ORNITHOLOGY. 
in the Meleagris, or turkey genus, it is overfpread with a 
carneous 2 appen e. The noftrils of birds are generally of 
‘i pper mandible : 
acute, wings 
mary, are fituated < on the al daceag| of the wing, 
There are os 
e genus Aptenodytes, (fee Pexaum,) which 
are deltitute of . flag- feathers ; ; with them the wings per- 
form the office o 
ey renee ie ten or eer except in the 
nas genus, in which they are more numerous. See Duck. 
ere isaco nfiderable ‘ifference i in the form of their feet, 
accor rdin ‘their r manner of life. Hence the feet have ob- 
Bus and PLATALEA.) 
parrots, woodpeckers, and other genera addiéed to 
climbing, have two toes forwards and two backwards. The 
ottrich, the ‘fw ifteft of all one birds, is in this refpe& 
-anomalous, having only tw 
Without the means of endite themfelves with great 
{wiftnefs from one place t 
See Mic It 
been topple that, Sahu ‘the long flights of birds over 
immenfe 8 ‘of water, the means of fubfiftence would 
a, fal it ought, however, to be remembered, that this 
objection obviate » When we refle& upon the fuperior ve- 
locity) with which birds are cated forward i in the air, | and the 
ith amucn h longer 
“time than can be done e by the ftrongeft quadrupeds. 
fleeteft. horfe will fcarcel 
ways tees 
attended with its .ufual confequences, debility, and a total 
want of power to continue the exertion; but the motions of 
birds are sot impeded by fimilar caufes, and they not only 
- glide through the air with a quicknefs fuperior to that of 
the {wifteft quadrupeds, but can continue on the wing with 
equal {peed for a confiderable length of time. If we fup- 
pofe a bird to go at the rate of a mile in two minutes, and 
~ to continue that velocity 24 hours, it will in that time have 
eae fame journey.in a much fhorter “Tpece of 
time. e method by which the flight of birds is per- 
; annie a the article FLYING. As birds are continually 
; Act kinds of 
pafling through hedges and thickets, their eyes are proteéted 
from external injuries, as well as from too much light, when 
ive in oppofition to the fun’ 3 rays, bya nictitating or 
winking membrane, which can be phen over the whole eye 
like a curtain. This covering is neither opaque, nor wholly 
pellucid, but femi- pink Saat By means of it the eagle 
is faid to be able to gaze att 
Of the Nutrition, Ne ffs, Lo aie, Difeafes, ae and 
e general Ufes of Birds, in the Economy of Nat 
be diftingnifhed, ar the animals o 
into two kinds, or clafles, wiz 
t 
nd longer inteftines than thofe o 
Their food, which confifts of grain of various forts, is con- 
veyed whole and entire into the firft ftomach or craw, where 
it undergoes a partial dilution by a Hiquer fecreted from the 
glands, and fpread over its furface: it is then received into 
another {pecies of ftomach, where it is farther diluted; after 
which it is tran{mitted into the 
confilting of two very ftron 
witha tendinous fubftance, and lined with a thick membratie 
of prodigious power and ftrength; in this place the food is 
completely triturated, and rendered fit for the operation of 
the gaftric juices. (See Binns, Anatom 
birds partake muc 
ous qu 
gentlenefs of their temper and manners. Their 
chief attention is direted to procuring food, hatching and 
rearing their offspring, and avoiding the {nares of men, and 
the attacks of birds of prey, and other rapacious animals. 
hey are in general fo tractable as eafily to be dometticated. 
Carnivorous 
ieiaae ed 
fo piercing and acute, as to m to view their prey 
from the greateft heights in the ra eae they dart 
with inconceivable f{wiftnefs, and undeviating aim; their 
ftomachs are {maller than thofe of the granivorous kinds, and 
their inteftines are much fhorter. 
ery 0 them are provided with weapons 
which indicate oe and rapine ; their manners are fierce 
and unfocial, and they feldom live together in bid like 
ie granivorous tribes, When not on the w sia apne 
irds retire to the tops of fequeftered ile or the 
depths of extenfive forcits, where they conceal themfelves i in 
folitude. Thofe which feed on carrion are endowed with a 
fenfe of {melling fo exquifite, as to enable them to fcent 
putrid carcafes at aftonifhing di ence 
Moft birds, at certain feafons, live together in pairs, and 
the union generally continues while the united efforts of both 
are neceflary in forming temporary habitations, and in rear- 
ing their offspring. . Kagles and other birds of prey continue 
their attachment for a much longer time, and fometimes for 
life. The nefts of birds are conftruéted with fo much art as 
of, as well as the fituations they feleét, are as various as the 
icds, and are all admirably adapted to 
their feveral wants and neceflities. Bircs of the fame {pe- 
cies 
