FLY 
verts of the wings are a cinereous brown daftied 
with a pale yellow ; the primaries and the tail are 
dufl<y edged with a pale yellow ; the breaft and 
belly are a fine light yellow; and the legs are a 
pale blue. 
Fly-CatcfieRj Black and White. This 
fpecies has a ftraight bill, (lender, fnarp-pointed, 
and black. Round the bafis of the upper man- 
dible are a few black hairs pointing forwards; the 
forehead, andthefpaces round the eyes, are white; 
and the entire under-fide, from the bill to the co- 
verts of the tail, is of the lame colour. The top 
of the head, the upper fide of the neck, the back, 
wings, and tail, are black, except that the tips of 
the tail-feathers are white. The rump, and the 
coverts on the upper fide of the tail, are white, 
with a iinall admixture of brown; and the legs and 
feet are black. This bird was imported from 
Surinam. 
FLY-EATER. The name of a Weft In- 
dian fpecies of lizard about the length and thick- 
nefs of a man's finger. The males are green; and 
the females are grey, and inferior in fize to the 
males. They feed on flies, which they purfue with 
fo much eagernefs, that they frequently leap from 
the tops of trees in purfuit of them. In patient 
expeftation of feeing their prey, they fometimes 
lie ftill for twelve hours or more fuccefiively, till 
a favourable opportunity prefents itfelf of gaining 
their aim, when they leap on the infefts, and 
fwallow them up in an inftant. 
Thefe lizards are fo numerous in fome of the 
Leeward Ifiands, that there is fcarcely a tree to be 
found v/hich does not contain fome of them; and 
even tlie houfes of the natives are extremely in- 
fefted by them. 
FLYING CAT. A large fpecies of bat found 
in the Eaft Indies. See Cat, Flying. 
FLYING DOG. An animal of the bat kind 
found in the ifland of Ternate, fo called from it's 
fuppofed refemblance to the dog. The fore-feet 
are very long, and furniflied Vv'ith five toes, whicli 
aflift the creature in extending it's wings ; the fifth 
toe, which is diftinft from the reft, refembles a man's 
thumb, and is armed with a fharp crooked claw, 
with which the animal can fufpend itfelf at plea- 
fure. The hind-feet likev/ife have five toes, arm- 
ed with crooked fharp claws; and it has no tail. 
In New Spain, there is another creature of the 
bat kind known by the fame appellation; but the 
defcription given of it by naturalifts is fo incom- 
pleat, that it is impoffible to determine with what 
fpecies of bat it correfponds. 
FLYING FISH ; the Exocstus Volitans of 
Linnaeus. This fifh, which is alfo called the 
adonis, hirundo, and mugil alatus, in the form of 
it's body refembles the herring, but the back is 
fiat; the fcales are large and filvery; the dorfal fin 
is fmall, and placed near the tail; the pecftoral 
fins, the inftruments of flight, are almoR" as long 
as the body; the tail is bifurcated; the belly is 
white; and the upper furfaces of the wings are of 
an olive-colour beautifully fpotted near their edges 
with blue. This fi.fli is common in the Mediter- 
ranean and fome other feas; but is feldom found 
in the Britifli, or in any of the northern feas. It 
leads a moft wretched life in it's native element, 
being perpetually harrafied by the dorados, and 
other fifii of prey; and, if it endeavoui-s to avoid 
t'tiern by having recourfe to the air, it either meets 
it's fate from the gull or the albatrofs, or finks 
down again into the mouths of the finny race which 
watch it's aerial excurfion below. Whole fiioals 
of thefe creatures frequently fall on board thofc 
fiiips which navigate the feas of warm climates; 
and hence it is apparent, that nature has fupplied 
them vath inftruments which frequently bring on 
that deftruftion they ftrive to avoid, by having 
recourfe to an elemicnt which they cannot long 
enjoy. ■ 
It appears that the ancients were acquainted 
with this fpecies. Pliny mentions it under the 
name of hirundo, and fpeaks of it's flying faculty; 
and it is probable that Oppian intended the fame 
by his okeiai cheiidones, or the fwift fwallow-fi{h. 
What AthenjEus and the laft-cited author mean 
by the exokoitos and adonis, is not fo clear: they 
alfert that it quits the v/ater, and fieeps on rocks, 
from whence it tumbles with precipitation when 
difturbed by unfriendlv birds; and on thefe ac- 
counts ichthyologifts feem to have made it fynony- 
mous with the Flying-Fifli. 
Flying-Fish is alfo an appellation given to a 
fifli of the gurnard kind. See Gurnard. 
FOAL. The young of the horfe kind. Among 
dealers, the v/ord Colt is generally applied to ex- 
prefs the male kind, and Filly the female. See 
Horse. 
FOETUS. The child, while yet contained 
in the mother's womb; but particularly after it is 
perfeftly formed; till which time it is more pro- 
perly denominated an embryo. 
FONG-WHANG. The Chinefe appellation 
for a very beautiful bird peculiar to that country; 
whicli, if vv'e may give credit to the natives, is the 
moft elegant of all the feathered tribe: but as no 
European has hitherto had an opportunity of de- 
fcribing it's real nature, qualities, colours, and 
proportions, we forbear to publifii exaggerated, 
and perliaus fabulous accounts. 
FORDICH TROUT. This fiHi, which is 
almoft as large as the filmion, continues nearly 
nine months of the year in the fea; and hence v/e 
may naturally infer, that it is of a different fpecies 
from the com.mon trout. Befides this, it is feldom 
caught with an angle in frefh water; neverthelefs, 
it's return to the rivers it frequents is fo very con- 
ftant and uniform, that fifhermen can almoft fix on 
a certain day when it may be expefted. This fifli, 
though generally called a trout, is, perhaps, more 
properly a variety of the grayling. See Gray- 
ling. 
FORFICULA. See Earwig. 
FORFICULA MARINA; the Sea Earwig. 
An infecl frequently found near the fea-fhores, 
havin.'T fome deo-ree of external refemblance to the 
comrmon earvv^ig, particularly in it's fize. The 
colour is an admixture of deep black and filvery 
v.'hite; the flioulders are fomewhat gibbofe; the 
eyes ftand clofe to each other on the fummit of 
the head ; and the antennfe are long and flender. 
It has eight pair of legs on the anterior part of the 
body, and eight pair more on the hinder part, 
with three or four briftles at the tail. This ani- 
malcule lives among rocks and ftones, and moves 
with prodigious fwiftnefs. 
FORK-BEARD. An appellation foinetimes 
given to the forked hake. See Hake. 
FORK-TAIL FISH. This fifh, which is 
caught in the oriental feas, has a long round body, 
and a very long forked-tail ; from whence it re- 
ceives it's name. It's head refembles that of the 
herring; on it's top there is a long barb or briftle; 
and beloW the mouth there are two m.ore, which 
the 
