WATER FOWL. 359 



the wing, fitted for a life of rapine, with sharp 

 straight bills for piercing, or hooked at the end 

 for holding their fishy prey. In this class we 

 may rank the Albatross, the Cormorant, the Gan- 

 net or Soland Goose, the Shag, the Frigate-bird, 

 the Great Brown Gull, and all the lesser tribe of 

 gulls and sea swallows. 



The Penguin kind, with appetites as voracious, 

 bills as sharp, and equally eager for prey, are yet 

 unqualified to obtain it by flight. Their wings 

 are short, and their bodies large and heavy, so 

 that they can neither run nor fly. But they are 

 formed for diving in a very peculiar manner. 

 Their feet are placed so far backward, and their 

 legs so hid in the abdomen, that the slightest 

 stroke sends them head foremost to the bottom of 

 the water. To this class we may refer the Pen- 

 guin, the Auk, the Skout, the Sea-turtle, the 

 Bottle-nose, and the Loon. 



The Goose kind are easily distinguishable by 

 their flat broad bills, covered with a skin ; and 

 their manner of feeding, which is mostly upon 

 vegetables. In this class we may place the Swan, 

 the Goose, the Duck, the Teal, the Widgeon, 

 and all their numerous varieties. 



In describing the birds of these three classes, 

 I will put the most remarkable of each class at 

 the beginning of their respective tribes, and give 

 their separate history ; then, after having describ- 

 ed the chiefs of the tribe, the more ordinary sorts 

 will naturally fall in a body, and come under a 

 general description behind their leaders. But 

 before I offer to pursue this methodical arrange- 



