THE GREAT TERN.

THIS bird is about fourteen inches long, and weighs four ounces and a quarter. The bill and feet are a fine crimson, the former is tipped with black, and very slender. The back of the head is black; the upper part of the body is a pale gray, and the under part white. They have been called sea swallows, from appearing to have all the same actions at sea that the swallow has on land, seizing every insect which appears on the surface, and darting down upon the smaller fishes, which they seize with incredible rapidity.

The LESSER TERN weighs only two ounces five grains. The bill is yellow, and from the eyes to the bill is a black line: in other respects it almost exactly resembles the preceding.

The BLACK TERN is of a middle size between the two preceding species. It weighs two ounces and a half. It receives its name from being all black as far as the vent, except a white spot under the throat. This bird is called in some parts the Car Swallow. It is very noisy.

Among the foreign birds of this tribe, the most singular is the STRIATED TERN, which is a native of New Zealand. It has a black bill, and the body is in general mottled, or rather striped with black and white. Its length is about thirteen inches.

THIS bird is of the size of a goose; its bill is black, and covered at the base with short velvetlike feathers. The upper parts of the plumage are black, and the lower parts white, with a spot of white between the bill and the eyes, and an oblong stripe of the same on the wings, which are too short for flight. It is a very bad walker, but swims and dives well. It is, however observed by seamen, that it is never seen out of soundings, so that its appearance serves as an infallible direction to land. It feeds on the lump-fish, and others of the same size; and is frequently seen on the coasts of Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland, &c. The female lays but one egg, which she hatches on a ledge, close to the seamark.

There is another bird of this description, called the PENGUIN, of which there are several varieties, which seems to hold the same place in the southern parts of the world, that the Auks do in the northern; being

only found in the temperate and frigid zones of the southern hemisphere. It resembles the former in almost all its habits: walking erect, and being very stupid: it also resembles it in colour, shortness of wings, rapidity of swimming, mode of feeding, and of making its nest. These birds hatch their young in an erect position; and cackle like geese, but in a hoarser tone. The most remarkable kind is the CRESTED PENGUIN, which inhabits several of the South Sea islands, and which is sometimes called the Hopping Penguin, or Jumping Jack, from the circumstance of its leaping quite out of the water, sometimes to the height of three or four feet, when it meets an obstacle in its

THIS bird is about the size of a common duck; the upper parts of the body are of a dark brown colour inclining to black, except the tips of some of the wing feathers which are white; all the under parts of the body are likewise white. The tail is about two inches long.

The LESSER GUILLEMOT weighs about sixteen ounces. The upper parts of its plumage are darker than those of the former species. The BLACK GUILLEMOT is entirely black, except a large mark of white on the wings. In winter, however, this bird is said to change to white; and there is a variety in Scotland not uncommon, which is spotted, and which has been described under the name of the SPOTTED GREENLAND DOVE. The MARBLED GUILLEMOT, which is a native of Kamtschatka, &c. received its name from its plumage, which is dusky, elegantly marked with white.

These are simple birds and easily taken. So excessively stupid, indeed, is the Guillemot, that though it sees its companions killed all around it, it will not quit the rock on which it has taken its stand.

The Guillemots form one division of the Diver tribe. Of the other branch of this tribe, the NORTHErn Diver, or LOON, and the CHINESE DIVER, are the two most remarkable species. The former of these chiefly inhabits the northern seas, and is common on the coast of Scotland, and has a form admirably adapted for the operation from which it receives its name; the latter is employed by the Chinese in catching fish. They generally join company with other birds, and breed on the inaccessible rocks, and steep cliffs, in the Isle of Man, and likewise in Cornwall; on Prestholm Island, near Beaumaris in the Isle of Anglesey; also on the Fern Island, near Northumberland, and in the cliffs about Scarborough, in Yorkshire; and several other places in England. They lay exceedingly large eggs, being full three inches long, blunt at one end, and sharp at the other, of a sort of bluish colour, generally spotted with some black spots or strokes.

THE PUFFIN.

THE Puffin appears on our coasts about the beginning of April, and is about twelve inches in length; the eyes are ash coloured or gray; the upper part of the head and body are black; the lower parts white; it has a sort of black ring that encompasses the throat; the sides of the head are whitish, with a cast of yellow, or ash colour; the wings are made up of short feathers, and are very small; they fly swift while they keep near the surface of the water, on account of wetting their wings as they proceed. They have black tails, about two inches long; their legs and feet are of an orange colour, and their claws of a dark blue.

The bill is flat but, very different from that of a duck, its edge is upwards. It is of a triangular figure, and ending in a sharp point; the upper chap bent a little downward, where it is joined to the head: and a certain callous substance encompasses its base, as in parrots. It is of two colours; ash coloured near the base, and red towards the point. It has three furrows or grooves impressed in it; one in the livid part, two

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