That mind which is inclined to admire the wonders and beauties of creation, will pauſe to examine with more than ordinary attention, a bird, in which nature has diſplayed an elegance and variety of co⯑lours, ſufficient to arreſt the admiration of ancient philoſophers; and furniſh them with the happieſt ſimile to abaſh human oſten⯑tation^*.

Perhaps, there are few tribes of birds in which nature has been more profuſe of her ampleſt colouring than that of the Pheaſant. The common ſpecies as we now conſider it in this country, notwith⯑ſtanding its beauty, is inferior in that reſpect to two others that are alſo found at large in ſome of our woods. The Ring and painted Pheaſants are far more richly decorated, and theſe may probably be as abundant in future generations as the Common Pheaſant is at preſent. The variegated Pheaſant is beautiful, and the ſcarcely ex⯑ampled delicacy of the White kind renders it an intereſting variety. []The beauty of all theſe varieties are, however, eclipſed by the Argus Pheaſant; and probably, were we better acquainted with the Phaſianus ſuperbus, and ſome other gigantic Chineſe ſpecies^*, we might place them among the moſt brilliant of the feathered race.

At what period of time the Pheaſant was introduced into this Country, it is impoſſible now to aſcertain. They have, in all pro⯑bability, been long naturalized in this Country. Some of our do⯑meſtic fowls, it is ſuppoſed, were introduced more than two thou⯑ſand years ago, Caeſar noticing them. Whether this circum⯑ſtance may aſſiſt conjecture, concerning the introduction of the Pheaſant, we dare not preſume to determine. Pheaſants were firſt brought into Europe from the banks of the Phaſis, a river of ancient Colchis, in Aſia Minor: at preſent it is found throughout Europe, in a wild ſtate. It has not hitherto been diſcovered in America.

The female is ſmaller than the male; the general colour, brown, variegated with other obſcure colours, the tail is ſhorter than in the male; and the ſpace round the eye, which is bare in that ſex, is covered with feathers in the female.

They breed like the Partridge, on the ground. Lay from twelve to fifteen eggs, ſmaller than thoſe of the hen, and of a paler colour than thoſe of the Partridge. The young follow the females like Chickens.

Several authors have noticed a circumſtance of this bird, which ſurpriſing as it may appear, is by no means peculiar to the Pheaſant []only. After the hen has done laying and ſetting, the plumage of the female becomes like that of the male, and ſhe is then entirely neg⯑lected by him. Salerne, Edwards, and others, have mentioned this of the Pheaſant, Guinea Hen, Rock Manakin, &c. and Mr. J. Hunter had a paper in the Philoſophical Tranſactions on that ſubject. Latham obſerves, that it does not always require mature age to give the hen Pheaſant the appearance of the male.

The length of the White Fronted Gooſe exceeds two feet; the weight is about five pounds. It has neither beauty of colours or elegance of form to render it an intereſting ſpecies. The white ſpace on the forehead is the moſt ſtriking peculiarity of the bird, and its name is ſufficiently characteriſtic of that part, to diſtinguiſh it from every other Britiſh ſpecies of the Duck tribe. It is found in the fens in ſmall flocks, during winter, and migrates in March. In England it is rather uncommon.

Linnaeus conſidered the White Fronted Gooſe as the female of the Bernacle Gooſe, of which credulity has reported ſo much, and we may think naturaliſts have ſaid too little; for it ſeems yet, but doubt⯑ful with ſome Ornithologiſts whether the opinion of Linnaeus be wholly unfounded in truth or not, though they have ventured to ſe⯑parate them into diſtinct ſpecies.

