646 MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



and Crantz. These birds seem to make Iceland a resting-place, 

 as Horrebow observes : a few continue there to breed, but only 

 visit that island in the spring, and after a short stay, retire still fur- 

 ther north. 



30. Corvorants. The corvorant and shag breed on most of our 

 high rocks ; the gannet in some of the Scotch isles, and on the 

 coast of Kerry 5 the two first continue on our shores the whole 

 year. The gannet disperses itself all round the seas of Great Bri- 

 tain, in pursuit of the herring and pilchard, and even as far as the 

 Tagus, to prey on the sardina. 



But of the numerous species of fowl here enumerated, it may be 

 observed how very few entrust themselves to us in the breeding 

 season, and what a distant flight they make to perform the first 

 great dictate of nature. 



There seems to be scarcely any but what we have traced to Lap- 

 land, a country of lakes, rivers, swamps, and alps, covered with 

 thick and gloomy forests, that afford shelter during summer to these 

 fowls, which in winter disperse over the greatest part of Europe. 

 In those arctic regions, by reason of the thickness of the woods, 

 the ground remains moist and penetrable to the woodcocks, and 

 other slender-billed fowl ; and for the web-footed birds, the waters 

 afford larves innumerable of the tormenting gnat. The days there 

 are long; and the beautiful meteorous nights indulge them with 

 every opportunity of collecting so minute a food, whilst mankind 

 is very sparingly scattered over that vast northern waste. 



Why then should Linnaeus, the great explorer of these rude de- 

 serts, be amazed at the myriads of water-fowl that migrated with 

 him out of Lapland ? which exceeded in multitude the army of 

 Xerxes ; covering for eight whole days and nights, the surface of 

 the river Calix ! His partial observation as a botanist, would con- 

 fine their food to the vegetable kingdom, almost denied tothe Lap- 

 land waters ; inattentive to a more plenteous table of insect food, 

 which the all-bountiful Creator had spread for them in the wilder- 

 ness. It may be remarked, that the lakes of mountainous rocky 

 countries in general, are destitute of plants : few or none are seen 

 on those of Switzerland ; and Linnaeus makes the same observation 

 in respect to those of Lapland, having during his whole tour, dis- 

 covered only a single specimtn of a lemma trisulca, or ivy-leaved 

 duck's meat, Flora Lap. No. 470; a few of the scirpus lacustris, 

 or bullrush, No. 18 ; the alopecurus geniculatus, or flote foxtail 



