116 MEMOIRS OF 



come the cow, the camel, and the reindeer ; 

 tlie two latter of which convey their masters 

 over the hottest or the coldest regions of the 

 earth j and lastly, the nhitli, or Cetacea, which 

 presents us with the mighty monsters of the deep. 

 These nine orders are subdivided into families, 

 genera, subgenera, &c., and the most important 

 species are noticed with considerable detail. 



From Mammalia, M. Cavier proceeds to 

 Birds ; and after their physiological description, 

 he also divides them into orders, pointing out 

 the reasons of such divisions, and carrying us 

 through every portion of the winged tribe. He 

 first embraces the birds of prey, such as the 

 vultures, who act, as it were, the part of sca- 

 vengers ; the eagles who prey by day, and owls 

 who thieve by night ; the second contains the 

 numerous genera of the Passeres, they are not 

 so violent as birds of prey, properly so called, 

 nor have they the decided habits of the Gal- 

 linacea}, or aquatic birds, but devour insects, 

 fruits, and grains j those who pursue insects 

 will also feed on smaller birds, and have slender 

 beaks ; and those who eat grains have thick 

 beaks. The first subdivisions of this order de- 

 pend on the feet, and the others on the form of 

 the beaks. Among them we find our singing 