As many kinds of the Duck tribe inhabit the lakes and foreſts of Lapland, and other arctic regions, during the breeding ſeaſon, it is difficult in ſome inſtances, to diſtinguiſh the mere differences of ſex or age from ſpecific diſtinctions. The bernacle of which the white fronted Gooſe has been ſuppoſed the female, were believed about two hundred years to be bred on the coaſt of Scotland; but thoſe []who aſſerted this, declared alſo, that they were generated out of de⯑cayed wood, or were hatched in the ſhell of the Lepas Antifera, a marine production very common in thoſe parts. It has ſeveral membranous branches or arms, and at the end of each, is ſituated a multivalve ſhell. The feathered beard of the fiſh hanging out of the ſhell, were the ſuppoſed feathers or limbs of the young Tree Geeſe, as they were called by the projectors of this whimſical hypotheſis.

Amongſt the common birds that inhabit this Country, the Gold⯑finch claims a decided preference to our attention. It would be ſu⯑perfluous to expatiate on the beauty of a bird ſo well known, and difficult to add any information to its general hiſtory, that has eſcaped the notice of ornithologiſts.

The Goldfinch is found throughout Europe, and in many parts of Africa and Aſia. The varieties of it are numerous. Latham men⯑tions []no leſs than eight kinds. One of theſe is like the common ſort, except the fore part of the head, which is red, and about the eyes white. Another, ſuppoſed to be a mixed breed with the Lark, has a fleſh-coloured bill, irides yellowiſh; head, throat, and neck black, ſpotted with red near the bill; breaſt, back, ſcapulars, and rump yellowiſh brown; belly, ſides, thighs, and under tail coverts, white.

Inſtances of Goldfinches wholly white ſometimes occur; one ſpecimen of that kind is preſerved in the Leverian Muſeum, and another, in which thoſe parts only, which are red in the common ſort, have a gloſſy tinge of that colour. A third ſort in the ſame collection, is white except the crown of the head, which is mottled with red, and a creſcent of the ſame colour under the throat; the wings are yellowiſh.

Goldfinches of the oppoſite extreme of colour are not uncommon. Some are entirely black with a ſlight trace of red about the head, in others even this trace is obliterated. Birds that are fed on hemp ſeed, of which the Goldfinch will eat freely, often become entirely black. Buffon mentions one, in which the head only was of that colour. Willughby and Ray deſcribe a variety that had no red on the head, but a ſaffron-coloured ring ſurrounded the bill. Brown has another, with the head ſtriped alternately with red and yellow. Buffon and Briſſon have a ſort, in which the wings and tail are browniſh aſh-colour: and that part dingy, which in the common ſort is yellow. In young birds of the common ſort the head is grey.

The neſt of the Goldfinch is curiouſly conſtructed of moſs, liver-wort, thiſtle-down, &c. and lined with wool, hair, and the down of []the ſallow. It lays five eggs, of a whitiſh colour, and marked with deep purple ſpots.

Theſe birds breed twice in a year. In winter they aſſemble in flocks. Generally frequent places where thiſtles grow in abundance, being particularly fond of the ſeeds of thoſe plants.

This is the only ſpecies of its genus we have in Britain. Briſſon and Linnaeus place it with the Land Rail or Crake; and Ray with the Water Hens. Pennant obſerving the difference between the eſ⯑ſential characters of the two latter tribes, and that of the Water Rail, conſtitutes a new genus of our ſpecies. The Water Rail is diſtinguiſhed by its ſlender, compreſſed and incurvated bill. The Crake (Gallinule) by the baſe of the upper mandible reaching far upon the forehead, and being membranaceous: the bill is alſo thick at the baſe, and ſloping to the point.

[]The length of the Water Rail is twelve inches, breadth ſixteen inches, weight four ounces. It frequents the ruſhy and ſheltered ſides of rivulets and ponds, among which it can conceal itſelf from danger. It is a very ſhy bird. Flies indifferently, but walks with great celerity, and has been ſeen to run on the ſurface of the water when there has been any weeds to bear it up^*.

The Egg is more than an inch and an half in length; of a pale yellowiſh colour, marked with duſky ſpots.

