NATURAL HISTORY OF CREATION. 181 



wider dejmrtiire from the typical standard, although the 

 last of the three is observed to make a certain recovery, 

 and join on to the typical group, so as to complete the 

 circle. The first of the aberrant groups (natatores) is 

 remarkable for making the water the theatre of its exist- 

 ence, and the birds composing it are in general of com- 

 paratively large bulk. The second (grallatores) are long- 

 limbed and long-billed, that they may wade and pick up 

 their sul)sistence in the shallows and marshes, in which 

 they chiefly live. The third (rasores) are distinguished 

 by strong feet, for walking of running on the ground, 

 and for scraping in it for their food; also by wings 

 designed to scarcely raise them off the earth; and, 

 further, by a general domesticity of character, and use- 

 fulness to man. 



Now the most remarkable circumstance is, that these 

 organic characters, habits, and moral properties were 

 found to be traceable more or less distinctly in the 

 corresponding portions of every other group, even of 

 those belonging to distant subdivisions of the animal 

 kingdom, as, for instance, the insects. The insessores 

 (typical order of aves) being reduced to its constituent 

 circles or tribes, it w^as found that these strictly repre- 

 sented the five orders. In the conirostres are the perfec- 

 tions which belong to the insessores as an order, with 

 the cons23icuous external feature of a comparatively 

 small notch in their bills ; in the dentirostres, the notch 

 is strong and toothlike (hence the name of the tribe), 

 assimilating them to the raptores ; the jissirostres came 

 into analogy with the natatores in the slight development 

 of their feet and their great powers of flight ; the tenui- 

 rosires have the small mouths and long soft bills of the 

 grallatores. Finally, the scansores resemble the rasores 

 in their superior intelligence and docility, and in their 



