinity. " For myself," says Wilson, " ] 

 , must say, that the King-bird possesses no 

 | common share of my regard. I honour this 

 little bird for his extreme affection for his 

 i young ; for his contempt of danger, and un- 

 exampled intrepidity ; for his meekness of 

 : behaviour when there are no calls on his 

 courage, a quality which even in the human 

 race is justly considered so noble : but above 

 all, I honour and esteem this bird for the 

 millions of ruinous vermin which he rids us 

 of; whose depredations, in one season, but 

 for the services of this and other friendly 

 birds, would far overbalance all the produce 

 of the bee-hives in fifty." The nest is larg 

 remarkably firm and compact, consisting . 

 small slender twigs on the outside, and usu- 

 ally lined with line dry fibrous grass, and 

 horse-hair. The eggs are five, of a very pale 

 cream colour or dull white, marked with a 

 few large spots of deep purple, and other 

 smaller ones of light brown, chiefly, though 

 not altogether, towards the great end. They 

 generally build twice in the season. 



TIMBRE. A genus of Grallatorial birds, 

 of which there is but one known species, 

 namely, the CRESTED UMBRE (.Scopus um- 

 bretta), which is as large as a Crow, of an 

 umber colour, and the male is crested. It is 

 diffused throughout all Africa. The Timbres 

 are only distinguished from the Storks by 

 their compressed beak, the trenchant ridge 

 of which 'is inflated towards the base, and 

 the nostrils are prolonged by a groove that 

 runs parallel with the ridge to its tip, which 

 is slightly hooked. 



UMBRELLA. A genus of Mollusca, one 

 species of which inhabits the Indian Ocean, 

 and, from the shape of the shell, is very com- 

 monly called the Chinese Umbrella. It is 

 sub-orbicular, slightly convex on the outside, 

 with central apex slightly raised ; margin 

 sharp ; internal surface witli a central, cal- 

 lous, coloured disc, surrounded by a conti- 

 nuous, irregular, muscular impression. An- 

 other species, much smaller, named the 

 Umbrella Mediterranea, is from the Gulf of 

 Tarento, and differs from the former also in 

 not being marked with rays. 



UMBRINA. An Acanthopterygious fish, 

 belonging to the Scicenulce family. It is re- 

 markably beautiful, the ground colour being 

 golden, with bright bands of steel blue. It 

 is sometimes forty pounds in weight, but is 

 by no means a long fish. In the Mediter- 

 ranean it is plentiful, and occasionally some 

 are met with on the southern coasts of Bri- 

 tain : the flesh is highly esteemed. 



UNAU. The two-toed Sloth, which, like 

 the Ai, or common three-toed Sloth, is an 

 inhabitant of the dense forests of the tropical 

 portion of South America, and has all the 

 singularities of conformation and habits 



which distinguish that species. [See SLOTH : 

 BRADY-PUS.] 



UNGKA-PUTI. (Hylobatas agiUs.) A 

 species of Gibbon, found in Borneo, Java, 

 &c. They are arboreal in their habits, and 

 are distinguished by astonishing activity. 

 Their mode is to suspend themselves by their 

 long arms to the forest brandies, and by an 

 energetic muscular movement to spring for- 

 ward from one tree to another, although the 

 distance may be from thirty to forty feet ; 

 which they are enabled to accomplish, when 

 required, with apparent ease and precision. 

 This animal is further remarkable for a 

 curious call-note, which it frequently utters 

 during its most active movements, especially 

 in the morning. It is of a timid and gentle 

 disposition, and in confinement shows at- 

 tachment to those who have the care of it. 

 [See GIBBON.] 



UNGULINA. A genus of Conchiferous 

 Molluscs, the shell of which is equivalve, 

 sub-orbicular, and rayed ; valves nearly 

 equilateral, with margins entire, simple, 

 closed all round ; hinge with one short, sub- 

 divided cardinal tooth in each valve, and at 

 the side an oblong ligamentary pit, divided 

 into two portions, one of which receives the 

 cartilage : two muscular impressions in each 

 valve, and the impression of the mantle en- 

 tire. The animal perforates rocks, &c. ; and 

 the shells are small, thin, and transparent. 



TJNIO, or FRESH-WATER MUSSEL. 

 This nuviatile genus of Mollusca is found in 

 the rivers of Europe and America, the East 

 and West Indies, &c. The shell is thick and 

 solid, transverse, equivalve, inequilateral ; 

 cardinal teeth solid, short, and oblique ; um- 

 bones prominent, and generally corroded. 

 The hinge is somewhat complicated : there 

 is a short plate in the left valve, received 

 into a cavity in the right ; and behind this 

 a longer plate closing between two others of 

 the opposite side. The interior of the valves 

 are sometimes pink, sometimes white, often 

 highly iridescent ; and they occasionally 

 contain tolerably large pearls. Several are 

 natives of this country ; but they more es- 

 pecially abound in the rivers and lakes of 

 North America. The animal is of no value 

 as food, from the insipidity of its taste. 



There is a large family of fresh-water 

 conchifers to which the genus Unto belongs, 

 abounding in the North American rivers, 

 and comprising the genera Unio, Jfyria, 

 Anodonta, and Iridina. Among the ob- 

 servations made on them by Mr. Lea, of 

 Philadelphia, who paid much attention to 

 heir classification, &c., and who has de- 

 scribed their habits with great minuteness, 

 ire learn that the animal of Anodonta, which 

 s essentially the same with that of Unio, is 

 lermaphrodite, and seems viviparous ; for 

 he eggs pass into the oviduct placed along 

 he superior branchiae, where the young are 

 bund with their shells complete. He dis- 

 ected a specimen of Anodonta uiululata 

 nearly three inches long, and found the ovi- 

 ducts charged with about 600,000 (as nearly 

 as he could calculate) young shells perfectly 

 ormed, both valves being distinctly visible 