This ſpecies is little inferior in ſize to the Golden Eagle. The length is three feet ſix inches; it is a ſtout bird, and is armed with formidable talons: it may be diſtinguiſhed from the Golden Eagle by the legs, which are, for half their length, bare of feathers in the Sea Eagle: the legs of the Golden Eagle, on the contrary, are feathered to the toes.

It inhabits moſt parts of Europe. In theſe kingdoms it is found, in Scotland and Ireland; and ſometimes, though rarely, in England. Our ſpecimen was ſhot in the Hebrides. It is obſerved of this ſpecies, that it grows much larger in North America than in Europe. In Ruſſia and Siberia it is very common.

This Bird lives chiefly on Fiſh, which it takes in the ſame manner as the Oſprey. It is ſuppoſed that the Eagle mentioned by Kolben, []is this ſpecies; he ſays, at the Cape of Good Hope it feeds on the Land Tortoiſes, which it carries into the air to a conſiderable height, and, by letting it fall on ſome rock, daſhes the ſhell in pieces, that it may more eaſily pick out the fleſh.

Theſe Birds are common in the ſummer throughout England, and are ſometimes met with in the winter: it frequents ſeveral northern countries, ſuch as Sweden, Norway, Ruſſia, Siberia, Greenland, &c. It is alſo found in Jamaica, in Carolina, and other parts of North America.

It frequents the borders of ponds and lakes, and makes its neſt among the reeds, graſs, &c. The neſt is large, and contains fourteen or fifteen, ſome ſay twenty eggs, two inches and a quarter in length, of a pale browniſh white, ſprinkled with minute chocolate-coloured ſpots, in a very regular manner.

[]The food conſiſts of ſmall Fiſh and water Inſects, grain, roots of plants, &c. which it takes partly by diving into the water. The adult birds are as large as a ſmall fowl. The colour of the ſkin on the forehead, Briſſon ſays, is of a full red; Latham ſays it is white, except in the ſeaſon of incubation, when it is not of a full red, though it is tinged with that colour.

It is the opinion of Pennant, that all the beautiful varieties of Pigeons, ſo highly eſteemed by Pigeon-fanciers, are deſcended origi⯑nally from one ſpecies, the Stock Dove. Latham has, with conſider⯑able induſtry, arranged theſe fancy varieties under their Linnean ſpe⯑cific names, which Pennant has omitted. Briſſon imagines that the Roman Pigeon, Columba Hiſpanica of Linneus, has given birth to all theſe varieties.

That kind called the Carrier, is much celebrated for its particular attachment to its native place. It was anciently uſed in many eaſtern countries to convey letters with expedition; at preſent the cuſtom is not ſo general. Joinville ſpeaks of them in the cruſade of St. Louis to Paleſtine; and Taſſo in the ſiege of Jeruſalem, &c. The cuſtom of conveying letters by means of theſe Birds, may be traced to a very early period. It is not only related of them, but of Swallows, by Pliny and Aelian, that they were employed on ſuch ſervice; and the earlieſt poets, who generally intermingled ſome truth with their alle⯑gory, made the Dove the meſſenger of the lover, and emblem of innocence,

[]All writers on Egypt mention the vaſt number of Pigeons that are bred in that part of the world, where they proverbially conſtitute a great portion of the poor huſbandman's eſtate. In Perſia alſo they are bred in immenſe numbers. They are altogether a pleaſing and uſeful ſpecies in whatever country they are domeſticated^*.

In a wild ſtate theſe Birds have two broods in a year; in a ſtate of confinement, ſometimes three. They uſually lay two eggs at a time, and ſit from fourteen to ſeventeen days before the young are hatched. They migrate in vaſt multitudes into the ſouth of England at the approach of winter, and return again in ſpring. They frequent woody places, and commonly build in the hollows of decayed trees.

