328 HISTORY OF 



A bird so oddly fashioned might be expected 

 to possess some very peculiar appetites ; but the 

 spoonbill seems to lead a life entirely resembling 

 all those of the crane kind ; and nature, when 

 she made the bill of this bird so very broad, seems 

 rather to have sported with its form, than to aim 

 at any final cause for which to adapt it. In fact, 

 it is but a poor philosophy to ascribe every capri- 

 cious variety in nature to some salutary purpose : 

 in such solutions we only impose upon each 

 other, and often wilfully contradict our own be- 

 lief. There must be imperfections in every being, 

 as well as capacities of enjoyment. Between 

 both, the animal leads a life of moderate felicity ; 

 in part making use of its many natural advan- 

 tages, and in part necessarily conforming to the 

 imperfection of its figure. 



The Shoveler chiefly feeds upon frogs, toads, 

 and serpents ; of which, particularly at the Cape 

 of Good Hope, they destroy great numbers. The 

 inhabitants of that country hold them in as much 

 esteem as the ancient Egyptians did their bird 

 ibis : the shoveler runs tamely about their houses ; 

 and they are content with its society, as an useful 

 though a homely companion. They are never 

 killed ; and indeed they are good for nothing 

 when they are dead, for the flesh is unfit to be 

 eaten. 



This bird breeds in Europe, in company with 

 the heron, in high trees, and in a nest formed of 

 the same materials. Willoughby tells us, that in 

 a certain grove at a village called Seven Huys, 

 near Leyden, they build and breed yearly in 



