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bird's-head zoophyte. 



of a delicate and feathery texture. To the naked 

 eye there is nothing of any great importance in 

 this creature, but if a portion of a branch be 

 detached and brought under the field of a micro- 

 scope, a very strange sight meets the eye. As is 

 the case in all these zoophytes, the branches are 

 studded with cells, in which live little polyps, at 

 one time expanding wide their feathery tentacles, 

 and at others sulkily gathering them up like an 

 unsuccessful fisherman gathering his net on his 

 arm. But to each of the cells is attached a most 

 singular appendage, precisely resembling the head 

 of a bird and one joint of its neck, by which it is 

 attached as a point to the cell, and on which it 

 works. There is certainly no eye in the head, 

 but there is a most decided beak, which opens 

 and shuts precisely like the beak of a bird, while 

 the entire head keeps up a continual nodding 

 backwards and forwards on its joint. If the 

 portion selected is tolerably healthy, it will con- 

 tain from ten to fifteen, or even more, of these 

 birds'-heads, bowing to each other in the most 

 oppressively polite style, and every now and then 

 shutting their beaks with a sharp snap. 



By the side of the zoophyte itself is shown one 

 of the bird-head appendages, as it appears when 

 fastened to the cell. The object of these strange 



