P R E 
FACE. 
X1U 
all diurnal : and birds of prey are di- 
vided into diurnal and nodurnal; though 
many of thofe edeemed diurnal will prey 
in the evening and morning twilight, as 
mod of the Eagle and Hawk kind do. 
Owls cannot bear the day, and do not fly 
till the twilight advances towards night; 
but whether or not they fly in dark 
nights, I cannot tell. I believe many of 
the water-fowls to be nodurnal ; for 
Herns, Bitterns, and fome others, are 
feen on the wing in the morning and 
evening twilight. Many of the quadru- 
peds fee both in the night and in the day, 
but the Cat kind more remarkably; for 
they not only range and prey in the 
night, but delight alfo to bafk in the hot 
funfhine at noon-day, though their eyes 
are not formed to bear fo ftrong a light; 
but nature has given them a power to 
contract the pupil of the eye in fuch a 
manner, that no more light is admitted 
than what their eyes can bear. The Batt 
is wholly a no&urnal quadruped, never 
appearing by day. All forts of cattle 
that graze in the fields are diurnal, and, 
in fome meafure, nodurnal ; for they 
move about and feed in the night. Beads 
of prey are, in a dri&er fenfe, no&urnal, 
becaule the night is their principal time 
of feeking their prey; neverthelefs, mod 
of them, occafionally, appear and ravage 
in the day time. 
There is a very great difficulty to trace 
precifely the links of nature’s chain in its 
gradation from animal to vegetable beings. 
When we come below what men gene- 
rally edeem animals, and enter upon the 
polypes and coralline fpecies, we are 
greatly at a lofs, as there are various 
opinions concerning them amongd the 
Les ofeaux , qui vivent de grain, font , a ce 
que je crois , tons de jour. Les oifeaux de 
proye fe divifeht en oifeaux de jour , et en 
oifeaux noBurnes ; quoique ceux , qiion re- 
garde comine ofeaux de jour y famffent leur 
prcye durant les crepufcules du matin et du 
foir , comme font la plupart des Aigles et des 
j'ortes de Tierce lets. Le Hibou ne peut ftp- 
porter la lumiere , et ne vole que quand le 
crepufcule savance vers la nuit ; mais je ne 
fa is sil vole dans les nuits obfcures . Je 
crois que la plupart des ofeaux aquatiques 
font noBurnes ; car le Heron , le Butor y et 
quelqnes autres y volent durant les crepufcules 
du matin et du foir . Beaucoup de betes d 
quatrepieds voyent la nuit et le jour y mais le 
Chat ejl remarquable cn cela ; car nonfeule- 
mcnt il chafe et faifit fa proye dans la nuit , 
mats il fe plait aujji d sebattre a Vardeur 
du foletl d midi , quoique Jes yeux ne foient 
pas faits pour J'upporter une lumiere fi 
forte ; mais la nature lui a donne la faculte 
de contraBer la prunelle de 1 ceil y de forte 
qtiil nadmet pas plus de lumiere quil nen 
peut J'upporter . La Chauve Souris eft un 
quadrupede tout- d-f ait noBurne y ne fe mon - 
trant jamais de jour. Tout le bet ail y qui 
pait dans les prairies , eft de jour , et, en 
quelque forte y noBurne , car il Je promeine 
et pait la nuit. Les betes carnacieres font 
noBurnes y dans un fens plus r eft err e, parce - 
que la nuit eft principalement le temps oil 
dies cherchent leur proye ; cependant , la plu- 
part fe montrent occaftonndkment , et font 
ravage en plein jour. 
Il y a une grande difficult e d tracer pre- 
cfement les chainons de la chaine de la na- 
ture , dans fes diverfes gradations depuis les 
animaux jufquaux plant es. ^uand on vicnt 
audejjous de ce que les hommes crcyent gene- 
ralement animaux y et qiion paft'e aux po- 
lypes et aux efpeces de corallines y on ne fait 
a quoi sen tenir , vu qiiil y a vne variete 
d 
