FIE 
Kid in the fun a blunt nofe; hair of a deep chefnut 
, brown; a broad tail almoftoval, horizontally com- 
prefied and covered with fcales ; with the fore-feet 
fmall, knd the hirtd-feet large. The length of this 
animal, from nofe to tail, is about three feet; and 
the tail is eleven ihches long, and three broad. See 
Beaver. 
FIBULA. A clafs of echinfdermata, having 
the mouth in the middle of the bafe, and the aper- 
ture of the anus on one edge. They are chiefiy 
found foffile. 
FICEDULA CANNABINA. A name fome- 
times given to the cannevarola, or leffer reed- 
Ip arrow. 
FICUS. A peculiar fpecies of fea-fliell of the 
genus of the dolium, having i remarkably de- 
preffed clavicle, it's diftinguifliing charafteriftic, 
FIELD-DUCK, FRENCH. A fpecies of buf- 
tard, fo called from it's flying near the ground, as the 
- duck does near the v/ater. It is as large as thephea- 
fant; but the head is like that of the quail, and the 
bill like that of the hen. Thefe birds are caught like 
partridges; they fly very fwiftly at a fmall eleva- 
tion from the ground, perhaps two or three hundred 
paces, and then alight: they likewife run with 
amazing fleetnefs. The head, back, and wings, 
are of a brownifh yellow colour, variegated with 
black and white; the bread, belly, and thighs, are 
v/hitifli; and the legs and feet are cinereous. There 
are three toes on each foot, as is ufual in the buftard 
kind. The flefh is highly efteemed. 
FIELD-FARE. This bird is of the thrufh 
kind, and is called the turdus pilaris by ornitholo- 
gifts. It is larger than the common thrufb; it's 
length is ten inches, and it's breadth feventecn. 
The head is afli-coloured, inclining to olive, and 
fpotted with black; the back and greater coverts 
of the wings are of a fine deep chefnut; the rump 
is cinereous; and the tail is black, the lower parts 
of the two middlemoft feathers, and the upper 
fides of the exterior feathers, excepted, the firft 
being afh-coloured, and the latter white. The 
iegs are black; and the talons are very fharp. 
This bird generally weighs about four ounces. 
The Field-Fare is a bird of paffage, fpending 
the fummer in the northern parts of Europe. It 
builds it's neft in the loftieft trees, feeds on all 
kinds of berries, and is particularly fond of 
thofe of the juniper. It vifits Great Britain about 
Michaelmas, and leaves it the latter end of Fe- 
bruary or the beginning of March. 
This bird, and the red-wing, are the turdi of 
the Romans, which they fattened with a compo- 
fition of figs and bread. Varro informs us that 
they were birds of paffage, arriving in Italy in 
autumn, and quitting it in the fpring. 
Tliele birds, whole flefh is efteemed fuch a de- 
licacy, are eafily caught with bird-lime in the 
fubfequent manner. The fowler muft endeavour 
to kill two or three with a gun; then he muft 
fie one or two of them to the higher branches of 
fome bufny tree, in fuch a manner that they mav 
•feem alive and perched there ; after this, he muft 
prepare two or three hundred twigs, covering them 
well with the water bird-lime, made warm for that 
purpofe; then taking a birchen bough, and on it 
placing all the twigs, he muft tie the whole faft to 
the tree where the dead game is fufpended. Having 
obferved to fix this line in a place where Ficld- 
Fares ufually refort to feed in the morning, two or 
three dozen may fometimes be fecured at once. 
Field-fare, Pyed. This curious fpecies was 
FIG 
accidentally fhot among a flock of common Field- 
Fares; and is but little known. The bill is yel- 
low; the head and neck are white, fpotted with 
lead-colour and black; and there is a yellow fpot or 
fpace on the fore-part of the neck, round which are 
fcveral little dark fpots or fnades. The back is 
a darkifti brov/n; the rump is more pale; and the 
middle of the breaft is a browriifli yellow, inter- 
iperfed with a variety of tranfverfe black lines. 
The quill-feathers of the wings are of a dufky co- 
lour; but the exterior edges, as l^ell as the edges 
of the fcapular feathers, are white. The belly and 
thighs are white, fpotted with black; the tail and 
claws are alfo black; and the feet are of a dufky 
brown hue. 
FIG INSECT. An £nglifli appellation for 
the faux-puceron of Reaumur. Thefe ihfe6ls, when 
at their full growth, are each about the bighefs of 
the head of a large pin ; but among them are ufu- 
ally found feveral which are fmallef, down to fuch 
as are fcarcely perceptible by the naked eye. They 
are found in vaft numbers on the backs or under- 
fides of the leaves of the fig- tree; but they are hever 
fcen in clufters like the pucerons. 
The body and breait of this infe6t are green; 
and the cafes of the wings are white and hairy. It 
has two antennsc or horns, which it can exert at 
pleafure; but they are ufually lodged under the 
furrows of the wings, and confequently not per- 
ceptible till the animal is turned on it's back: 
the head alfo is incurvated; and the eyes feem 
dire6led to look only at objefts placed beneath 
them. It has fix legs; and a fmall trunk ifTuing 
from the extremity of the head, of a lively green 
colour, and terminated by a fharp point: this 
trunk has a fine brown hair-like filament, which 
the infeft protrudes at pleafure, and which feem-s to 
be an organ deftined to convey into the body the 
juices extravafated by the wounds and the fuflion 
of the trunk. 
This creature ufually remains perfeftly motion- 
lefs on the leaf on which it is found ; but has this 
peculiarity in it's pofition, that it's head always refts 
on one of the ribs of the leaf, and it's body on the 
plain parr, by which means the anterior part of 
the head is raifed above the furface of the plain 
part of the leaf ; and the creature can move it's 
trunk about at pleafure, and fix it into different 
parts of the leaf, while it's body continues in- 
ailive. 
Thefe infefts frequently change their fkins dur- 
ing their growth; and, in the months of May and 
June, they all become winged. They afford a 
peculiar fpecies of four-winged fly, remarkable for 
hopping; but as it's pofterior iegs are not much 
longer than the reft, it's leaps are but fhort. The 
body of this fly is green; the wings are bordered 
with yellow; and the legs are white. The trunk 
is of the fame nature with that in it's original ftate, 
and with this it continues to fuck the juices of the 
leaves of the fig-tree in the fame manner as it did 
before it's transformation. 
The manner of propagation in thefe infe6ls is 
not certainly known. The pucerons, to which 
they approach nearer in figure than to any other 
animals, on difre£tion, fhew young ones inclofed: 
but thefe, in whatever ftate they are examined, 
never exhibit any fuch appearance, not fo much as 
eggs being found in them. It fhould therefore 
feem that their eggs are too minute for our in- 
fpeftion; but that they are oviparous, not vivi- 
parous animals, 
FIG- 
