logy.

Ornitho thered branches that impend over streams, expanding their wings and tail, as if for the purpose of cooling themselves, and looking at their image in the water. If approached when in this attitude they tumble down into the water, as if dead, and remain submerged for a minute or two, when, at a considerable distance, they thrust up their head and neck, the body still continuing under water. During the heat of the day, they may be seen in great numbers, high in the air, and directly above lakes or rivers. They make their nest of sticks or trees. Their skin is very thick; and their flesh, though fat, is dark-coloured, and of a disagree able oily flavour.

PHAETON.

Phonicu

rus.

COLYM.

BUS.

PHAETON, Lin. &c. TROPIC BIRD.

Bill as long as the head, thick, strong, hard, sharpedged, much compressed, pointed, slightly sloped from the base, edges of the mandibles widened at the base, compressed and serrated in the rest of their length; nostrils basal, lateral, covered above and near the base by a naked membrane, and pervious; legs very short, placed far back, all the toes connected by a web; wings long; tail shorter, but characterised by the elongation of the two filamentous middle feathers.

P. phoenicurus, Tem. Red-Tailed, or Common Tropic Bird. Of a roseate flesh-colour; bill, and two middle tail-feathers red. Two feet ten inches long, of which the two middle tail-feathers measure one foot nine inches. The young of the first year are streaked black and white, with the under parts white; the bill black; the quill-feathers tipt with white; and those of the tail with black, constituting P. melanorhynchos, of some authors; but, in a more advanced state they are white, with the middle tail-feathers black at the base, corresponding to P. æthereus, of various ornithologists. These birds are well known to navigators, and generally announce their approach to the tropics, although they sometimes wander to the latitude of 474. They are capable of supporting long flights, and of reposing on the water, feeding on the flying fish and others of the finny tribe that approach to the surface of the water. They rarely alight on the ground, and walk with awkward heaviness; but they glide through the air, or along the water, with grace and nimbleness. They breed mostly in desert or unfrequented islands, placing their nests on trees, or in holes of abrupt rocks. The female lays two yellowish white eggs, marked with rust-coloured spots. Their flesh is very indifferent food.

COLYMBUS, Tem. and including part of the Linnéan

COLYMBI. DIVER.

Bill of moderate dimensions, straight, very pointed, compressed; nostrils basal, lateral, concave, oblong, half closed by a membrane, and pervious; legs placed far behind, tarsi compressed, the three fore toes very long, and quite webbed, the hinder short, with the loose rudiment of a web; wings short; tail very short and rounded.

The species included under this family reside chiefly in the water, and are almost habitual divers. On the land, which they scarcely ever visit but in breeding time, they can with difficulty walk, or hold themselves in an erect position, so that they are then easily caught. They nestle on small islands or headlands, generally lay two eggs, and devour great quantities of fish and their fry, marine insects, and even vegetable productions. The sexes do not externally differ; but the markings of the young are very distinct from those of

the mature birds, to which they are not assimilated till Orai the third year. Their moulting takes place only once log a-year. Their conformation, as was long since observed by Ray, is admirably fitted for making their way through the water with great expedition. C. glacialis, Gmel. Lath. &c. Great Northern Diver, Glaci Greatest Speckled Diver, Great Loon, Immer, Imber, Emmer, Ember Goose, or Great Doucker. Upper man dible almost straight, the under bent upwards, broad in the middle, and channelled beneath; length of the bill four inches, and from one to four lines, according to the age of the individual. Length of the full-grown individual from twenty-seven to thirty inches; between four and five feet in extent of wing; and weight from fifteen to sixteen pounds, being one of the largest of the tribe. Frequents the arctic seas of both continents, and breeds among the fresh waters in Greenland, Iceland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, the Hebrides, Orkneys, &c. usually selecting the least accessible spots among the reeds and flags. The eggs resemble those of a goose, and are slightly spotted with black. The female defends her offspring with great boldness, and sometimes makes the intruder repent his rashness. The young occasionally visit the inland lakes of France, Germany, and Switzerland, but, except during severe weather, they are seldom met with in England. The northern diver is capable of sustaining a lofty flight, but resides mostly on the sea, feeding on sprats, atherines, and other small fish, or fry, on which it pounces or dives with great address and violence. Being easily scared, and instantly taking refuge under water, it is with difficulty shot; but it is sometimes accidentally caught in nets, or by hooks, at a considerable depth. Its cry is said to resemble the howling of dogs, Immediately under the skin there is a layer of fat, nearly an inch thick; but the flesh is reckoned uneatable. The skin, which is tough, and covered with soft down, is, in some of the northern countries, tanned and used as clothing.

