THE CHINESE STARLING. 243 



degree of perfection, or has it equal influence on their 

 general habits. It is not merely by habitually perching 

 upon trees that the Insessorial birds proclaim that such 

 is their proper station in nature. They, almost without 

 exception, build their nests among the branches or in 

 the hollow trunks ; and a very large proportion of them 

 subsist entirely upon buds and fruits, or upon the 

 insects which they capture in the fissures of the bark. 

 The feet of all, (with one or two trifling exceptions, 

 which but confirm the general rule,) are specially fitted 

 for such a mode of existence ; while those of one exten- 

 sive tribe absolutely incapacitate them for any other 

 habitation. 



The fact that each of the Orders of Birds has its 

 peculiar station on the surface of the globe, and that 

 there exists a perfect analogy between these several 

 stations and the series of their natural affinities, has 

 been illustrated by Mr. Vigors in the happiest manner. 

 A brief digression, with the view of aflTording some idea 

 of this remarkable coincidence, may perhaps not be 

 unacceptable here. It matters not where we begin, 

 but we may as well commence with the Birds of Prey, 

 which soar to the highest pitch in the atmosphere, 

 while the typical species take their prey upon the wing. 

 Their station is manifestly the air. By means of the 

 Owls and the Goat-suckers, we pass to the Insessorial 

 Order, whose station among the land birds, as we have 

 just seen, is upon the trees; intermediate, as it were, 

 between the air and the earth. On the surface of the 

 latter beyond all doubt is the domain of the Gallina- 

 ceous tribes, which nest and feed upon it, and have their 

 legs peculiarly fitted for walking, while their wings are 

 but ill adapted for flight. They are connected to the 

 Perchers by the intervention of the Pigeons, and to the 



r2 



