BRITISH BIRDS. 



THE bill of this genus is long, straight, and 

 hooked at the end. The face is partly destitute of 

 feathers, being covered only with a bare skin: 

 gullet naked, and capable of great distention : body 

 long and heavy: legs placed far backward: toes 

 four in number, and all webbed together : outer 

 one longest. 



Only two of this tribe belong to the British Isles ; 

 they are not the inhabitants of this country only, 

 but are widely dispersed over the globe, being met 

 with in almost every climate which navigators 

 have visited, whether temperate, hot, or cold. 

 They remain with us throughout the year, but par- 

 ticularly on our more northern shores, upon whose 

 rocky shelving precipices they station themselves, 

 and perform the offices of incubation ; while 

 stragglers, occasionally taking a wider range, 

 with outstretched neck and vigorous wing, sweep 

 along the coast, .and entering the mouths of the 

 rivers, follow their course in quest of food, to the 

 lakes inland. 