C. septentrionalis, Lin. &c. Red-throated Diver, or Septe Loon, Prov. Northern Douker, Rain Goose, or Sprat nalis Loon. Bill straight, slightly curved upwards, edges of the two mandibles much bent inwards; length of the bill two inches and ten lines, or three inches. Native of the same cold latitudes as the other divers, with which, also, its habits coincide. The male and female are so constant in their attachment, that if one of them be shot, the other hovers about the spot for days together, and will sometimes venture so near the sportsman as to share the same fate. They make a howling, and sometimes a croaking noise, which the Orcadians regard as a presage of rainy or stormy weather. They are seldom seen far south, except in very severe seasons; but, in winter, they pretty regularly visit Eng land, Holland, France, &c. In the Orkneys they statedly breed. The nest, which is placed in marshy situations, among reeds and flags, is usually composed of moss and grass, lined with down from the bird's own breast, and containing two very oblong, olivaceousbrown eggs, marked with a few dusky spots. In the harbour of Stromness, this species has been observed to make great havoc among the fry of the coal-fish. URIA, Briss. Tem. COLYMBUS and ALCA, Lin. GUIL

LEMOT.

Bill middle-sized, short, stout, straight, pointed, U compressed, upper mandible slightly incurved near the point; nostrils basal, lateral, concave, longitudinally cleft, half-closed by a broad membrane, covered

logy.

Ornitho with feathers, and pervious; legs short, placed far behind; tarsi slender, furnished with only three toes, which are placed before and webbed; wings short. The guillemots, like the divers, are residents of the northern seas, little fitted for moving on land, and seldom venturing on shore except in breeding time, or when impelled by tempests. During the rigour of their native climates, they migrate southwards, along the coasts of some of the countries of Europe. They dive with great facility, and swim nimbly under water. They breed in company, in the holes of rocks, each female laying only one large egg. They moult twice a year; and the complete winter plumage of the sexes is the same; nor do the young materially differ in their markings from the mature birds.

Troile. U. troile, Lath. Tem. Colymbus troile, and Colymbus minor, Gmel. Foolish, or Lesser Guillemot, Prov. Wil lock, Skout, Kiddaw, Guillem, Sea-hen, Lavy, Strany, Lungy, Skuttlock, &c. Bill much compressed in its whole length, longer than the head; wings of an uniform colour, but the secondaries tipped with white; legs dusky. Length from fifteen to seventeen inches; extent of wing twenty-seven inches and a half; and weight twenty-four ounces, being a plump and heavy bird in proportion to its size. Inhabits the northern seas of Europe, Asia, and America, migrating, in large troops, in winter, to the coasts of Norway, the Baltic, Great Britain, Holland, France, &c. but more rarely wandering to the interior lakes of continents. Feeds on fish, particularly sprats, marine insects, bivalve testacea, &c. It often breeds in company with the auks, among the cliffs of the rocks, as in the Isle of Priestholm, near Anglesea, the Fern Isles, on the coast of Northumberland, and the precipitous rocks near Scarborough. In St. Kilda, it arrives about the beginning of February, and is hailed by the inhabitants as the harbinger of plenty. A rock-man of this remote island will descend in the night, by the help of a rope, to the ledge of a precipice, where he fixes himself, and tying round him a piece of white linen, awaits the approach of the bird, which, mistaking the cloth for a portion of the rock, alights on it, and is immediately dispatched. The foolish guillemot lays but one egg, which is very large, unprotected by any nest, and has such a slender hold of the rock, that, when the birds are surprised and fly off suddenly, many of the eggs tumble down into the sea. The eggs are beautifully variegated with black, white, yellow, blue, and green; and scarcely any two of them exactly resemble one another. These birds seldom quit the duty of incubation, unless disturbed, but are fed with sprats, and other small fish, by the male. In places where they are seldom molested, it is with difficulty they are put to flight; and they may sometimes be taken with the hand, whilst others flounder into the water, making, apparently, little use of their wings. In Orkney, they continue throughout the winter. They are sometimes very numerous in the Frith of Forth, where they seem to subsist chiefly on sprats.

