The Hijlory cj ANIMALS, 4 1 9 
on frogs and other water animals, as well as on fifh, and, like the duck, on all kind 
of offal and garbage : it’s food is apt to pafs through it very quick and uadigeftedj 
for it fwaliows voracioufly. I remember to have feen at once the m'oft Angular and 
•nafty incident in the world in fome of thefe birds, kept in the late Duke of Rich¬ 
mond’s yard j they had been fed with chickens, guts, and we law them taking hold 
of the ends of the guts, as they hung undigefted out of the fundament, and pulling 
them out to eat over again. Moft of the ornithologifts have mentioned ‘this, lingular 
bird, but they have been diftrefied what to call, or where to arrange it; it’s general 
fhape feeming to refer it to one clafs, and it’s chara&ers evidently to another. Gefner 
calls if Pelicanus live Platea; Aldrovand, Leucoradios live Platea, Pelicanus Grni- 
thologi; Wormius, Platea Ciceroni ; Olearius, Platina live Cochlearia; Willughby, 
Platea Pelicanus leucoradius five Alhardeola. The Dutch call it Lepelaer; and we, the 
Spoon-bill, or Spoon-beaked Stork. 
y a f 
Anas roftro femicylindrko, cera flava, cor pore albo . 
The white Anas , with a femkylindric beak, and * %l)t 
its membrane yellow . 
This is the largeft and raofl beautiful in it’s appearance, though limply white in 
colour, of all the Anas kind : it is confiderably larger in the body than the bed 
fed turkey, and it’s plumage is more foft, bright, and elegant, than in any other 
known bird : the neck is extreamly long, but the legs are fhort; the ufe of the length 
of the neck being to take up, as in others, food from the bottoms of fhallow waters; 
the legs ferving to carry it thither, by fwimming, not by wading : the head is large, 
rounded, and very convex on the crown : the eyes are large and bright; the beak is 
large, and of a femicylindric figure, and is rounded at the extremity : in young birds 
it is of a lead colour, except the verge of the end, which is black, and a black areo¬ 
la that runs behind the eyes; but, in the full-grown ones, the beak is of a fiery or 
orange fcarlet colour, and it’s verge black ; and, at it’s bafe, there is a remarkable 
large black fiefhy tumour : the fpace under the eyes always remains black : the beak 
is ferrated, and the tongue is hairy, as it were, or furniflied with numerous fhort and 
very flender appendages. 
The whole body is of a fnow-white, as are alfo the wings 5 they are extreamly 
long and well feathered : the tail is fhort and inconfiderable ; the legs are of a very 
deep lead colour, almoft black $ the feet are very large ; the toes long, and connected 
by a broad and tough web, which is black ; the claws are fhort and obtufe : the 
feet are fo broad, when fully expanded, that they ferve the bird excellently for fwim- 
ming ; and the intent of nature being, that it fhould pafs it’s time on the water, when 
forced out upon land, it walks but very badly and awkwardly. 
It is a native of many parts of Europe, and is preferved, for it’s beauty, in moft 
others. It breeds with us • the neft is very large, and is made in the fedge, or among' 
reeds, at the fides of rivers: it lays five or fix eggs, very large, and all over white. 
The male and female fit on thefe by turns, and, when the one is on the neft, the other 
is always fwimming about near the place to guard her. I have known a fwan, in the 
defence of it’s mate, attempt to drive off a boat that has come too near, by all the 
fiercenefs of affect and fluttering of wings imaginable; and at length, in difregard of 
it’s own defencelefs condition, come into the boat. And I have known them keep a 
dog, that has ventured too near, under water, by the buffeting of their wings, till it 
has been drowned. 
All the writers on birds have defcribed the fwan: they have called it Cygnus do- 
mefticus and Cygnus ferus, diftinguifhing it in it’s wild and familiar ftate into two 
fpecies; but this is idle and unneceflary ; the bird is wholly the fame in both. 
Anas 
