perceptible, as the bird has the power of wrinkling it up into the lower jaw-This bird was formerly known in Europe, particularly in Russia; but at present it is only found in Africa and America.

The pelican has strong wings furnished with thick plumage of an ash-colour, as are the rest of the feathers over the whole body. The eyes are very small, when compared with the size of the head, and there is something in the countenance very sad and melancholy.

These birds are torpid and inactive to the last degree, so that nothing can exceed their indolence but their gluttony; for were they not excited to labour by the stimulations of hunger, they would always continue in fixed repose. When they have raised themselves about thirty or forty feet above the surface of the sea, they turn their head with one eye downward, and continue to fly in that posture. As soon as they perceive a fish sufficiently near the surface, they dart down with the swiftness of an arrow, seize it with unerring certainty, and store it up in their pouch; they then rise again, and continue hovering and fishing till their bag is filled; when they retire to land, and greedily devour the fruits of their industry. Towards night they again feel the stings of hunger, and reluctantly resume their labour; after which they take up their nocturnal abode in some high tree.

The same habits of indolence seem to attend the pelican in every situation; for the female makes no preparation for the duties of incubation, but drops her eggs on the bare ground, to the number of five or six, and there continues to hatch them. Her little progeny, however, seem to call forth some maternal affections; for its young have been taken and tied by the leg to a post, and the parent bird has been observed for several days to come and feed them; remaining with them the greatest part of the day, and spending the night on the branch of a tree that hung over them. By these means they became so familiar that they suffered themselves to be handled; and they very readily accepted whatever fish was given to them; these they always put first into their pouch, and then swallowed them at leisure.

Notwithstanding their natural indolence and stupidity, these birds appear to be susceptible of instruction in a domestic state; for some of them have been known to go off at the word of command, and return with their pouches distended with plunder to their masters.

THIS bird is about the size of a Moscovy duck, with the head and neck of a sooty blackness, and the body thick and heavy, more inclining in figure to that of the goose than the gull: its distinguished character, however, consists in its toes being united by membranes, and by the middle toe being notched like a saw, to assist it in holding its fishy prey.

On the approach of winter, these birds are seen dispersed along the sea-shore, and ascending the mouths of rivers, carrying destruction to all the finny tribe, as they are remarkably voracious, and have such a quick digestion, that their appetite appears completely insatiable.They build their nests on the highest parts of the cliffs that overhang the sea; and the female usually lays three or four eggs, about the size of those of the goose, and of a pale green colour.

In China these birds are said to be brought up tame, for the purpose of fishing, and that one man can easily manage a hundred of them. When a fisherman intends to fish, he carries them out into the lake, perched on the gunnel of the boat, where they continue tranquil, and expect his orders with patience: when arrived at the proper place, each flies a different way, on a given signal, to fulfil the task assigned it; and it is very pleasant on this occasion to observe with what sagacity they per

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tion out the lake or canal where they are upon duty. 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 beaks by the middle, and carry it to their masters: when weary they are suffered to rest for awhile, but they are never fed till their work is over. In this manner they supply a very plentiful table; but still their natural voracity cannot be restrained even by education. While they fish, they have always a string fastened round their throats, to prevent them from devouring their prey; as otherwise they would soon satiate themselves, and discontinue their pursuit.

THIS bird is the largest of the petril kind, which is known in these climates: it is superior in size to the common gull, being about fifteen inches in length, and in weight seventeen ounces. The tail is very strong, yel

low, and hooked at the end: the head, neck, and all the under parts of the body, are white; the back and wings are ash-coloured; the quills dusky; and the tail white. It feeds on the blubber of whales, which supplies the reservoir, whence it spouts with a constant stock of ammunition. This oil is esteemed by the inhabitants of the north, as a sovereign remedy in many complaints both external and internal: the flesh is also considered by them as a delicacy; and the bird is therefore in great request at St. Kilda. It is said, that, when a whale is taken, these birds will, in defiance of all endeavours, light upon it, and pick out large lumps of fat, even while it is alive.

THIS is by far the largest of all the gull kind, weighing generally upwards of four pounds, and being twenty-five or twenty-six inches from the point of the bill to the end of the tail; and from the tip of each wing, when extended, five feet and several inches. The bill appears compressed sideways, being more than three inches long, and hooked towards the end, like the rest of this kind, of a sort of orange colour; the nostrils are an oblong form; the mouth wide, with a long tongue and very open gullet. The irides of the eyes are of a delightful red: the wings, and the middle of the back, are black; but the tips of the covert and quill feathers are white: the head, breast, tail, and other parts of the body, are likewise white. The tail is near six inches long; the legs and feet flesh-coloured, and the claws black. It is a sea

fowl, and preys upon fishes, which have been taken whole from its stomach.-There are about twenty varieties of this tribe, which are all distinguished by an angular knob on the chap.

Gulls are found in great plenty in every place: but it is chiefly round our rockiest shores that they are seen in the greatest abundance: it is there that the gull breeds

and brings up its young; it is there that millions of them are heard screaming with discordant notes for months together.

These birds, like all others of the rapacious kind, lay but few eggs; and hence, in many places, their number is daily seen to diminish. The lessening of so many ra

pacious birds may, at first sight, appear a benefit to mankind; but when we consider how many of the natives of our islands are sustained by their flesh, either fresh or salted, we shall find no satisfaction in thinking that these poor people may in time lose their chief support. The gull, in general, as was said, builds on the ledges of rocks, and lays from one egg to three, in a nest formed of long grass and sea-weed. Most of the kind are fishy tasted, with black, stringy flesh; yet the young ones are better food; and of these, with several other birds of the penguin kind, the poor inhabitants of our northern islands make their wretched banquets: they have been long used to no other food; and even a salted gull can be relished by those who know no better food.

THE stormy petril is not larger than a swallow; and its colour is entirely black, except the coverts of the tail, the tail itself, and the vent feathers, which are white. Its legs are long and slender.

It is found in most seas, and frequently at a vast distance from the land, where it braves the utmost fury of the storm, sometimes skimming with incredible velocity along the billows of the waves, and sometimes over their summits: it is also an excellent diver, and often follows vessels to pick up any thing that is thrown overboard; but its appearance is always looked upon by the sailors as the sure presage of stormy weather in the course of a few hours. It seems to seek for protection from the fury of the wind, in the wake of the vessel; and very probably it is for the same reason, that it often skims along between two surges.-The nests of these birds are found in