102 THE PERPETUATION OF LIVING BEINGS. 



I mentioned — the Fantail. It is, you see, a small bird, 

 with exceedingly small legs and a very small beak. 

 It is most curiously distinguished by the size and 

 extent of its tail, which, instead of containing twelve 

 feathers, may have many more, — say thirty, or even 

 more— I believe there are some with as many as forty- 

 two. This bird has a curious habit of spreading out the 

 feathers of its tail in such a way that they reach 

 forward, and touch its head; and if this can be accom- 

 plished, I believe it is looked upon as a point of great 

 beauty. 



But here is the last great variety, — the Tumbler; and 

 of that great variety, one of the principal kinds, and 

 one most prized, is the specimen represented here — the 

 short-faced Tumbler. Its beak, you see, is reduced to 

 a mere nothing. Just compare the beak of this one and 

 that of the first one, the Carrier — I believe the ortho- 

 dox comparison of the head and beak of a thoroughly 

 well-bred Tumbler is to stick an oat into a cherry, 

 and that will give you the proper relative proportions 

 of the beak and head. The feet and legs are exceed- 

 ingly small, and the bird appears to be quite a dwarf 

 when placed side by side with this great Carrier. 



These are differences enough in regard to their ex- 

 ternal appearance ; but these differences are by no 

 means the whole or even the most important of the dif- 

 ferences which obtain between these birds. There is 

 hardly a single point of their structure which has not 

 become more or less altered ; and to give you an idea 

 of how extensive these alterations are, I have here some 

 very good skeletons, for which I am indebted to my 



