96 



CLASS AVES. 



ORDER-PALMIPEDA. 



other projection, from which, by throwing itself, it may be able to take 

 flight. 



SULA Gannet. This genus formed part of the Linnsean genus Pdecanus, 

 from which, however, it is distinguished by several characters, and has 

 therefore been separated by Brisson. It appears to connect Pdecanus with 

 Tachypetes and Phaeton. 



The Gannets are almost constantly on the wing, but they rarely swim 

 nor ever dive, strictly speaking, although when pursuing their fishy prey 

 they drop down upon it from a considerable height through some feet 

 of water ; when on shore and at rest they use their caudal quills as a third 

 prop to give them support as do the Cormorants. During breeding-time 

 they collect in large flocks upon the rocks overhanging the sea. They have 

 acquired their French name Fou, and their common English one Booby, from 

 their presumed stupidity in allowing themselves to be attacked both by 

 man and by other birds. 



The White Gannet (S. Alba), Plate 18, is from two feet seven to ten 

 inches in length ; beak ashy-blue at the base, but white at the tip ; irides 

 yellow ; naked skin surrounding the eyes light-bluish, but that beneath the 

 chin, and extending to the middle of the throat, is blackish-blue ; crown of 

 the head, occiput, and upper part of the neck pale ochrish-yellow, the rest 

 of the plumage milk-white, excepting the bastard wings, which are black ; 

 front of the tarsi and upper surface of the toes pale green ; toe membranes 

 blackish, the claws white. The female differs only in being smaller. The 

 plumage just described is the adult of three years. 



The Gannet is common to the Arctic regions, both of the old and new 

 world, is very abundant in the Hebrides, Scotland, and Norway ; is a bird 

 of passage in England and on the Dutch coast, where it only occasionally 

 appears in very hard winters. Many of the young are taken on the Bass 

 Rock, at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, not only for their down, but also 

 for the flesh, which, although oily and rank, is, when roasted, much 

 esteemed in Scotland as a good whet before dinner. They afford con- 

 siderable profit, and hence, upon the Bass Rock, which lets for 601. or 701. 

 a-year, the old ones are not allowed to be destroyed ; and during the 

 months of May and June the rock is so thickly covered with nests, eggs, 

 and young birds, that it is scarcely possible to move without treading on 

 them. Their flocks are so great that when flying they darken the sky, and 

 their noise is such as to render it scarcely possible to hold a conversation. 



FLATUS Darter. These birds are found in the hottest parts of Africa 

 and America, living on the banks of rivers at some distance from the coast, 

 and feeding on fish. The small size of their head and their long slender 

 neck give them somewhat the appearance of a snake joined to the body of 

 a bird. According to Vieillot there are but two species, the White-bettied 

 and the Blackroettied Darter. 



Le VaiUant's Darter (Plate 18) is that denominated the Black-bellied 

 Darter. It is about three feet in length ; head and neck light ferruginous, 

 or mingled with brown ; throat whitish ; a white streak passes from the 

 angle of the beak half down the neck ; the scapulars, which are very long, 

 and the secondary quills nearest the body, are marked longitudinally with 

 silvery-white, and their edges are deep black; part of the front of the 

 neck, the chest, and under parts shining-black ; the rest of the plumage 

 and tail entirely black. The female is only distinguished by being of 

 a lighter tint. It is found in Senegal, at the Cape of Good Hope, and the 

 Indian Archipelago. 



PHAETON Tropic Bird. The birds forming this genus are only found 

 between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and hence afford a certain 

 proof to the spectator that he is within the Equatorial zone. Our sailors 

 commonly call them Tropic Birds ; whilst the French give them the name 

 PaSle en queue, from the two long feathers resembling straws which project 

 beyond the other tail feathers. Their flight is very elegant, as they glide 

 along almost without moving their wings. Their food consists entirely of 

 fish, and their long tail-quills are used as ornaments among the South Sea 

 islanders. 



