30C VEKTEBRATA. 



Tlu> i.atat»>rial l.inls aiv .livi.K-<l into six families: the Anatid^, including the Flaminfjoes, 

 Swam, Geese, J)iicks,J!cc.\ the Colv.miiid.k, inciiKling the Grebes, Divers, GuiUeinots, kc.\ the 

 AlcaI)'.*:, inolu.ling the Pewin'ms, Auks, J'ujfins, A:,.; the 1'elicakiu.i:, including Pelicans, Cor- 

 morauts, Frnjiite-llinls, Gmairts, Darters, Tropic-Birds, etc.; the Lauiu.e or Gulls; an,l tlic 

 I'KorKi.'i-AUiD.K, inclu.ling the Alhatross, Fulmars, Petrels, &c. 



r.-mfmt.,r i-uiiifullv, tlu- wc.irisoiiiom'.ss of protracted calms. But travelers who have a turn for natural history, often 

 tiu.l ..inuxeim'tit in' i-ircumst.u.ccs wiiicli kill others with ennui. At i)urticular seasons of the year, a ship has no 

 sooner been two or three tluvs out at sea, than the passenjxers observe birds of various kinds i)eiched ui)oii the rig- 

 L'inij Fatifiue is generallv "supposed to be tlic cause of these visits, though we cannot always have recourse to this 

 explanati..n. since even when the shore is near at hand, these little explorers of strange things will come and display 

 their beauty to the mariner, reminding him of green woods and sunny glades, in the midst of vast billows and the 



wttlcrv deep. • , , 



" We believe that hawks and falcons are not usually reckoned among migratory birds ; yet it is certain that they 

 sometimes cross the Mediterranean where it is broadest, as well from Africa to Europe as from Europe to Africa. 

 One day in summer, Ivin- almost midway between Marraorice and Greece, we observed a golden falcon coming up 

 swiftly' from the south, and resting upon the top-gallant-sail-yard. As he remained there a considerable time, we 

 inferred that he meant to make the passage to Europe in our company ; and a young sailor went up to do the honors 

 ofthe ship, and invite him to descend. Uaving evidently had enough of flying, the falcon made no objection. He 

 suffeii'il hiinself to bo taken without the least resistance : and when brought down to the deck looked about him, as 

 we thouirht, w ith tokens of pleasure. Perhaps ho detected the smell of meat ; and certainly when some was offered 

 to him, tlic'voracilv with whieh he fell upon it suggested the probability that we were indebted for the pleasure of 

 his company to hunger rather than weariness. 



" Bein" treated wFth imich kindness, he showed no desire to quit us, though allowed his full freedom. He flew fore 

 and aft, soared up to the vane, and then, when he thought proper, came down like an arrow. 



" Everv bodv on board was amused w'ith him, and loved to gaze at his large, bright, piercing eyes as he watched 

 cverv thin"- around him, or turned up quick glances at the clouds. We began to think him as tame as a kitten, and 

 gave him, by way of peace-oiiering, bits of meat Avith our fingers, and some of the bolder among us even ventured to 

 stroke his speckled breast. This, however, was not done without some apprehension, for he had sharp claws, and 

 his beak was furniidablc. 



" When he had alreadv been with us eight or ten days, we came in sight of Etna, towering ten thousand feetjnto 

 the blue firmament, and with its deep snowy cap, looking like a stationary cloud. The falcon no doubt saw it much 

 sooner than we did; but he had been kindly treated, and was doubtless loath to break hospitable ties. But when 

 liberty or servitude was the question, he could not long hesitate ; and after wheeling twice or thrice about the ship, 

 as if to take an affectionate leave of us, he rose aloft ; plunged into space, and disappeared in the direction of the 

 great mountain. We could not blame him, though, as he had grown friendly and familiar, we much regretted his 

 departure. 



"Some ofthe old Dutch navigators being, like the rest of their country men, possessed strongly by the love of gar- 

 dening, often used to make the attempt to indulge in the pleasures of horticulture on board ship. They made large, 

 long, and deep boxes, filled them with fine earth, and raised for themselves cresses and other salads during their voy- 

 ages to the east. When the keen-eved birds perceived, as they could from a great distance, these little floating 

 patches of verdure, they often alighted on the vessels to examine them. But most of the visits paid to ships by birds 

 are owing to precisely the same motive as makes wayfarers pause at an inn on the road — they have traveled far, and 

 need a little repose. 



" Unfortunately, sailors have formed a strange theory respecting the appearance of birds in the neighborhood of 

 their vessels, on their sails, or among the rigging. They look upon them as the sure forerunner of storms. Even 

 the most observant travelers are sometimes betrayed, by putting confidence in seafaring men, usually full of prejudice 

 and superstition, into sharing this belief. An able naturalist, sailing out of the Baltic, observed, just before losing 

 sight of the island of Gothland, a small gray bird of the sparrow tribe, following the ship, upon which the captain said 

 they should certainly have bad weather. Accordingly, in less than half an hour the wind rose, the sea ran high, and 

 the waves broke fiercely over the bulwarks. The same writer remarks that in the North Sea, the Baltic, and on the 

 coast of Spain, whenever birds came on board, a tempest was sure to follow, which led him to infer that the petrel is 

 not the only bird whose visits portend storms. 



" Navigators in the Indian Ocean sometimes observe upon the yards and rigging of their ships, unknown birds of 

 the richest plumage, which come to them when they are so far out at sea that nothing but experience could prove 

 Uie possibility of a bird's flying to so great a distance. There are two species of cuckoo, natives, it is said, of Hawaii, 

 which are known to fly across the ocean all the way from Australia to New Zealand, a distance of a thousand miles, 

 without once resting, because there is no land between on which they could alight. As swift birds, however, fly at 

 the rate of one hundred and fifty miles an hour, they can perform this formidable passage in less than five hours and 

 a half. 



" An eastern mariner once related to us a curious anecdote of a bird-visitor which he had many years before on 

 board his ship. Having left the vicinity of Danger Island, he sailed along almost due east for upward of a thousand 

 miles, when, early one morning, he observed among the cordage, a bird in shape like a swallow, but of the most 

 exquisite and delicate colors; its breast was bright azure, its tail green, its wings scarlet; from its head rosea 

 golden crest, and its eyes were surrounded by a circle of pink feathers. It had been subdued, no doubt, by means 

 of hunger, to a temper of the greatest taineness. He held out to it a little rice upon a plate. The bird descended, 

 perched upon his arm, and ate with extreme voracity. It was evidently much used to man, took fright at no one, but 

 at dinner walked coolly about upon the cabin-table among the plates and dishes, now taking a bit from one hand, and 



