Cir.CULATOKY SYSTEM OF BIEDS. oi>o 



SECOND CLASS OF VERTEBRAL ^VXIMALS.* 



AvEs (Rirds). 



There is no otlicr class in animatcil nature which presents to the groat 

 majority of observers such pcciiHar interest and attraction as the birds ; and 

 for this great i)opidarity there is abundant reason when we consider tiie 

 sometimes wonderful intelligence of these animals, their almost infinite vari- 

 ety of form, their entertaining habits, tlicir charming and varied songs, 

 and their elegant, sometimes gorgeous, plumage. 



Xaturalists rank them second to tlic mammals in the great division of ver- 

 tebrates ; but, putting man, with his superior intelligence, aside, birds are 

 endowed with attributes which sliould place them on an equal footing with 

 the mammals, for, witli an intelligence often susceptible of as great educa- 

 tion as the others, with a nervous system often as finely organized, with 

 wonderful instincts, prompting them to traverse thousands of miles in migra- 

 tions in order to avoid the severity of a northern winter, and to return to the 

 security of an arctic summer for the purpose of securing a safe and unmo- 

 lested nesting-place ; their astonishing mechanical skill displayed in tlie 

 preparation of their nests, each selecting and elaborating a form perfectly 

 adapted to its wants and mode of life ; and the diversity of life to wiiich 

 their various forms are adapted, rendering the earth, the heavens, and tlie 

 waters accessible to, and almost all inhabitable by them, — all these certainly 

 indicate them as superior beings. 



As in the mammals, we find among birds, groups, each with peculiarities, 

 both of food and life, so marked that they constitute at once natural divis- 

 ions, plainly noticeable to the most casual observer. The rapacious birds, 

 the eagles, hawks, vultures, and owls — are as distinctly characterized from 

 the gallinaceous birds — the grouse, plieasants, turkeys; and the graminiv- 

 orous birds — the sparrows, finches- — -are from ducks, geese, swans, and 

 gulls, as are the carnivorous mammals — the lion, tiger, fox — from the 

 ruminants — the deer, oxen, sheep. 



It is in tracing out through the various subdivisions of these natural groups 

 the peculiarities of each, and noting all the varieties of form and liabit, that 

 give to the study of ornithology its greatest cliann ; and the student, on 

 viewing and comparing the adaptability of each form to its life, is lost in 

 wonder and admiration at the sublime wisdom that called into being such 

 marvels of beauty and completeness. 



* The material for this department is prepared by Edward A. Samuels, Esq., author of 

 "OrnUholog]/ of New England." 



NO. IX. 45 



