ORDER PAL M I P E D A. 



FAMILY B RACHYPTERA. DIVERS. 



91 



The Red Flamingo is about four feet four inches in length ; the head, 

 neck, tail, and under parts rose-colour, as also are the back and scapulars ; 

 wings bright red, the secondaries extending some inches beyond the 

 primaries, which are deep black; ocular circlet and base of the beak 

 whitish, middle of the beak blood-red, and its extremity black ; legs rose- 

 colour. The Flamingos are common in the warm parts of Asia and 

 Africa, also in Sardinia, Sicily,' and Calabria in the neighbourhood of the 

 marshes, and in the southern parts of Provence and in Spain ; very rarely 

 they are met with on the Rhine. They build their nests in shallow ponds, 

 where there is much mud, which they scrape together, making little 

 hillocks, like small islands appearing out of the water, a foot and a half 

 high from the bottom. They never lay more than two eggs, and seldom 

 Fewer. 



GLAREOLA Pratincole. The European species (G. Torquata), known 

 as the Collared, or Austrian Pratincole (Plate 16), is about the size of a 

 Blackbird ; bill black and short ; lower mandible red at the base ; upper 

 parts brown, inclining to rufous on the head and neck ; throat brownish- 

 buff, separated from the neck by a black line, which, commencing from 

 the front of the eye, descends before the auriculars, and encircles the 

 throat ; below it to the breast the feathers are pale reddish-brown ; under 

 parts, rump, and tail, white; primaries dark brown, secondaries paler, 

 tipped with white ; legs long, bare above the knee, toes brown. 



FULICA Coot. This genus is admirably adapted for the water, on 

 which it continually lives, very rarely coming ashore ; they are both excel- 

 lent swimmers and divers, and they live principally on aquatic vegetables. 

 The upper part of the plumage greyish-black, except the outer edges of 

 the wings and a spot under each, which are white ; under parts ashy-blue, 

 with a hoary tinge ; beak white, with a greenish tinge ; the callous frontal 

 membrane white, which inclines to red in the breeding season ; legs ashy, 

 but yellowish above the knee. 



GALLINULA. The Gallimdai have their bodies much compressed ; they 

 stoop much forwards, which enables them to run with considerable speed, 

 not only on shore, but also along the leaves and weeds spread on the 

 surface of the water, and even among rushes, for which the great expansion 

 of thbir toes is admirably adapted. They live in marshy districts, and are 

 excellent divers ; their food is vegetables, and frequently also insects. 



The species are the Land-Rail or Corn-Crake (G. Crex) ; the Spotted 

 Gallinule (G. Porzana) ; the Olivaceous Gallinule (G. Pusilla) ; the Little 

 Gallinule (G. Baillonii) ; and the Common GoMimde (G. Chloropus). 



The first-named species (Corn-Crake) is a native of Europe, and visits 

 Great Britain during the spring and summer months, but leaves it before 

 winter ; it is very common in the Isle of Anglesea and in Ireland. It runs 

 extremely fast, rarely takes wing, except when pushed to the last extremity, 

 when it flies but for a short distance, and then dropping, takes again to 

 running ; and if overtaken by the dogs, will sometimes squat and be passed 

 over by them in the eagerness of pursuit. In those districts where Quails 

 are found it appears about the same time with them, and has thence been 

 called the king of the Quails. 



RALLUS Rail. There is little real difference between this genus and 

 the Gallinules, except that in the former the beak is longer than the head, 

 whilst in the latter it is shorter; but even in this respect the transition is 

 so gradual that it is difficult to determine the limits of each. There are 

 about twenty species, of which only one is found in Europe. 



Sir W. Jardine observes that the feathers of the forehead and crown of 

 the Rails are so formed as to defend them from the friction of the strong 

 grass and reeds among which they constantly run : the tip of the stem of 

 each feather being lengthened and widened into a flat sharp point resem- 

 bling a lengthened scale, and in one or two species the feathers consist only 

 of this stem, giving the whole forehead a horny appearance. The body of 

 the Rails is much compressed and very flat. They run much more than 

 they fly, and escape pursuit by swimming across narrow pieces of water. 