The Red-tailed species (P. Phoenicians) is about thirteen inches in length 

 from the tip of the beak to the root of the tail, which measures five inches 



more ; the general colour of the plumage is satin-like white ; in front of the 

 eye a large black spot, and behind it another smaller one ; the flanks iiiarkinl 

 with blackish ; legs white tinged with bluish ; front of the webbing of the 

 feet black. It is most common in the Indian Seas. 



Family PLAITED-BILLED ; Lamettirostrata. 



The Lamellirostrata have a thick bill, covered with skin ; the edges of 

 the bill are furnished with small teeth ; they have a large fleshy tongue, 

 with denticulated border ; their wings are of moderate length ; they live 

 more commonly in fresh water than in the sea ; they have a very muscular 

 gizzard. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 



Genera. 



Cygnus - - 

 Anser - - - 

 Cereopsis - - 

 Anas ... 

 Hydrobates 

 Mergtis - - - 



PLATE 19. 



>; -. 



Common Name. 



- Musiuus ... - Wild Swan. 



Ferus - - - 

 Novae Hollandiaa 

 Clypeata - - - 

 Lobatos - - - 

 Mergansur - - 



Wild Goose. 



- New Holland Pigeon-goose. 



- Shoveller. 



- Lobated Duck. 



- Goosander. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. CYGNTJS. Beak of the same breadth throughout, but of greater height 

 than width at its base, and sometimes tuberculated ; the edges of the man- 

 dibles denticulated, the upper mandible rounded, its point curved and 

 obtuse; the lower shorter and flat; nostrils in the middle of the beak; 

 space between the beak and eyes naked ; neck very long ; feet webbed, 

 and placed behind the centre of gravity of the body ; the middle toe the 

 longest. 



2. ANSER. Beak about as long as the head, conical and elevated at the 

 base ; nostrils large, near the centre of the beak, and pierced through ; legs 

 long, in the middle of the body ; hind toe free, jointed on the tarsus. 



3. CEREOPSIS. Beak short, elevated, obtuse, and covered with a cere, or 

 membrane ; nostrils on the cere ; legs long, and bare above the tarsal joint ; 

 feet webbed, but not so much as in geese ; large and ample wings. 



4. ANAS. Bill broad at base, wide at the end, slightly hooked ; neck 

 not so long as that of the goose ; legs short, and placed back in the body. 



5. HYDROBATES. General characters as above. 



6. MERGUS (Lat mergo, I dive). Beak of moderate length, slender, 

 straight, roundish, with the base thicker, and the cire covered ; tip of the 

 upper mandible much curved and hook-like ; lower mandible smaller than 

 the upper; edges of both mandibles toothed like a saw, and the teeth 

 inclined backward ; nostrils lateral, elliptical, longitudinal, covered by a 

 common membrane, and perforated through and through ; legs short, 

 strong, turned out, retracted towards the belly ; tarsus a third shorter than 

 the middle toe; three toes in front completely webbed, the outer the 

 longest, hind toe free, about the length of one joint of the others, and rest- 

 ing on its tip ; wings moderately large. 



LAMELLIBOSTRATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



CYGNUS Sawn. Swans live almost entirely on the water, the position 

 of their feet making them bad walkers and comparatively defenceless on 

 land, whilst on their own element they are very powerful. They live 

 principally upon grain and aquatic plants ; the little tooth-like plaits in 

 their mandibles enabling them to crop the latter substances, and at the 

 same time allowing the water to escape ; but they also eat frogs, leeches, 

 and small fishes. They are monogamous, living with a single female, and 

 build their nests on the ground by the water side ; the Cygnets, or young 

 Swans, swim as soon as they are hatched, and find their own food. Swans 

 ate very long lived, frequently, it is said, attaining the age of a hundred 

 years. They afford us the article called Swansdown, which is much 

 esteemed for its fineness, and employed in the manufacture of tippets and 

 mufls. 



The Tame Swan (C. Mansuetus) is the largest of our English birds ; it 



