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ness of a pin. The neck of this animal, which is of a livid flesh colour, seems to be more slender in proportion than that of other birds, from its not being furnished with feathers; the head and bill somewhat resemble those of a duck, and the external form of the eye is like that of a man's, the upper eye-lids being adorned with lashes which are longer than those on the lid below. The thighs are large, fleshy, and wrinkled in the manner of a net; the legs are covered before with large scales; the foot is cloven, and has two toes of unequal sizes.

These animals seem formed to live among the sandy and arid deserts of the torrid zone; and in the formidable regions they are seen in large flocks, which to the distant spectator, appear like a regiment of cavalry, and have often alarmed a whole caravan. There is no spot, however sterile, but what is capable of supplying them with provision; as they are of all creatures the most voracious, and possess surprising powers of digestion. Hence they will devour leather, hair, stones, or any thing that is given, and those substances which the coats of the stomach cannot soften, are excluded in the form in which they were swallowed. In their native deserts, however, they are supposed to subsist principally upon vegetables. In Lydia, they are used for travelling; and when mounted by men, will go swifter than a race-horse.

THE EMU.

THE emu is only second to the ostrich in magnitude, and is by much the largest bird in the new continent. It is generally about six feet high, measuring from its head to the ground: the head is small, the neck long, the form of the body round, and the wings short, and entirely unfit for flying: its thighs are remarkably thick; its legs are three feet long; and it differs from the ostrich in having an additional toe on each foot. It has no tail, but is covered from the back with long feathers which fall backward and cover the rump, It moves very swiftly; but in its course it uses a very odd kind of action, lifting up one wing, which it keeps elevated for a time, till letting it drop, it raises the other. The fleetest hounds are frequently thrown out in pursuing it; and we are told of one, which on being surrounded by the hunters, darted among the dogs with such irresistible fury, that they immediately gave way, and thus enabled it to escape in safety.

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THIS bird, though not so large as the former, appears more bulky to the eye; its body being nearly equal, and its neck and legs much thicker in proportion. It is about five feet and a half long, from the point of the bill to the extremity of the claws; the head and neck together are eighteen inches; the legs are two feet and a half; and the largest toe, including the claw, is five inches long. The wing is armed with five prickles of different lengths, but is so small that it does not appear, being concealed under the plumage of the back. The feathers are generally double, having two long shafts issuing from a short one which is fixed in the skin. The beards at the end of the large feathers are perfectly black, under which there is a kind of down, of a tawny colour.

The most singular part of this animal, however, is the head, which, though small, like that of the ostrich, is calculated to inspire some degree of terror; it is bare of feathers, and armed with a sort of horny helmet, black before and yellow behind. The colour of the eye is a bright yellow, and the globe being nearly an inch and a half in diameter, renders the countenance equally singular

and formidable. The bill is of a greyish brown; the neck of violet colour, inclining to slate, and the claws black without, and white within. It may also be observed, that about the middle of the neck there are two protuberances, formed by the skin, somewhat resembling the gills of a cock, but that they are blue as well as red. To sum up the whole, it has been observed that the cassowary unites in itself the head of a warrior, the eye of a lion, the defence of a porcupine, and the swiftness of a courser.Its mode of running is very singular; for instead of going directly forward, it seems to kick up behind with one leg, and then makes a bound with the other. It is a native of the East Indies, in which part of the world it is only to be found.

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THIS creature strikes the imagination as one of the most unweildy and inactive in nature. Its round and massive body is barely supported npon two short thick legs, like pillars; while its neck and head rise from it in a manner truly grotesque. The bill is of an extraordinary length, of a bluish white colour, and resembling, in its formation, two pointed spoons laid together by the backs. From all this results a stupid and voracious aspect, still further increased by a border of feathers round the beak, which forms a sort of hood, and completes the picture of stupid deformity.

The dodo seems weighed down by its own heaviness, and has scarcely strength to urge itself forward.

Its

wings, covered with soft ash-coloured feathers, are too short to assist it in flying; its tail, consisting of a few curled feathers, is displaced and disproportionate, and its legs are too short for running; in a word, it seems among the feathered race what the sloth is among quadrupeds, an unresisting creature, equally incapable of flight or defence. It is a native of the Isle of France; and the Dutch, who first discovered it there, called it, in their language, the nauseous bird, as well from its disgusting figure, as from the bad taste of its flesh.

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BIRDS of the rapacious order are all carnivorous; they associate in pairs, build their nests in the most lofty situa tions, and the female is generally larger than the male.

If size and strength, combined with rapidity of flight and rapacity, were allowed to deserve pre-eminence, no bird could be put in competition with the condor of America, which possesses, in a higher degree than the eagle, all the qualities that render it formidable, not only to the feathered kind, but to beasts, and even to man himself.The wings of this bird measures twelve feet three inches from tip to tip, and the great feathers, which are of a beautiful shining black, are two feet four inches long: the length of the beak is about four inches, and its thickness proportionable to the rest of the body: a short down

of a brown colour, clothes the head, and its eyes are surrounded with a circle of redish brown. The plumage on the breast, neck, and wings, is of a light brown; that on the back, rather darker. The legs are covered with black scales, and the toes are armed with claws of the same colour.

In several parts of the mountains of Quito, these animals have been known to carry away sheep and children; and to prevent which, requires the utmost exertion of the inhabitants and shepherds.

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THE golden eagle, which is one of the largest of this noble family, is about three feet in length, and the extent of its wings is seven feet four inches. The head and neck are clothed with narrow-pointed feathers, of a deep brown colour, bordered with tawny; the whole body also is of a dark brown, the back being finely clouded with a deeper shade of the same; the tail is brown, and irregularly barred with an obscure ash colour: the beak is of a deep blue, and the eye of an hazel colour: the legs are yellow, strong, and feathered to the very feet; and the toes are armed with formidable claws.

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