SMELL. 73 



or decay, and immediately commence stocking up 

 the ground. Upon investigating the object of their 

 operations, I have found many heads of plantains, 

 the little autumnal dandelions, arid other plants, 

 drawn out of the ground and scattered about, their 

 roots having been eaten off by a grub, leaving only 

 a crown of leaves upon the surface. This grub, 

 beneath, in the earth, the rooks had detected in their 

 flight, and descended to feed on it, first pulling up 

 the plant which concealed it, and then drawing the 

 larvae from their holes. By what intimation this bird 

 had discovered its hidden food, we are at a loss to con- 

 jecture ; but the rook has always been supposed to 

 scent matters with great discrimination*." 



Water-birds (Natatores, ILLIGER) might be sup- 

 posed, from the considerable development of their nerves 

 of smell, to have this sense very acute ; and accord- 

 ingly we have already seen that Lucretius attributes to 

 the quick smelling of the geese, their discovery of the 

 Gauls when they attempted to take the capitol by sur- 

 prise. The organs of smell in the goose, however, are 

 considerably less developed than those of the duck *f\ 

 The petrels, we might infer, ought to possess an acute 

 smell, as their nostrils are not only large, but diffe- 

 rent from other birds; they project distinctly from the 

 beak, forming a singular-looking sort of nose, in 

 some species, such as the pintado petrel (Procellaria 

 capensis), nearly an inch longj; in the giant petrel 

 (P. giganlea, GMELIN) it is much more. As these 

 birds do not fly so high in the air as vultures and 

 ravens, arid live upon dead fish and similar garbage, 

 these prominent nostrils are probably intended to 

 render them 



tf Sagacious of their quarry from afar." 



* Journ. of a Naturalist, p. 179, 3d edit. 

 f De Blainville, Principes, p. 322. 

 J Lesson, Man. d'Ornith. ii. 397. 



