1 88 BRITISH BIRDS. 



fl)c 



THE bill is strong" and straight, but bent down- 

 wards at the point ; the nostrils are pervious, 

 oblong, and narrow, and placed in the middle ; 

 the lower mandible has an angular prominence 

 on the under side, which tapers towards, and 

 forms its tip ; the tongue is a little cloven. The 

 body is clothed with a great quantity of down 

 and feathers, which, together with the large head 

 and long wings, give these birds an appearance 

 of bulk, without a proportionate weight. The legs 

 are small, naked above the knees : feet webbed, 

 and the back toe detached, and very small. 



This genus, which some naturalists have de- 

 scribed as consisting of about nineteen species, 

 besides a few varieties, is numerously dispersed 

 over every quarter of the world, and is met with, 

 at certain seasons, in some parts, in such multi- 

 tudes, that the whole surface of the ground is 

 covered with their dung : and their eggs are 

 gathered by the inhabitants in prodigious num- 

 bers. They assemble together in a kind of strag- 

 gling mixed flocks, consisting of various kinds, 

 and greatly enliven the beach and rocky cliifs 

 by their irregular movements, whilst their shrill 

 cries are often deadened by the noise of the 

 waves, or nearly drowned in the roarings of the 

 surge. They occasionally take a Avide range 

 over the ocean, and are met with by navigators 

 many leagues distant from the land. Their 



