1. Patagonian Penguin, Aptenodytes Patagonica. 2. Great Auk, Alca impennis. 3. Puffin, Alca arctica. 4. Brown Pelican, Pelecanus fuscus. 5. Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus. 6. Darter, Plotus anhinga. 7. Albatross, Diomeda exulans. 8. Little Auk, Alca alle. 9. Crested Grebe, Podiceps cornutus. 10. Great Northern Diver, or Loon, Colymbus glacialis. 11. Wild Swan, Cygnus ferus. 1. THE seventh and last order of birds embraces the large class of web-footed or swimming birds. As these birds move in an element which is every where essentially the same, whether beneath the tropics or beyond the polar circles, we find not only that there are, as among the land-birds, particular kinds confined to different portions of the world, but that some species, such as the ducks, the gulls, and the petrels, encircle' the entire globe. 2. Like the other orders, that of the swimmers also has been divided into several families, the several species in each bearing some striking resemblances to each other. Thus the swimmers are divided into the six families of the ducks, divers, auks, petrels, gulls, and pelicans. A common observer might not readily see why they are divided into these particular groups or families, or why additional divisions might not just as well be made-why, for example, ducks, geese, and swans might not form three separate families as well as one. 3. But as some grouping into families is essential to a clear description of their forms and habits, the arrangement which is most convenient for this purpose should be adopted. Thus the duck family may be described as those swimmingbirds that have thick and broad bills; and this description will include the various kinds of ducks, geese, and swans. The divers are described as having narrow, straight, and sharp-pointed bills, and as remaining a long time under water; and this description will apply to what are known as divers, grebes, and loons; and thus are made up the several families into which the swimmers are divided. Some similar arrangement has been adopted in all the other orders. 1. White-fronted Wild Goose, Anas erythropus. 2. Common Eider Duck, Anas mollissima. 3. Green-crested Cormorant, Pelecanus cristatus. 4. Red-throated Diver, Colymbus septentrionalis. 5. Common Shoveler-duck, Anas clypeata. 6. Surf-duck, or Scoter, Anas perspicillata. 7. Solan Goose, or Gannet, Pelecanus bassana. 4. Of all the swimming-birds, the duck family, including ducks, geese, and swans, is the best known, as some species in each division have been domesticated. The vigilant habits of wild geese while feeding have been thus described: "When they go forth to graze, with jealous care They place a watch, which, with keen ear intent 5. The swan, which is a beautiful and majestic bird, has been glorified by the bards of all nations. Milton thus describes it: "The swan, with arched neck Between her white wings mantling5 proudly, rows The dank,' and rising on swift pinions, tower According to nearly all the old poets, and some of the moderns, the swan pours forth its last breath in sublime and enchanting music. There is a fable that a stork, which listened to the song of a dying swan, told her it was contrary to nature to sing so much out of season, and asked her the reason of it. Why," said the swan, "I am now entering into a state where I shall be no longer in danger of either snares, guns, or hunger; and who would not rejoice at such a deliverance ?" 66 6. Among the divers the largest and finest species is the great loon, which is frequently seen on inland lakes in this country, but is seldom shot, as it dives instantaneously at the flash of a gun, and then swims a great distance under water. The cry of the loon, which is melancholy in its tone, resembling the howling of the wolf, is said to portends rain. 7. The auks, which have their dreary homes on the frozen coasts and islands of the Northern Ocean, but from which they wander hundreds of miles out to sea, have generally small wings; but these they use as aids in diving and swimming. The great auk can not fly at all; but he climbs up the rocky cliffs, and is often seen on floating ice. 8. The puffin is another bird of the auk family; and in the southern hemisphere the same family is represented by the penguins, which are very singular-looking birds, having no wings nor proper feathers, but two fins or flippers, like the seal. These birds are found in immense flocks on the south ern islands. On land they hop along in a very awkward manner, but they swim with great swiftness, and are often seen far out at sea. 9. The petrels, or fulmars, are eminently birds of the ocean, rarely approaching the land, some of them appearing to be almost constantly on the wing, and following the course of ships for days together without alighting. The common albatross, which belongs to this family, extends its wings far ther in flying than any other sea-bird known. When on the wing it is the very ideal9 of beauty; and it sits upon the water as light and graceful as a swan. 10. The gulls are a numerous and well-known family, dispersed over every quarter of the world. The terns or seaswallows, the skimmer of the seas, and the gray, white, and black-backed gulls, are names by which some of the species are known. The family of the pelicans, which includes the cormorants, darters, frigate birds, the Solan goose or gannet, and the phaetons, closes the list of the sea-birds—and a numerous list it is. And what a degree of life they impart to the grand, gloomy, majestic, and otherwise solitary ocean! 11. And how strictly in accordance with the wild and gloomy grandeur of the scene are the habits of these birds, and the hardy lives they lead! "Watchful and agile,10 uttering voices wild Their hardy broods to forage12 in all weathers." 12. How cheering the presence of these birds is to the weary mariner, none but those who "go down upon the sea in ships" can tell. But in an economical relation, also, this order of birds is of considerable importance. To it we owe all our domesticated breeds of geese, ducks, etc.; from it our finest feathers and downs, employed as articles of luxury, or by the fair sex as dresses and adornments of ornamental comfort, are derived; and among northern nations the collection of the eggs and young of many wild species is an object of regular employment and commerce. 13. We have thus given a very brief account of the swimming-birds. In the preceding orders-in the birds of prey, the perchers, the climbers, the scratchers, the runners, the waders -we are constantly reminded of benevolent design in the wisdom which has created and arranged them, each in its proper sphere, and all in beautiful harmony: and here again we find the same beautiful adaptation in the powers, instincts, and habits of these water-birds to the places they are designed to fill in the great chain of animated nature. 14. The swimmers are a large class of birds, and wide is the range which has been assigned them; for they not only throng13 on the line of the ocean, and frequent every bay and headland of its winding shores in every quarter of the globe, but wherever, in their lofty flights, the surface of an inland lake or river meets their view, remote from the dwellings of man, there also some of them cluster at certain seasons, either to feed, or to rear their young. Theirs are the wild solitudes of Nature-the ocean, the sandy coast, the solitary lake; and when driven from these for repose at night or shelter from the storm, rocky isles far in the ocean's void,14 and rocky shores difficult of access, are their resting-places. 15. While the waders have thin bodies, that they may make their way the more easily through the rank watergrass of the marshes which they frequent, those of the swimmers are broad and flat, to enable them the better to float on the surface of the water. The plumage of the swimmingbirds is also remarkably thick and close, especially on the under parts of the body; the skin is covered with a dense15 coat of soft down; and the outer surface is polished and oily, thus effectually protecting their bodies from the water, while the feathers of all land-birds, on the contrary, are quickly saturated 16 by it. The air is, indeed, made the common element of both classes; but the one is so formed as best to obtain its support on the water, the other on the land: each element furnishes the food appropriate1 for its own tenants;18 and thus every part of nature teems19 with happy, joyous life. 1 EN-CİR'CLE, surround. 2 IN-TENT', listening with watchful anxiety. 5 MAN'-TLING, spreading (referring to the 6 "HER state," her dignity; dignified self. 7 DANK, moist; here used for the water. 8 POR-TEND', foreshow; indicate. 9 I-DE-AL, model of perfection. [11 ÊY ́-RIES (â'-res), places where birds of prey build their nests and hatch. 12 FOR-AGE, go forth to collect their food. 13 THRONG, are abundant. 14 VOID, empty space. 15 DENSE, close; thick. 16 SAT'-U-BA-TED, completely filled. 19 TEEMS, abounds. |