THE CRANE KIND. 353 



there, having attained her port, she continues to 

 sit in great tranquillity, regardless of the impe- 

 tuosity of the current; and though the water 

 penetrates her nest, she hatches her eggs in that 

 wet condition. 



The water-hen never wanders j but the coot 

 sometimes swims down the current, till it even 

 reaches the sea. In this voyage these birds en- 

 counter a thousand dangers : as they cannot fly 

 far, they are hunted by dogs and men ; as they 

 never leave the stream, they are attacked and de- 

 stroyed by otters ; they are preyed upon by kites 

 and falcons ; and they are taken, in still greater 

 numbers, in weirs made for catching fish ; for 

 these birds are led into the nets while pursuing 

 small fish and insects, which are their principal 

 food. Thus animated nature affords a picture 

 of universal invasion ! Man destroys the otter, 

 the otter destroys the coot, the coot feeds upon 

 fish, and fish are universally the tyrants of each 

 other ! 



To these birds, with long legs and finny toes, 

 I will add one species more, with short legs and 

 finny toes I mean the Grebe. The entire re- 

 semblance of this bird's appetites and manners to 

 those of the web-footed class, might justly induce 

 me to rank it among them ; but as it resembles 

 those above described in the peculiar form of its 

 toes, and bears some similitude in its manners 

 also, I will for once sacrifice method to brevity. 

 The grebe is much larger than either of the for- 

 mer, and its plumage white and black : it differs 

 also entirely in the shortness of its legs, which 



VOL. iv. z 



