THE BKONTE. 



ription. 



on the upper sufaee, so that it may be compared 

 to a hen's tail with the underside turned upper- 

 most. This bird is the size of a cuckoo. 



THE BRONTE, OR DODO. 



THE body of this unwieldy and inactive bird 

 is almost round, and covered with grey fe:uS-ers ; 

 it is just barely supported upon two short thick 

 legs, while its head forms a figure so extraordi- 

 nary, that it might be taken for the grotesque 

 production of the painter's imagination. Sup- 

 ported by a neck, thick and pursy, this head 

 consists almost entirely of an enormous beak, 

 the two mandibles of which open far beyond the 

 eyes, that are large, black, prominent,, and sur- 

 rounded with a white circle. The bill, therefore, 

 is of extraordinary length, not flat and broad, 

 but thick, sharp at the end, and each chap 

 crooked in opposite directions so as to resemble 

 two pointed spoons laid together. In short, the 

 appearance of this bird denotes the most extreme 

 stupidity and voracity, and its deformity is still 

 more increased by a border of feathers round the 

 root of the beak, which- terminates in a point on 

 the forehead, and envelopes the face so as to give 

 the appearance of a hood or cowj. 



The feathers of this bird are in general very 

 soft ; grey is their predominant colour, but darker 



