154 CLASS AVES. 



warm vallies, and are fond of rolling in the dust. From this 

 circumstance the French call them puh^rateurs. The small 

 granivorous and insectivorous kinds, as sparrows, gross-beaks, 

 titmouse, &c., haunt the thickets, bushes, and brakes, and 

 never fly but to a moderate height. The birds of prey, as 

 vultures, owls, eagles, hawks, falcons, kites, and buzzards, 

 delight in rocks, mountains, and elevated and solitary stations 

 in general. Finally, the climbing birds, as peckers, toucans, 

 hoopoes, cuckows, and under the tropics the numerous families 

 of psittacidge, prefer lofty forests and warm climates. 



As the grallse, or waders, are less tolerant of wet and cold 

 than the palmipedes, so the gallinacea are still less so than the 

 grallae. But they are peculiarly terrestrial, and natives of the 

 temperate climates. The small granivorous and insectivorous 

 races attach themselves less to earth than the preceding, and 

 bear cold still worse. The birds of prey elevate themselves 

 more in the air, and in general repair towards the warmer 

 climates. Finally, the climbers never attach themselves to the 

 ground, and inhabit principally towards the tropics. There is, 

 then, a marked gradation from the aquatic to the climbing 

 birds, from the penguin, or the manchot, to the parrots. The 

 first remain towards the poles, the second under the tropics. 

 The first remain continually in the waters or on the ground ; 

 the second under the most elevated trees. The first have a 

 dusky plumage, and dull and tarnished colours ; the second are 

 invested with plumage of the most brilliant dye. The aquatic 

 bird under a hazy sky, in a cold and humid atmosphere, has a 

 heavy and fat body, a dull and stupid character. The climber, 

 under a serene heaven, in a warm and dry atmosphere, has a 

 thin and delicate body, and a lively disposition. The inhabitant 

 of the waters is voracious ; its voice hoarse and disagreeable. 

 The inhabitant of the tropical forests is temperate, the voice 

 flexible, and the song delightful. The first is polygamous, and 

 cold in constitution ; the second, monogamous, and ardently 