The Nightingale is very common in England, except in the northern parts, where it is never ſeen. It comes in the beginning of April, and leaves us in Auguſt. It is found in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, China, and Japan. The female makes her neſt in a low coppice or quickſet hedge, that is thickly cloathed with foliage. It is compoſed of hay, and reeds, intermingled with oak leaves, &c. She lays four or five eggs of a greeniſh brown colour. The male ſcarcely differs from the female.

In the evening the Nightingale begins a ſong that continues till morning. Concealed in ſome thicket, this charming ſongſter pours forth thoſe melodious ſtrains, whoſe harmony, ſweetneſs and variety, combine to fill the mind with ſoft emotions of ſenſibility, and endear ſolitude to the contemplative man. The Nightingale is the favourite of every rural poet, and the loftieſt genius has conſtantly noticed it in his ſolemn deſcriptions of evening, or of night.

The Nightingale is ſometimes kept in cages. Thoſe reared from the neſt are better than ſuch as are caught in a wild ſtate, becauſe they ſing throughout the year, except in the time of moulting. Thoſe which are caught begin to ſing about ſix or eight days after. Mr. Latham ſays, that neither this nor the Blackcap is found in Ireland. Mr. Pennant ſays it does not inhabit Scotland, though Sibbald places it in his liſt of the Birds of that country.

In compliance with preceding writers on the ornithology of Great Britain, we have added the Peacock to our work: the propriety of placing that magnificent Indian ſpecies, with the humble and ſimple-coloured birds of this country, we preſume not to defend. We may proudly claim it for a Britiſh domeſticated ſpecies, but other nations of Europe have the ſame privilege. Of the beauty of a bird ſo well known, and which has excited admiration in all ages, we can ſay little: language would but feebly expreſs the variety and brilliance of colours that profuſely adorn the plumes of this majeſtie creature.

Peacocks were known three thouſand years ago. In the days of Solomon, the Tarſhiſh fleet of that monarch brought them to Jeruſa⯑lem. In Greece they were alſo known very early: at Athens they were highly prized. It is ſuppoſed they were carried hence to Samos, where they were preſerved near the temple of Juno. The epicures of Greece thought them a delicacy; and the young Pea-fowl is eſteemed among us. It is ſaid, that when Alexander was in India he ſound vaſt numbers on the banks of the Hyarotis, and was ſo de⯑lighted []with their beauty, that he appointed a puniſhment for thoſe who ſhould kill any of them.—It is alſo found in Africa.

In our climate the Peacock does not come to its full plumage till the third year. The female lays five or ſix greyiſh eggs, the ſize of thoſe of a Turkey: the time of ſitting is from twenty-ſeven to thirty days. The young are fed on barley-meal, chopped leeks, and curd; the old ones on wheat, barley, &c.

It is an Italian proverb, that the Peacock has the appearance of an angel, and voice of the devil; for its cry is exceedingly inharmonious. In India, it is related, that they are taken by carrying lights to the trees where they rooſt, and having painted repreſentations of the bird preſented to them at the ſame time: when they put out the neck to look at the figure, the ſportſman ſlips the nooſe over their heads and ſecures them. It is ſaid alſo, that the inhabitants of the mountains on both ſides of the Ganges take them with a kind of bird-lime, made from oils and the juices of certain trees.

As we believe a figure of that ſuperb variety of the common Peacock, Le Paon Panachē; of Buffon, would be more acceptable to the reader than the ſort which ſo frequently occurs, we have preferred it for this work. It is a moſt ſuperb and elegantly variegated ſpeci⯑men: and we only regret that the limits of our plate, and imper⯑fect ſtate of that, imitative art, colouring, will not permit us to do juſtice to its incomparable beauty. The original meaſures ſeven feet, of which the train forms a conſiderable part. This appendage, which is uſually miſtaken for the tail itſelf, riſes from the back and deſcends to a vaſt length. The tail is not more than one foot and an half in length, and conſiſts of eighteen browniſh-grey feathers. The female has a very ſhort train, and the ſpurs are generally wanting.