irylle.

U. grylle, Lath. &c. Colymbus grylle, Lin. &c. Black, or Spolled Guillemot, Prov. Greenland Dove, Sea Turtle, Tyste, &c. A large white patch on the middle of the wings; legs red. Black above, white beneath; and on the cheeks; iris brown, The mature male measures thirteen inches in length, twenty-two in extent of wing, and weighs about fourteen ounces. Inhabits the northern regions, and migrates in winter to more southern latitudes, but is seldom seen on shore. It is common in the Bay of Dublin, and continues throughout the

VOL. XVI. PART I.

year. Mr. Henry Boys observed both the old and Ornitho young birds, in the month of August, near Stonehaven, logy. in the north of Scotland. It likewise frequents the Faroe Isles, the Bass, St. Kilda, &c. visiting them in March, making its nest far under ground, and laying one oblong egg, of a dirty white, blotched with large and small spots of black and cinereous, which are crowded near one of the ends. Except in breeding time, it keeps always at sea, lives on fish, flies low, and generally in pairs. It cannot, without considerable difficulty, rise from the ground. Its feathers are thick and close, and so damp with the quantity of oil with which the bird takes care to anoint them, as to have a very rank smell, and to be thus unfit for the purposes of bedding, for which they would otherwise be excellently suited. The Greenlanders eat its flesh, and use its skin for clothing, and its legs as bait to their fishing lines.

U. alle, Tem. Alca alle, Lin. &c. U. minor, Briss. Alle. Mergulus alle, Vieil. Little Auk, or Small Black and While Diver, Prov. Little Greenland Dove, Sea Turtle, Rotche, Rodge, Ratch, Ice-bird, &c. Bill very short, about half as long as the head, and very little arched. These birds inhabit the northern seas, at least as high as latitude 76°, where they abound among the channels between the floes of ice. During storms or intense cold, some of them are impelled into more southerly climates, but very few of them breed with us. They feed much on a small species of cancer, and breed in the holes and crevices of craggy rocks, without any formal preparation of a nest, the female laying one bluish-green egg, generally without spots, but sometimes minutely sprinkled with dusky. Captain Ross and his crew encountered myriads of these birds in the frozen seas through which they navigated. In July and August, the ship's company were daily supplied with them, and relished them as a palatable food, destitute of any fishy flavour. They were found in particular to make excellent soup, not unlike, and not at all inferior to, that made of hare. The Esquimaux make inner garments of the skins.

PHALERIS, Tem. ALCA, Lath. &c. STARIKI. Bill shorter than the head, depressed, dilated on the PHALERIS, sides, nearly quadrangular, notched at the tip, the lower mandible forming a salient angle; nostrils marginal, in the middle of the bill linear, half-concealed, and pervious; legs short, placed far behind, tarsus slender, with only three toes, claws much incurved, wings middle-sized.

