ANSERES. 289 



off water unwetted. The secretion of fat in most 

 of these birds is copious, and it is peculiarly oily 

 in its character. They are the only birds, as Cu- 

 vier remarks, in which the neck is longer than the 

 legs, which is soihetimes the case to a considerable 

 extent, for the purpose of enabling them to search 

 for food in the depths below, while they swim on 

 the surface. The tail is commonly very short, as 

 are also the wings ; hence flight is feebly per- 

 formed ; and in some genera is altogether denied. 

 It must, however, be observed, that in this Order 

 are found the longest wings and the highest powers 

 of flight of the whole class, in the Frigate Pelican ; 

 the Petrels and the Terns also are remarkable for 

 their great length of wing : it is remarkable that 

 all these birds, though web-footed, are never seen 

 to swim, though some of them dive or rather 

 plunge with facility. 



The flesh of many of the species is extensively 

 used and esteemed as the food of man ; that of 

 some, with their eggs, forming a main source of 

 support to many hardy islanders. A few species 

 have been domesticated in our waters and our 

 poultry-yards. 



Fens and morasses, broad rivers, and inland 

 lakes, creeks, and estuaries, rocky coves, and 

 muddy bays, precipitous islets and ledgy cliffs, the 

 sinuous coasts of continents and islands, and the 

 broad expanse of the horizon-bound ocean, are the 

 resorts of the web-footed fowl. They are more 

 numerous, particularly the marine kinds, in the 

 colder seas both of the north and south, than in 

 the tropical regions. Our own islands possess a 

 very large number, almost one-third of the species 

 marked as British belonging to this Order. 



