AQUATIC BIRDS. 99 



A pp^tite Weapon 1 ! Three orders. 



and often a friendly wave conveys it within their 

 reach, and they seize it without trouble oi> fa- 

 tigue. Their dispositions are also in general 

 more harmless, and their habits more pacific. 

 Each species congregates, through mutual attach- 

 ment. They never attack their companions, nor. 

 destroy other birds; and in this great and ami- 

 cable nation, the strong seldom oppress the weak. 



These birds, in general, have a keen appetite, 

 and are furnished with corresponding weapons. 

 Many species have the inner edges of the bill 

 serrated with sharp in dealings, the better to se- 

 cure their prey : almost all of them are more vo- 

 racious than the land birds; and there are some, 

 as the ducks and gulls, which devour indiscrimi- 

 nately carrion and entrails. 



Those birds which swim, have palmated and 

 webbed feet ; and such as haunt the shores, have 

 divided feet. The latter are differently shaped f 

 their body being slender and tall : and as their 

 feet are not webbed, they cannot dive nor 

 rest on the water ; they therefore keep near the 

 brink, and, wading with their tall legs among the 

 shallows, they search, by means of their long- 

 neck and bill, for their subsistence among the 

 smaller fish, or in the mud. The amphibious 

 animals occupy the limits between the land and 

 the water, and connect the gradations iii the 

 scale of existence. 



Mr. Pennant also divides aquatic birds into 

 three orders, those with cloven feet, as the crane 

 N a 