Length of this ſpecies fourteen inches, breadth twenty-one, weight fifteen ounces. It is a common bird in this country, frequents the ſides of rivers and ponds, and is ſuppoſed to feed on ſmall fiſh, and on plants.

It has two or three broods in the ſummer; the neſt is uſually placed on a low ſtump near the water, and contains ſeven eggs of a dirty white colour, ſparingly ſpeckled and ſpotted with ruſt colour, and nearly two inches in length. The female is ſmaller than the male, the colours are throughout much paler, and the throat is ſometimes white; in ſome birds it is grey, in others the colour of the reſt of the neck.

This ſpecies varies exceedingly in the colours of the plumage. In ſome the principal colour is a kind of chocolate brown, in others deep black. It varies no leſs alſo in the diſpoſition of the white ſpaces on the head, neck, and body in different birds. In the male, the fore part and ſides of the head are of a reddiſh grey, with an oval black ſpot on each ſide of the neck, a little below the head; the remainder of the neck white. The female has only the ſides of the head white (except the belly), the neck being of a duſky black in general; though ſpecimens have been ſeen, that much reſemble the adult male bird. The colour of the legs vary much in different ſpecimens alſo.

Linnaeus divided the ſuppoſed male and female into two ſpecies; the firſt he called ANAS GLACIALIS, the other ANAS HYEMALIS. Later authors, who have had more opportunity of obſerving their manners of life, have ſuppoſed them only the two ſexes of one ſpecies.

Mr. Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, uppen. deſcribes the two Linnaean ſpecies as the two ſexes of ANAS GLACIALIS; and Mr. Latham ſince, in his Index Ornithologious, places Anas Glacialis as []the adult male; this is the bird which Buffon calls, canard à longue queue; that which Ray terms Anas caudacuta, Havelda' Mr. Latham deſcribes as the young male. (µ) The female had been deſcribed by Mr. Pennant in the Arctic Zoology^*: Mr. Latham makes it the (γ.) of Anas Glacialis:—the ſame author has added further, the Querquedula ferroenſis, of Briſſon, or Sarcelle de Ferroe, of Buffon, as the (δ.) of the ſame ſpecies.

Theſe Birds frequent the more northern parts of the world, ſuch as Sweden, Lapland, Greenland, &c. and only viſit the Engliſh coaſts in very rigorous winters. In the orknies they are ſeen in flocks from October to April. Theſe Birds living chiefly on the water, dive and ſwim well, and ſubſiſt on ſmall ſhell-fiſh. They build their neſts among the graſs, &c. on the ſea ſhore. The variety mentioned by Mr. Latham, which is called O'Edel by the inha⯑bitants of the Ferroe iſles, has the black ſtreak down the middle of the crown to the hind head, as in our ſpecimen, from which we have been led to conſider our Bird a variety alſo.

The length of our Bird is twenty-one inches.

The length of this Bird is twelve inches, its breadth twenty-one inches, and its weight exceeds five ounces. In this country theſe birds are not uncommon, except in the northem parts. They fre⯑quent fens and marſhes in the breeding ſeaſon, but ſeparate and con⯑ceal themſelves in the winter.

Its noiſe is ſimilar to that of the lapwing, whoſe manners it alſo imitates when it is diſturbed. It lays four eggs, of a whitiſh olive []colour, marked with irregular black ſpots. In winter the colours of theſe Birds become paler.

The Redſhank is found in moſt parts of Europe and America. Mr. Latham deſcribes a variety of this ſpecies from the drawings of the late Dr. Fothergill, which inhabits the marſhes of China.

It need ſcarcely be ſaid that the white owl is common in every part of England, and is generally ſound throughout the continent of Europe. It inhabits North and South America, and is very frequent in ſome parts of Aſia. Except in the breeding ſeaſon, it lives in barns and out-houſes, where it is uſeful in deſtroying the mice that infeſt ſuch places. In the breeding ſeaſon it retires to holes in lofty buildings, or the hollows of trees.