P. cristalella, Tem. Alca cristatella, Lath. Tufted Cristatella. Stariki, or Tufled Auk. A tuft on the forehead, composed of several short feathers, from the middle of which rise six long filamentous and silky plumes, which bend forward on the bill. Scarcely larger than the missel-thrush. The young is the Alca Pygmæa, Lath. &c. Frequents Kamtschatka, and the islands situated between Asia and America.

Ornitho hooked; wings short. The birds of this family are

logy.

Arctica.

nearly allied to the guillemots and the penguins; with the last of which they have been generally classed. Though less addicted to fly than the former, they are very seldom found on land, and they graze the surface of the sea with considerable swiftness.

F. arctica, Vieil. Mormon fratercula, Tem. Alca arctica, Lin. &c. Puffin, Puffin Auk, or Labrador Auk, Prov. Greenland Parrot, Tommy, Tammine, Willich, Bass Cock, Ailsa Cock, Sea Parrot, Cockandy, Pope, Bowger, Coulterneb, &c. Bill compressed, two-edged, upper mandible with three grooves, the under with two, orbits and temples white, upper eyelid daggered, or furnished with a pointed callus. The mature male and female, both in their winter and summer dress, have, the crown of the head, all the upper parts, and a broad collar, deep and glossy black, the quill-feathers dusky brown, the breast, belly, and lower parts, pure white. Length about twelve inches and a half, extent of wing twenty-one inches, weight about twelve ounces. The bill, which imparts such an appearance of novelty to this bird, varies considerably, according to its age; for, in the first year, it is small, weak, destitute of any furrow, and dusky; in the second year, it is larger, stronger, of a paler colour, and discovers a faint vestige of a furrow near the base; but in the third, and more advanced years, it exhibits great strength and vivid colours.

These birds inhabit, in vast flocks, the northern seas of Europe, Asia, and America. They are very common about the coast of Spitzbergen, but are rarely met with at any great distance from land. In their southward progress, they have been found about Belleisle, in the Gulf of Gascony. As they take flight with great difficulty, they are sometimes run down by boats, or driven ashore, when suddenly caught in a gust of wind; but they can fly very well when once they get wind. They appear in many parts of our rocky coasts, about the middle of April, and commence breeding to wards the middle of May. On the Dover cliffs, and other such places, they deposit their single white egg in the holes and crevices; but, in other situations, they burrow, like rabbits, if the soil is light, or more frequently, take possession of a rabbit's hole, and lay their egg some feet under ground. On St. Margaret's Island, off St. David's, the fishermen put their hands into the holes, and the puffins seize them so obstinately, that they allow themselves to be drawn out. The Orcadians drag them out with a stick, to the end of which is attached an iron hook. The flesh of the old bird is both rank and fishy, but the young ones, which are seized before they are quite fledged, when pickled and preserved with spices, are much relished by some, and are allowed to be eaten, in Roman Catholic countries, during Lent. In some places they are taken with ferrets. The males, as well as females, perform the office of sitting, relieving each other when they go to feed. The young are hatched in the beginning of July, and the re-migration of the species takes place about the middle of August, when none remain behind, except the unfledged young of the latter hatches. In one part of Akaroe, a small island off Iceland, puffins breed in vast numbers, forming holes in the mould, three or four feet beneath the surface. Their principal food consists of shrimps, and a minute species of helix; but they also eat small fish, and particularly sprats. The Icelanders use their flesh for bait, and it is alleged that the cod prefers it to any thing else.

Bill straight, broad, compressed, much incurved at the tip, both mandibles half covered with feathers, ALCA and grooved near the point, the upper hooked, the lower forming a salient angle; nostrils lateral, mar ginal, linear, situated near the middle of the bill, almost entirely closed by a membrane, and covered with feathers; legs short, placed far behind, and furnished with three fore-toes, connected by a web; wings short. The auks have nearly the same habits as the other marine arctic birds, seldom being seen on land, except for the purpose of breeding, and resembling the guillemots, in particular, in their mode of life, and in laying one large egg. M. Temminck has ascertained that they moult twice a-year; that the sexes do not materially differ in external appearance, and that the winter livery has been erroneously represented as the appropriate costume of the female.

