SWIMMERS 30d 



returning again to hunt up the wake of the vessel for any sub- 

 stances thrown overboard." 



The Tkrns, or Sea Swallows, are possessed of great power 

 and endurance of flight, their long forked 

 tails and pointed wings indicating 

 strength and swiftness. 



The Common Tern is found in 

 plenty along the southern shores of Eu- 

 rope, and many parts of Asia and Africa. 

 It is frequently seen on the southern 

 shores of England, and has been found 



in North America. It preys on fish, which it snatches from the 

 surface with unerring aim, as it skims over the waves with aston- 

 ishing velocity. 



The Gannet, or Solan Goose, feeds almost entirely on 

 herrings, which it seizes by plunging with extraordinary force 

 from a considerable height. This method of procuring food has 

 led to an ingenious device for capturing the bird. A herring is 

 fastened to a board, and suffered to float on the surface of the 

 water. The Grannet, seeing the fish apparently sporting on the 

 surface, plunges a't it with such force that it is instantly killed by 

 the blow. A Gannet was once taken when the board was sunk to 

 the depth of six feet, yet even at that depth the bird's neck was 

 dislocated, and its bill firmly stuck into the wood. The length of 

 the Gannet is about two feet eight inches. 



The Booby is a species of Gannet. Sailors have given it 

 this rather inelegant name on account of the stupidity it displays 

 in sufiering itself to be knocked down with a stick, or even taken 

 up by hand. . 



The Cormorant is a large sea-bird ; it is of the order of 

 the anseres, or goose kind, and called by naturalists corvus aqua- 

 ticus, or sea-raven. Among the Jews this bird was unclean : it is 

 in length about three feet four inches, and about four feet two 

 inches from tip to tip of its extended wings ; the bill is about five 

 inches long; the base of the lower mandible is covered with a 

 naked, yellowish skin, which extends under the throat, and forms 