 They live in marshes covered with grass, reeds, and shrubs, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of fresh water ; and feed on worms, slugs, insects without wing- 

 cases, and on vegetables and their seeds. There is but one species. 



ORDER VI. PALMIPEDA. WEB-FOOTED. 



THIS Order is characterised by the adaptation of their legs and feet for 

 swimming : their legs are placed far back on the body ; the tarsi is short 

 and compressed, and their toes are webbed. Their neck is longer than 

 their legs, by which they are enabled to dip far into the water in quest of 

 food ; and their plumage is close, downy, and unctuous. 



Family SHORT-WINGED, OR DIVERS ; Brachyptera. 



These Birds walk with difficulty, owing to the backward position of their 

 legs, hence they maintain an upright posture when on land; their wings 

 are remarkably short and feeble ; they swim beneath the surface of the 

 water, their wings aiding them like fins. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 

 PLATE 16. 



Species. 



Genera, 



Podiccps - - 

 Podoa - - 

 Colymbus 

 Fratercula - 

 Alca ... 

 Aptenodytes - 



Cornutus - 

 Senegalensis 

 Glacialia - 

 Mormon - 

 Impennis - 

 gonica 



Common Name, 



Horned Grebe. 

 Senegal Coot-grebe. 

 Northern Diver. 

 Puffin. 

 Great Auk. 

 Patagonian Penguin. 



Other Genera of this Family : Eudytes, Phaleris, Spheniscus, Uria. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. PODICEPS (Gr. TTOVS, afoot). Beak of moderate size, firm, compressed, 

 and rather of an elongated conical form ; tip of the upper mandible rather 

 inclined, of the lower angulared nostrils lateral, concave, oblong, closed 

 behind by membranes, open in front, and perforating from side to side ; no 

 tail ; legs long, set far back ; tarsi much compressed ; three toes in front 

 much flattened, connected at their base, and each encircled in a festooned 

 membrane ; claws broad and very flat. 



2. PODOA (Gr. irovc, a foot, and ya, a fringe). Beak of equal length 

 with the head, straight, cylindrical, pointed, inclined towards the tip, .which 

 is notched ; edges of the upper mandible rather expanded ; lower mandible 

 straight, and angular towards the tip ; nasal groove large and long ; nostrils 

 lateral, and penetrating through the beak ; tail very wide ; legs short, and 

 set far into the belly ; tarsi round ; three front toes connected by a festooned 

 membrane ; hind toe smooth. 



3. COLYMBUS (Gr. KoXvpflaa, I swim). Beak smooth, straight, com- 

 pressed, and pointed ; the nostrils linear ; tail none ; legs flat, thin, and ser- 

 rated behind ; feet tetradactyle, the outer toe the longest, the toes lobated. 



4. FRATERCULA. Beak longer than the head, slender, and very much 

 compressed at the tip ; the lower mandible more or less curved and pointed ; 

 and the nostrils open in two tubes close to the surface of the beak. 



5. ALCA. Beak of various lengths and form in the different species, 

 generally compressed ; feathers at the nostrils ; wings very short ; legs very 

 short ; toes three, fully webbed. 



6. APTENODYTES (Gr. d, privative, nrjji'oc, winged, and Swnjc, winator). 

 Bill strong, straight, more or less bending towards the point; wings very 

 small, covered with compact short thick feathers, having broad shafts 

 pendulous and unfit for flight; legs short and thick, placed further behind 

 than in any other bird, throwing the weight on the tarsus, which is very 

 large like the sole of the foot of a quadruped, and containing three bones to 

 which the anterior toes are connected, which are webbed ; there is a loose 

 toe behind. 



7. EUDYTES (Gr. tv, with ease, and Su'njc, urimtor). Bill thickish, 

 straight, slightly compressed, and gradually curved at the tip; upper man- 

 dible longest, but the edges of both inclined inwards ; nostrils linear, and 

 half closed with membrane; tongue long, pointed, and serrated near its 

 base ; wings and tail very short, the latter consisting of twenty feathers ; 

 legs compressed; feet turned outwards, four-toed, the middle one the 

 longest, the anterior three webbed to the claws, the back toe joined to the 

 internal leg or thin membrane. 



N 2 