[]Some ſpecies of owls ſee well in the day-time: the white owl has not that faculty; it is only in the twilight in mornings and evenings, or in moonlight nights, that it can ſee clearly to take its prey. While the young are in the neſt, the male and female go alternately in queſt of food, make a circuit round the fields, drop on their prey inſtantly, and return with it in their claws.

Theſe birds caſt up the fur or feather of the creatures they devour in the form of ſmall pellets, like thoſe of the hawk tribe.

All the Finches except the Siſkin are ſuppoſed to continue in theſe kingdoms throughout the year; but ſhift to different parts according to the ſeaſons. The Redpole is known to breed in the mountains of Wales^*. Mr. Pennant ſaw the neſt of this ſpecies on an alder ſtump near a brook, about two or three feet from the ground. The outſide was compoſed of dried ſtalks of graſs, and other plants, intermixed with a little wool: it was lined with hair and a few feathers. The eggs, four in number, were of a pale bluiſh green, thickly ſprinkled near the blunt end with ſmall reddiſh ſpots.

In October and November theſe birds arrive near London in vaſt numbers. The colours of the female are generally paler than thoſe of the male: the ſpot on the forehead is ſaffron colour.

The male of this common but beautiful Bird is diſtinguiſhed from the female by the rich black colour on the crown of the head, and the crimſon on the cheeks, breaſt, belly, and throat, thoſe parts being of an obſcure hue in the female.

In the winter and ſpring it frequents gardens, and does much injury to the fruit-trees. In ſummer it retires into the woods to breed. It forms a neſt chiefly of moſs, about ſix feet from the []ground, and depoſits five or ſix bluiſh eggs, marked with dark ſpots. The wild note of this Bird is not admired, though they may be taught to whiſtle any tune in a tame ſtate, and are then much valued.

There are ſeveral varieties of this ſpecies, one of them in particular, is entirely black. Inſtances are recorded of theſe birds, after being taken in full feather, in the courſe of three or four years becoming jet black, and then again recovering their former colours.

This Bird is common in many parts of Great-Britain in ſummer, and departs before winter, except in Ireland, where it is ſuppoſed they remain throughout the year. Being conſtantly found in com⯑pany with the Quails, the Crake has been called in many countries, their king, or leader.

Independent of a ſtriking generical difference, the manners of theſe birds are altogether diſtinct from thoſe of the Water Rail, with which it has been ſometimes confounded. It is found among corn, graſs, broom, or furze on heaths, and never in watery places. It lays ten or twelve eggs of a reddiſh white colour, marked with ferruginous blotches: feeds on all kinds of infects, and on grain; and its fleſh is much eſtemed.

[]Length of this ſpecies is nine inches and a half; weight, from ſix to eight ounces. Its note has been compared to the word Crek often repeated; and hence its name, Crake.

The Hooded Crow is not uncommon during winter in many parts of England. With us it is a bird of paſſage. In thoſe coun⯑tries where is breeds, it retreats to the mountains for that time, and deſcends into the plains as the winter approaches. In many parts of Scotland it is the only ſpecies of crow known, and in the northern iſlands and mountains, it is ſaid to remain the whole year.

Like the rook and crow, this Bird feeds on carrion and the offals of animals; and alſo on ſhell-fiſh, which they find on the banks of rivers; at other times, on ſeeds and grain, and mountain-berries. They are more elegant and varied in their plumage than the common crow, but not leſs miſchievous to young birds, or any []wounded or defenceleſs animals. Their neſts are built in trees, and commonly contain ſix eggs. The length of this Bird is twenty-one inches.

The Gloſſy Ibis is extremely rare in this country. It is not noticed by Mr. Pennant in the laſt editions of the Britiſh Zoo⯑logy. Dr. Latham has placed it in his liſt of Britiſh Birds, but mentions only one inſtance of its being found in England. "In the Leverian Muſeum is one of theſe, which was ſhot in Cornwall." Lath. Gen. Syn. v. 5.

