BIRDS. 167 



divided into three books, the first of which treats of Birds in 

 general; the second of Land Birds; and the third of Water Birds. 

 The land birds are further arranged into groups which possess a 

 crooked beak and talons, and those which have the bill and 

 claws nearly straight. The water birds are separated into three 

 families, viz. 1. Those that wade in the water, or frequent watery 

 places; 2. Those that are of a a middle nature, bet ween swimmers 

 and waders, or rather that partake of both kinds, some whereof 

 are cloven-footed, and yet swim ; others whole-footed, but yet 

 very long legged, like the waders ;" and 3. the palmated birds, or 

 those " that swim in the water." The minor subdivisions are 

 equally characterized by sound judgment and acute observation. 



The Ornithology of Willoughby and his friend Ray had the 

 same happy effect on the progress of the science, as Ray's Sy- 

 nopsis Animalium had on another great department of zoology ; 

 and it is no small praise to their sagacity that this work furnish- 

 ed the basis of the classification adopted half a century afterwards 

 by Linnaeus. Ray in his Synopsis Methodica Avium, a pos- 

 thumous work published by Dr Derham in 1713, but entirely 

 finished before the author's death, still farther improved the 

 same system. 



From the date of this publication till the appearance of the 

 Sy sterna Naturae of the great Linnaeus, little progress was 

 made in the science of ornithology. M. Barerre, a Frenchman, 

 who published a system in 1741, showed it was possible even 

 to retrograde ; nor were the attempts of Frisch, a German natu- 

 ralist, who commenced a Natural History of Birds in 1734, 

 much calculated, though his figures be exact, to forward its 

 progress. Jacob Theodore Klein, who published a work on 

 birds in 1750, and whose ambition was to be considered as the 

 rival of Linnaeus, was still less successful in his confused at- 

 tempt to improve the classification of birds. 



In the Systema Natures of Linnaeus the Class of Birds is 

 divided into six Orders, viz. 



I. ACCIPITRES, Birds of Prey. Bill bent ; upper mandible dilated on 

 each side, or armed with a tooth ; legs short, robust ; toes warty; 

 claws crooked and pointed. 

 II. PIC2E. Bill convex or rounded above, edged on its lower part; legs 



short, robust ; toes smooth. 

 III. ANSERES. Bill smooth, covered with an epidermis and thickened 



