190 



HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



To this bird of the crane kind, so little 

 known, I will add another, still less known ; 

 the Corrira, or runner, of Aldrovandns. All 

 we are told of it is, that it has the longest legs 

 of all web-footed fowls, except the flamingo 

 and avosetta ; that the bill is straight, yellow, 

 and black at the ends ; that the pupils of the 

 eyes are surrounded with two circles, one of 

 which is bay, and the other white; below, 

 near the belly, it is whitish ; the tail, with 

 two white feathers, black at the extremities ; 

 and that the upper part of the body is of the 

 colour of rusty iron. It is thus that we are 

 obliged to substitute dry description for in- 

 structive history ; and employ words to ex- 

 press those shadings of colour which the pen- 

 cil alone can convey. 



CHAP. X. 



SMALL BIRDS OF THE CRANE KIND, WITH 

 THE THIGHS PARTLY BARE OF FEATHERS. 



As I have taken my distinctions rather from 

 the general form and manners of birds, than 

 from their minuter though perhaps more pre- 

 cise discriminations, it will not be expected 

 that I should here enter into a particular his- 

 tory of a numerous tribe of birds, whose man- 

 ners and forms are so much alike. Of many 

 of them we have scarcely any account in our 

 historians, but tedious descriptions of their 

 dimensions, and the colour of their plumage ; 

 and of the rest, the history of one is so much 

 that of all, that it is but the same account re- 

 peated to a most disgusting reiteration. I will 

 therefore group them into one general draught ; 

 in which the more eminent, or the most whimsi- 

 cal, will naturally stand forward on the canvass. 



In this tribe we find an extensive tribe of 

 native birds, with their varieties and affinities ; 

 and we might add a hundred others, of distant 

 climates, of which we know little more than the 

 colour and the name. In this list is exhibited 

 the Curlew, a bird of about the size of a duck, 

 with a bill four inches long: the Woodcock, 



ai'e determined by the want or abundance of food. In 

 winter they assemble in small flocks of six or seven, and 

 frequent our shores, especially the mouths of large muddy 

 rivers, in search of worms and marine insects. Those 

 they scoop out of the mud with their recurved bills, 

 which are admirably adapted for that purpose, being 

 tough and flexible like whalebone. The feet seem cal- 

 culated for swimming, but they are never observed to 

 take the water: it is therefore probable, that they are 

 furnished with a web merely to prevent their sinking 

 into the mud. The female lays two eggs, about the 

 size of those of a pigeon, of a white colour tinged with 

 green, and marked with large black spots. It is said to 

 be very tenacious of its young, and when disturbed at 

 this season, will fly round in repeated circles, uttering 

 a note that resembles the word twit-tivit. 



about the size of a pigeon, with a bill three 

 inches long : the Godwit, of the same size ; 

 the bill four inches: the Green Shank, longer 

 legged; the bill two inches and a half : the 

 Red Shank, differing in the colour of its feet 

 from the former: the Snipe, less by half, 

 with a bill three inches. Then with shorter 

 bills The Ruff, with a collar of feathers 

 round the neck of the male : the Knot, the 

 Sandpiper, the Sanderling, the Dunlin, the 

 Purre, and the Stint. To conclude: with 

 bills very short -The Lapwing, the Green 

 Plover, the Gray Plover, the Dottrel, the 

 Turnstone, and the Sea-lark. These, with 

 their affinities, are properly natives or visi- 

 tants of this country ; and are dispersed along 

 our shores, rivers, and watery grounds. Tak- 

 ing in the birds of this kind, belonging to 

 other countries, the list would be very widely 

 extended; and the whole of this class, as 

 described by Brisson, would amount to near 

 a hundred. 1 



All these birds possess many marks in 

 common ; though some have peculiarities that 



1 The Curlew. There are two species of the curlew 

 to be found in Europe the Common Curlew and the 



Little Curlew, but there are various other species, in 

 Asia, Africa, and America, differing very much in size, 

 the longest measuring about twenty-five inches, and 

 sometimes weighing thirty-six ounces. These birds 

 fly in considerable flocks, and are well known upon the 

 sea-coasts in moist parts, where, and in the marshes, 

 they frequent in winter. They feed on worms, frogs, 

 and all kinds of marine insects. In April, or the be- 

 ginning of May, they retire into mountainous and un- 

 frequented parts on the sea-shore, where they breed ; 

 and do not return again till the approach of winter. 

 There have been some advocates in favour of the flesh 

 of this bird, but in general it is strong and fishy. It 

 has a long black bill, much curved or arched, about eight 

 fingers long, and beginning to bend a little downwards 

 about three fingers from the head. The middle parts of 

 the feathers on the head, neck, and bark, are black; 

 the borders or outsides ash-coloured, with an inter- 

 mixture of red; and those between the wings and back 

 are of a most beautiful glossy blue, and shine like silk. 

 The vent and belly are white. The feet are divided, 

 but joined by a little membrane at the root. The 

 tongue is very short, considering the length of the bill, 

 and bears some resemblance to an arrow. The female 

 is somewhat larger than the male, which is commonly 

 called the jack-curlew ; and the spots with which her 

 body is covered almost over, is more inclining to a red. 



