14 



PORPESSB. 



inland moors, where they lay their eggBj, and 

 hatch the young; returning with their offspring 

 towards the end of August. This bird is some- 

 times called the Purre. 



If we now leave the sands for a time, and 

 ascend the cliffs, we shall probably be indulged 

 with a transient glimpse of a very singular 

 animal. Some little distance from the shore a 

 number of black objects may be seen partly 

 emerging from the water, executing a summer- 

 sault, and disappearing below the surface. These 



PORPESSK. 



are Porpesse? {Phoccena communis), and very 



curious creatures they are, belonging to the mam- < 



malia ; forced, therefore, to breathe atmospheric 



air, and yet permanently inhabiting the sea, 



with something of the form and many of the 



habits of the fish. It is a curious connexion of 



the two most distant links of the chain of the 



♦ 



