52 THE STOMACH. 



Geese and Fowls, which are rarely without the means of 

 supplying themselves, have heen known to remain a sur- 

 prising length of time in a fasting state. A favourite hen, 

 which had been missed for upwards of four weeks, was for- 

 tunately found at the bottom of a deep well, by a person 

 who went down to repair it: the poor bird, when discovered, 

 was perched on a small piece of timber floating on the water, 

 and when taken up was in a very exhausted state, but soon 

 recovered. 



A Goose was accidently shut up in a shed, and sup- 

 posed to have been carried away by a fox, when, at the 

 expiration of three weeks, it was discovered alive ; for a few 

 days it continued in a weak state, but gradually resumed its 

 strength. 



Having taken a short view of the frame-work and internal 

 construction of a bird, with reference to the disposal of its 

 food, we shall next consider some other of the vital functions, 

 commencing with those of breathing and voice. The lungs 

 of men and animals occupy, as is well known, a large portion 

 of the chest, whereas, in birds, the space occupied is not only 

 much smaller, but the lungs themselves are of a more firm 

 and compact texture. At the same time they are most plenti- 

 fully supplied with air-cells, communicating with other cells, 

 profusely distributed over every part of the system, by which 

 their bodies are in a manner blown up and rendered buoyant: 

 a considerable portion of the skeleton, moreover, as we have 

 shown, being formed into receptacles for this light and 

 elastic fluid, of which birds partake in so much greater a 

 degree than most other portions of the creation. In fact, a 

 bird, destined as it is to live in air,^may be almost called an 

 absolute air-vessel, so completely does air fill up and circulate 

 throughout its whole frame. While men and other land 

 animals breathe-in air through the nostrils alone, a bird 

 respires through a variety of other channels. A wounded 

 Heron was observed to live a whole day, breathing solely 

 through a broken portion of the wing-bone.* Other experi- 



* See Linncean Transactions, vol. xi., p. 11. 



