BRITISH BIRDS. 323. 



ft)c gallinaceous hin5.* 



WE are now to speak of a very numerous and 

 useful order of birds, which, by the bounty of Pro- 

 vidence, is diffused throughout every country of 

 the world, affording a plentiful and grateful supply 

 of the most delicate, wholesome, and nutritious 

 food. A large portion of these seem to have left 

 their native woods to crowd around the dwellings 

 of man, where, subservient to his purpose, they 

 subsist upon the pickings of the farmyard, the 

 stable, or the dunghill ; a cheerful, active race^ 

 which enliven and adorn the rural scene, and re- 

 quire no other care than the fostering hand of the 

 housewife to protect them. Some kinds, such as. 

 the Pheasant, the Partridge, and the like, are 

 found only in cultivated places, at no great dis- 

 tance from the habitations of men ; and, although 

 they have not submitted to his dominion, they are 

 nevertheless subject to his controlling power, and 

 are the objects of his keenest pursuit ; whilst 

 others, taking a wider range, find food and shelter 

 in the deepest recesses of the forests, sometimes 

 subsisting upon wild and heathy mountains, or 

 among rocks and precipices the most difficult of 

 access. 



The characters of the gallinaceous tribes are well 

 known : most of the species are distinguished 

 above all others for the whiteness of their flesh ; 



* In this order (Gallinae) are included three British genera, viz., 

 Phasianus, Tetrao, Perdix. 