Our ſpecimen of this ſpecies, we are informed, was alſo ſhot in England, and on diffection proved to be a male. Whether the ſpe⯑cimen from which Dr. Latham's deſcription is taken, differed in ſex from this, we are unable to determine. The deſcription does not exactly agree with our bird; and the ſpecimen referred to, is removed from the Leverian collection. In the deſcription, the eyes are placed in a white ſpace: the eyes in our Bird are ſurrounded with black. The legs are alſo deſcribed of an olive colour in the dead bird, and green when living; thoſe parts appear reddiſh in our preſerved ſpecimen: we had no opportunity of obſerving the true colour in the living bird; but it muſt certainly have been more of []a red, or at leaſt reddiſh brown, than olive. Neither of theſe dif⯑ferences, however, affect the eſſential character of the ſpecies; and we conſider our bird, beyond diſpute, the Gloſſy Ibis of Dr. Latham. The length of this Bird exceeds twenty-two inches.

This is a very abundant ſpecies throughout Europe. In England, its manners of life are ſo well known, that we avoid entering into a minute detail of them. The colours of the female are dull; and it has ſcarcely any yellow about the head.—The male is a very pretty bird; liable, however, to variation in different ſpecimens. In ſome, the head is brown, in others yellow, marked with brown; in birds of fine plumage it is of a beautiful yellow; the colours throughout very full, with the yellow delicately blended into the olive, and have a fine effect.

Theſe Birds feed on grain and inſects. They make a large neſt of hay and ſtraw, mixed with moſs, and dried leaves, and lined []with hair and wool. The neſt is generally placed on the ground, or in a low buſh. It lays five or ſix eggs, veined irregularly with purpliſh or brown colour, and ſparingly blotched with the ſame. There is more than one brood of this ſpecies in the year.

This is certainly the new ſpecies of Tern, which has been found on the Sandwich coaſt, and deſcribed under the name Sandvicenſis ^* by Mr. Latham: Our ſpecimen does not preciſely agree with the de⯑ſcription given by that author; but the following conſiderations ſeem to juſtify our concluſion.

The plumage of many Birds differ conſiderably in colours and markings in the various ſtages of their growth; and even in the adult ſtate, we frequently obſerve varieties which it is difficult to refer to their true ſpecies.—From the general appearance of the Bird before us, it has been thought the young of the common Tern, and it ſtands for ſuch in the Leverian Muſeum: It cannot however be the young Bird of that ſpecies; in the contour it is obviouſly different, and the form of the beak, with other ſtriking peculiarities, muſt certainly remove it from that ſpecies.

[]Mr. Latham, in deſcribing the Sandwich Tern, ſays, the back and wings are a pale hoary lead colour, and in the young Birds are much clouded with brown: he ſays alſo the head is much dotted with white in ſome ſpecimens; but obſerves, that all Terns with black heads are liable to the ſame variation^*. Thus far our ſpecimen may be conſidered as the Sandwich Tern; but the colour of the legs and claws of that Bird is uniformly ſaid to be black, while in ours they are orange: this is however accidental, and by no means a permanent character; the orange-coloured legs and feet is ſtrik⯑ing, but not invariable in the Common Tern, as is proved by the variety β with black feet, deſcribed by Mr. Latham in the Index Ornithologicus^†; we alſo find a ſpecimen of the Sandwich Tern in the Britiſh Muſeum, which has the legs and feet of a dull yellowiſh or orange colour, and differs from the ſpecimen we have figured only in the form of the tail, which is not forked as in the adult Birds.

The Sterna Navia of Linnaeus, and La Guiffette of Buffon, is con⯑ſidered by Mr. Latham as the young Bird of the Sandwich Tern. Our ſpecimen differs very little from the deſcriptions given by theſe authors.

