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CHAPTER I. 

 THE NATATORES, OR SWIMMING BIRDS. 



The Natatores are devoted, by organisation, to an aquatic life. 

 Their haunts are the ocean, rivers, and lakes. They are characterised 

 by the form of their feet. The toes are united by the extension of 

 webs between them, hence the name of Palmipedes, usually applied 

 to them. These broad palmate feet, acting at the end of a long 

 lever, when fully expanded, are forced against the water, and thus 

 drive the bird forward, and, to repeat its stroke, the toes are relaxed 

 in their forward movement, preparatory to another effort. 



Some of the Swimming Birds in their flight are feeble and slow ; 

 others are incapable of even rising from the water, being only fur- 

 nished with rudimentary wings. Again, there are species which pos- 

 sess extraordinary power of traversing the air, their well-developed 

 wings enabling them to* pass through space with wonderful rapidity. 

 The Petrels seem to delight in storms and tempests, mingling their 

 wild cry with the roar of the waves. The dread which is experienced 

 by the mariner at the approach of the anticipated gale is unknown 

 to the Sea Gull and Albatross, for they appear to revel in the warring 

 of the elements. 



The whole order of Natatores swim and dive without saturation, 

 their plumage being anointed with an oily liquid furnished by certain 

 glands in their skin, which renders them impervious to moisture. This 

 immunity from the effect of water is further assisted by the disposition 

 and structure of their feathers, which, being smooth and three-cornered, 

 with the barbules closely interlaced, cause the water to glide off their 

 polished surface ; while the down beneath the feathers protects their 

 bodies from the cold of the most rigorous winters. 



The Natatores are numerous both in species and individuals, 

 having their habitat in all countries. According to Prince Charles 

 Bonaparte, one of the most eminent of European naturalists, those 

 which frequent the sea constitute .one-fourteenth part of all the birds 

 on the globe, and the number of species he reckons at 9,400, They 



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