OF NATURE. 209 



Guinea fowls not only roost on high, but 

 in hard weather resort, even in the day 

 time, to the very tops of the highest trees. 



Last Winter, when the ground was co- 

 vered with snow, I discovered all my 

 guinea fowls, in the middle of the day, 

 sitting on the highest boughs of some very 

 tall elms, chattering and making a great 

 clamour: I ordered them to be driven down, 

 lest they should be frozen to death in so 

 elevated a situation, but this was not ef- 

 fected without much difficulty, they being 

 very unwilling to quit their lofty abode, 

 notwithstanding one of them had its feet 

 so much frozen that we were obliged to 

 kill it. I know not how to account for this, 

 unless it was occasioned by their aversion 

 to the snow on the ground, they being 

 birds that come originally from a hot 

 climate. 



Notwithstanding the awkward splay 

 web-feet (as Mr. White calls them) of the 

 duck genus, some of the foreign species 

 have the power of settling on the boughs 

 of trees apparently with great ease ; an in- 



VOL. II. p 