Length of our Bird fourteen inches. It was ſhot in the Chelſea road.

The length of this bird is fourteen inches; breadth thirty-two inches. The male is darker in colour than the female. This kind of owls inhabits woods: in England they remain the whole year. The ſpecies is found throughout Europe and America.

La Chouctte, ou Grande Cheviche, of Buffon, is ſuppoſed to be the female of the Tawny Owl; but the deſcription differs in ſome parti⯑culars from thoſe ſpecimens we have examined.

This elegant ſpecies is ſcarce in Great-Britain. It is of the mi⯑gratory kind; but is known to breed here. Mr. Latham ſays in Cumberland.

This is a ſolitary creature, living entirely among reeds in marſhy places. The neſt is very ſingular, and is built on the water; it is compoſed of ruſhes matted together in form of a boat, and is faſtened by one end to a reed that it may float in ſecurity on the water while the female ſits on the eggs.

The length of this bird is nine inches.

The manners and oeconomy of this little creature are familiar to every one. It frequents inhabited places in the winter; in ſummer it retires into thickets or decayed buildings to breed. The neſt is compoſed of dried leaves mixed with hair and moſs, and lined with feathers: it contains from five to ſeven eggs of a duſky white colour, ſprinkled with irregular reddiſh ſpots. The young birds are very unlike the adults, being ſpotted with white.

The Robin has been choſen by our earlieſt poets to pourtray inſtinctive affection towards man. An artleſs tale^*: a pathetic appeal to the tendereſt feelings, pleads its behalf to the infant mind, and maturer age rather cheriſhes than diſcards its firſt impreſ⯑ſions. Hence the Robin, through ſucceſſive ages, has become an object of fondneſs, and ſuperſtitious reſpect; and, as if conſcious of our pity and protection, it boldly viſits our dwellings in winter, and claims that ſubſiſtence the inclement ſeaſon denies.

Diveſted of the pleaſing poetic ſimiles that are interwoven with the hiſtory of the Robin, it is a ſavage little animal, and in perpe⯑tual warfare with its own ſpecies, and every other tribe of ſmall birds. It feeds on inſects and ſeeds, or when preſſed by hunger, on many other kinds of food. The note is fine and ſoft.

This is the parent ſtock of our domeſticated or common Duck, The varieties in a tame ſtate are endleſs, but they uniformly pre⯑ſerve one character by which we can trace them to this wild origin; this is the ſhort curled tail feathers of the Drakes, which are con⯑ſtant in all its varieties of plumage, and the form of the bill in both ſexes, whether in a wild or domeſtic ſtate.

Theſe birds are ſo well known, that we beſtow little attention on their beauty; or we ſhould conſider the Mallard Drake the moſt beautiful of the web-footed birds that inhabit this country. The plumage throughout is of ſingular richneſs, and the various dotted ſtreaks and lines on the plainer colours are uncommonly elegant, The colours of the female, as in other inſtances, are more ſimple.

[]Wild Ducks abound in this country, but are no where more plenty than in the fens of Lincolnſhire^*. The means of taking theſe birds are various, and have been deſcribed with minuteneſs by many authors. The method in common uſe in England is to ſet large decoy nets in the places they frequent, and by means of a trained bird entice them into its labyrinths^†. The inhabitants of other countries have alſo various and peculiar contrivances to entrap theſe, and others of the water fowl. Theſe birds breed in marſhy places, and lay from ten to ſixteen eggs. Dr. Latham ſays they are ſometimes known to lay the eggs in a high tree, in a deſerted Magpie, or Crow's neſt, and mentions an inſtance of one being ſound at Etchingham in Suſſex, ſitting upon nine eggs, in an Oak, twenty-five feet from the ground: the eggs were ſupported by twigs laid croſsways^‡.

Length of this ſpecies near two feet; weight, two pounds and an half.