64 INTRODUCTION. 



dowed with many peculiarities and functions, which those, 

 without palmate feet, never evince : the sea, to many of the 

 natatorial tribe, being their chief abode. Even the polar 

 regions o? floating ice afford to many of them not only a re- 

 treat during tempestuous weather, but there they sleep, and 

 there too they are said, occasionally, to hatch their young. 



The Understanding of Birds is of considerable variety : 

 some are remarkably intelligent, while others are extremely 

 stupid ; the Water Birds, having palmate feet , seem to 

 be considerably beneath the Land Birds and Waders in 

 their intellectual powers. It appears to be also a singular 

 fact, that the volume of brain is greater among the Tnses- 

 sores, (Perchers) in proportion to the size of their bodies, 

 than in any other class, and their intelligence is, therefore, 

 stronger:* this fact will, doubtless, obtain the attention of 

 the P/irevologists. 



The Males of the various tribes (the raptorial birds ex- 

 cepted) are those which sing the best and make the most 

 noise ; many of the females not singing at all or but very 

 indifferently. There are, however, many exceptions to 

 this: the /»cn Thrush, Turdus musica, sings in its natural 

 state, if not equal to the cock, yet very agreeably ; the 

 hen Blackbird, on the contrary, never sings, or at most, 

 only mutters. I suspect too, that some of the female 

 Warblers will be found to sing in their natural stale. The 

 female of the Pensile Warbler sings, although not equal 

 to the male. The female Redbreast, I believe, also sings ; 

 ihe female Skylark will be found, I suspect, also to sing ; 

 the female BvLvmcH, Mr. Sweet informs me, (see his let- 

 ter forwards) sings finely in confinement. It would be pre- 

 mature to lay down any law upon this subject, but it will 

 be found, I presume, tolerably correct, that when the male 

 of any species of Bird sings the greater part of the year, 



* Vigor's Linn. Transactions, vol, xiv. page 404. 



