A Natural History of the Globe: Of Man, of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, Insects, and Plants, Volume 4Gray & Bowen, 1831 |
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Page 26
... the latter , no bird can possibly exceed it for . beauty and majestic appearance . When it ascends from its favourite element , its motions are awkward , and its neck is stretched forward with an air of stupidity ;. 26 NATURAL HISTORY .
... the latter , no bird can possibly exceed it for . beauty and majestic appearance . When it ascends from its favourite element , its motions are awkward , and its neck is stretched forward with an air of stupidity ;. 26 NATURAL HISTORY .
Page 27
... motions , nothing constrained or ab- rupt , but the roundest contours , and the easiest transitions ; eye wanders over the whole with unalloyed pleasure , and with every change of position every part assumes a new grace . It will swim ...
... motions , nothing constrained or ab- rupt , but the roundest contours , and the easiest transitions ; eye wanders over the whole with unalloyed pleasure , and with every change of position every part assumes a new grace . It will swim ...
Page 58
... motions are determined by the migrations of the immense shoals of herrings that come pouring down at that season through the British Channel , and supply all Europe as well as this bird with their spoil . The Gannet assidu- ously ...
... motions are determined by the migrations of the immense shoals of herrings that come pouring down at that season through the British Channel , and supply all Europe as well as this bird with their spoil . The Gannet assidu- ously ...
Page 65
... motion of the fish . The ventral fins are placed towards the lower part of the body , under the belly , and serve chiefly to raise or depress the fish in the water . The dorsal fins are situated on the ridge of the back , and are very ...
... motion of the fish . The ventral fins are placed towards the lower part of the body , under the belly , and serve chiefly to raise or depress the fish in the water . The dorsal fins are situated on the ridge of the back , and are very ...
Page 66
... motion , striking with the pectoral fins in a contrary direction effectually produces it . If the fish desires to turn , a blow from the tail sends it about ; but if the tail strikes both ways , then the motion is progressive . In ...
... motion , striking with the pectoral fins in a contrary direction effectually produces it . If the fish desires to turn , a blow from the tail sends it about ; but if the tail strikes both ways , then the motion is progressive . In ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alligator anal fins animal appears ash colour back fin bait belly bill bird boat body bones bottom brown Cachalot called claws coasts common covered CRAB creature Crocodile danger deep devour dorsal fin DUCK dusky Eels eggs EIDER DUCK England eyes feathers feed feet long female fish fishermen five flesh Frog furnished genus gills goose Greenland grows GULL head hole hundred inches in length inches long inhabitants kind known lakes lateral line legs lizard mackerel manner motion mouth MULTIVALVE neck pectoral fins placed plumage pounds pounds weight prey quadrupeds rays resembles rivers round scales season seen seize seldom Serpent Shark shell shoals shore side skin snail Snake sometimes spawn species spermaceti spines spots surface swimming tail taken teeth thick Toad Tortoise tribe upper venomous ventral ventral fins Viper viviparous weighs whale whole wings wound yellow young
Popular passages
Page 127 - These yellowish and livid eels, resembling large aquatic serpents, swim on the surface of the water, and crowd under the bellies of the horses and mules. A contest between animals of so different an organization, furnishes a very striking spectacle.
Page 206 - May to begin their expedition ; and then sally out by thousands from the stumps of hollow trees, from the clefts of rocks, and from the holes which they dig for themselves under the surface of the earth. At that time the whole ground is covered with this band of adventurers; there is no setting down one's foot without treading upon them.
Page 128 - Indians, provided with harpoons and long slender reeds, surround the pool closely ; and some climb upon the trees, the branches of which extend horizontally over the surface of the water. By their wild cries, and the length of their reeds, they prevent the horses from running away and reaching the bank of the pool. The eels, stunned by the noise, defend themselves by the repeated discharge of their electric batteries.
Page 128 - Indians into the middle of the water; but a small number succeed in eluding the active vigilance of the fishermen. These regain the shore, stumbling at every step, and stretch themselves on the sand, exhausted with fatigue, and their limbs benumbed by the electric shocks of the gymnoti.
Page 174 - ... ocean. It is divided into distinct columns of five or six miles in length and three or four in breadth, and they drive the water before them with a kind of rippling...
Page 54 - THE cormorant is about the size of a large Muscovy duck, and may be distinguished from all other birds of this kind, by its four toes being united by membranes together ; and by the middle toe being toothed, or notched, like a saw, to assist it in holding its fishy prey. The head and neck of this bird are of a sooty blackness ; and the body thick and heavy, more inclining in figure to that of the goose than the gull.
Page 292 - These erect and put themselves in motion at the word of command. When their keeper sings a slow tune, they seem by their heads to keep time ; when he sings a quicker measure, they appear to move more brisk and...
Page 56 - They hunt about, they plunge, they rise a hundred times to the surface, until they have at last found their prey. They then seize it with their beak by the middle, and carry it without fail to their master. When the fish is too large, they then give each other mutual assistance : one seizes it by the head, the other by the tail, and in this manner carry it to the boat together.
Page 291 - He then saw the manner in which the eggs of these animals lie in the womb. In this creature there were six eggs, each of the size of a goose egg, but longer, more pointed, and covered with a membranous skin, by which also they were united to each other. Each of these eggs contained from thirteen to fifteen young ones, about six inches long, and as thick as a goose-quill. Though the female from...
Page 285 - But as we descend into more enlightened antiquity, we find these animals less formidable, as being attacked in a more successful manner. We are told^ that while Regulus led his army along the banks of the river Bagrada in Africa, an enormous serpent disputed his passage over. We are assured by Pliny, -who says that he himself saw the skin, that it was a hundred and twenty feet long, and that it bad destroyed many of the army.