INTRODUCTION. xL 



fold up their toes so closely, that the least possible resist- 

 ance is made while they are drawing them forward to repeat 

 their strokes in the water. Many of these divers are pro- 

 vided internally with a receptacle, seated about the windpipe, 

 for a stock of air, which serves the purpose of respiration,, 

 whilst they remain under water : and the whole of the tribe 

 of swimmers have their feathers bedded upon a soft, close, 

 warm down; and are furnished with a natural oil, supplied 

 from a gland in the rump. This oil they press out with 

 their bills from a kind of nipple, and with it preen and dress 

 their plumage, which is thereby rendered impenetrable to 

 the water, and, in a great degree, to the most extreme cold. 



Of the number of these birds, both waders and swimmers r 

 a great proportion may not improperly be termed fresh-water 

 birds, as they rear their young, and spend the greater part 

 of their time inland. In this class are the Ardea, Scolopax, 

 and Tringa, with divided toes the Fulica, Phalaropus, and 

 Podiceps, with finned feet; together with others of the web- 

 footed kinds, chiefly of the genera of the Mergus and Anas. 

 Among these various kinds-, some species are found which 

 only occasionally visit the sea-shore : others have not been 

 noticed there at all; while others are seen there frequently, 

 feeding on the beach: some, like little boats, keep within 

 bays and creeks, near the shores ; others, meanwhile, 

 adventure into the ocean, and sport amidst its waves. To 

 particularize these, with their various places of abode, and the 

 times of their migrations, would here be tedious and unne- 

 cessary: they are noticed in the description of each bird. 



The northern extremities of the earth seem as if they 

 were set apart for the nations of the feathered race, as their 

 peculiar heritage a possession which they have held coeval 

 with creation. There, amidst lakes and endless swamps, 

 where the human foot never trod, and where, excepting their 

 own cries, nothing is heard but the winds, they find an asylum 

 where they can rear their young in safety, unmolested, and 

 surrounded by a profusion of plenty, This ample provision 



