PALMIPEDES. 165 



are denticulated; the eyes and nudity of the face, as in the pelicans; their 

 habits also are similar, perching on trees. 



Several species or varieties are known from the hot climates of both conti- 

 nents. They are not larger than the duck, but they have a longer neck. 



PHOTON, Linruzus. 



The Tropic Birds are known by two very long and narrow feathers that 

 flow from their tail, which at a distance rdsemble so many straws. There is 

 no naked part about the head. Their bill is straight, pointed, denticulated, 

 and tolerably strong ; their feet short and their wings long : their powers of 

 flight are consequently great, and as they rarely quit the torrid zone, their 

 presence announces to the mariner his vicinity to the tropics. On land, where 

 they seldom resort, except to breed, they perch on trees. 



FAMILY IV. 



LAMELLIROSTRES. 



IN this family we find a thick bill, invested with a soft skin rather than 

 with true horn ; its edges are furnished with laminae 

 or little teeth ; the tongue is broad and fleshy, the 

 edges notched. The wings are of a moderate length. 

 The birds comprised in this family pass most of 

 their time in the fresh waters, in which they delight ; 

 they feed on small fish, insects, and various other 

 marine productions, which their long neck enables them 

 to seize with facility ; some of them dive under water 

 for their prey, where they remain a considerable time. 

 The great genus 



ANAS, Linnaeus, 



Comprises those palmipedes, the edges of whose large and broad bill are 

 furnished with a range of thin salient laminae, placed 

 transversely, which appear destined to allow the water 

 to pass off when the bird has seized its prey. They 

 are divided into three sub-genera, whose limits, how- 

 ever, are not very precise. 



CYGNUS, Meyer. 



The bill of the Swans is of an equal breadth throughout, higher at base 

 than it is wide ; the nostrils about the middle of its length : the neck is very 

 long. They are the largest birds of the genus, and feed chiefly on the seeds 

 and roots of aquatic plants. Their intestines and caeca in particular are con- 

 sequently very long. There is no inflation of the trachea. Two species are 

 found in Europe. 



Anas olor, Gm. (The Red-billed or Domestic Swan.) Beak red, edged 

 with black, surmounted at base by a rounded protuberance ; the plumage 

 snow-white. When young, the beak is lead-coloured and the plumage grey. 