A. torda, Lin. &c. Razor-bill or Razor-billed Auk, Torda. Prov. Alk, Olke, Falk, Murre, Marrot, Scout, Bawkie, &c. Wings ending at the rump; tail lengthened, conical; size of the teal. The full grown individuals measure about fourteen or fifteen inches in length, and twenty-seven in extent of wing. They inhabit the arctic seas of both continents, and migrate to the coasts of Norway, Holland, Britain, France, &c. Not only do they associate with guillemots, but breed in the same places. About the beginning of May they take possession of the highest cliffs, for the purpose of incubation, assembling on the ledges of the rocks in great numbers, and sitting closely together, often in a series of rows above one another. There they deposit their single large egg on the bare rock, and, notwithstanding the multitudes of them which are thus mixed together, no confusion takes place; for each bird knows its own egg, and hatches it in that situation. The sun's rays, reflected from the bare rock, doubtless aid the heat of incubation. But it has often excited wonder, that the eggs are not rolled off into the sea by gales of wind, or on being touched by the birds; and, it is alleged, that, if they are removed by the human hand, it is impossi ble, or at least extremely difficult, to replace them in their former steady situation. This is accounted for by some ornithologists, who assert, that the egg is fixed to the spot on which it is first laid by a glutinous substance, with which the shell is covered, and which keeps it firmly in its place, until the young is produced. The egg of this species is three inches long, and of a greenish-white colour, irregularly marked with dark spots. When eaten with salt, pepper, and vinegar, it is reckoned palatable; but the flesh of the birds themselves is rank and fishy tasted; and yet the people in Orkney venture over the most dreadful precipices in quest of them.

A. impennis, Lin. &c. Great Auk or Penguin, Prov. Impenn Northern Penguin or Gair Fonl. Wings destitute of the feathers requisite for flight; size of a goose. The wings are very short, not exceeding four inches and one-fourth from the tips of the longest quill-feathers to the first joint, and are thus useless for the purposes of flight, but, nevertheless, very serviceable in swimming under water. The great auks frequent the frozen seas as far north as navigators have penetrated, seldom straying far from land or floating ice, and yet never quitting the water but for the purposes of breeding, being nearly as unfit for walking as for flying, and, when on shore, holding themselves, like the other auks

logy.

Ornitho and penguins, in a nearly vertical position. They visit, though in no great numbers, the Orkneys and St. Kilda, arriving about the beginning of May, and departing about the middle of June. On the ledges, or in the fissures of rocks, or in holes of its own excavation, and, frequently, close by the sea-mark, the female lays a single egg, of a very large size, being about six inches long, of a white or roan cast, marked with numerous black or purple lines and spots, which have been compared to Chinese writing.

SPHENIS.

CUS.

Demersus.

Minor,

Chryso

come.

SPHENISCUS, Briss. Tem. APTENODYTES, Lath. PEN

GUIN.

Bill shorter than the head, compressed, very thick, strong, hard, straight, hooked at the tip, obliquely grooved, edges of both mandibles bent inwards, the under covered with feathers at the base, and truncated, or obtuse at the tip; nostrils small, lateral, placed near the middle of the bill, and cleft in the furrow; legs very short, thick, placed quite behind the centre of gravity, four toes directed forwards, of which three are webbed, and the fourth is little more than a tubercle; wings incapable of being used for flight, the feathers on them being so short as to resemble scales. The birds of this genus inhabit the South Seas, from the equator to the antarctic circle, and are analogous to those of the preceding, in colour, food, and habits. They are fortified against cold by an abundance of fat; they swim very swiftly; and, on land, they cackle like geese, but

in a hoarser tone.

S. demersus, Tem. Aptenodytes demersa, Lath. Eudyptes demersa, Vieil. Cape Penguin, Bill and legs black; eye-brows and pectoral band white. Black above, white beneath. Size of a small goose, and about twenty-one inches long. There are two or three varieties. Inhabits the Southern Seas, chiefly about the Cape of Good Hope. Like its congeners, it swims and dives with great expertness, but hops and flutters, in a strangely awkward manner, on land; and, if hur ried, it stumbles, or makes use of its imperfect wings as legs, till it recovers its upright posture, crying, at the same time, like a goose, but with a hoarser voice. When it has scratched a hole in the sand among the bushes on the shore, it lays two white eggs, which are in request by epicures. Should a person happen to come within reach of its bill, when it is tending its eggs or young, it bites severely.

S. minor, Tem. Aptenodytes minor, Lath. Eudyptes minor, Vieil. Little Penguin. Bill of the same conformation as the preceding, with the upper mandibles blackish, and the inner blue at the base. Upper plumage ash-blue, and dusky-brown at the origin of the feathers, the under parts white. Size of a teal, about fourteen inches long. Inhabits New Zealand, where it digs deep holes in the earth, in which to lay its eggs.

S. chrysocome, Aptenodytes chrysocome, Lath. Eu dyptes chrysocome, Vieil. Crested Penguin. Bill red, and three inches long; upper mandible curved at the end, the lower obtuse. These birds are inhabitants of

several of the South Sea islands. They have the names Ornithoof Hopping Penguins and Jumping Jacks, from their logy. action of leaping quite out of the water, sometimes three or four feet, on meeting with any obstacle in their course, or even without any other apparent cause than the desire of advancing by that manoeuvre. This spe cies seems to have a greater air of liveliness in its countenance than almost any of the other penguins; yet it is still a very stupid bird; and so regardless of its own safety as even to suffer any person to lay hold of it. manner; and we are told, that, when attacked by our When provoked, it erects its crest in a very beautiful voyagers, it ran at them in flocks, picked their legs, and spoiled their clothes. Their sleep is uncommonly profound, and they are very tenacious of life. They form their nests among those of the other large seafowls, making holes in the earth with their bills, and throwing back the dirt with their feet. The female generally lays only a single egg. They are often found in great numbers on the shores where they have been bred. The cataractes, which some authors describe as a separate species, appears to be only the young of the present.

AFTENODYTES, Forst. Tem.

Bill longer than the head, slender, straight, inflected APTENOat the tip, the upper mandible furrowed throughout its DYTES. length, the under wider at the base, and covered with a naked and smooth skin; nostrils in the upper part of the bill, and concealed by the feathers in the front; legs very short, thick, placed far behind, four toes directed forwards, three of which are webbed, and the fourth very short; wings incompetent for flight.

A. Patachonica, Lath. &c. Eudyptes Patachonica, Vieil. PatachoPatagonian Penguin. Bill and legs black; ears with a nica. golden spot; lower mandible tawny at the base; irides hazel; head and hind part of the neck brown; back dark-blue; breast, belly, and vent, white. Four feet three inches long; and some individuals have weighed thirty pounds. Inhabits Falkland Islands, New Guinea, and some of the islands of the South Sea. It is so stupid as to allow itself to be knocked down with sticks. M. Bougainville caught one, which soon became so tame as to follow and recognise the person who had the care of it. For some time it fed on flesh, fish, and bread, but gradually grew lean, pined, and died. This species is not only the largest, but the fattest of the genus; and its flesh, though black, is not very unpalatable.

M. Temminck has formed his concluding order of Inert birds. those birds which he terms inert or sluggish, and comprises under it the Apteryx of Shaw, and the Didus of Linné, and others; but so much obscurity still hangs on the history of these real or fictitious families, that it may be more prudent to wait for further information, than to repeat the vague and discordant statements of authors who never saw a live individual of the tribe.

H. N. A