NON nisi intra paucos annos Europæis innotuit Phasianus curvirostris, seu Impeyanus. Plumis decoratur mirum in modum fulgidis et venustis. Dorsum alæque lucide purpureo-nigricant viridi cupreoque versicolora. Quæ in collo plumæ, angustæ et acuminatæ, nitidissime sunt cupreo-ferrugineæ. Cinguntur oculorum orbitæ cute nuda cæruleo-virescente. Cauda fulvo-ferruginea, apicem rotundata. Corporis inferiora fusco-nigra. Assurgit crista insigniter decora, 102 constans e plurimis parvis et erectis scapis, quorum apices singuli tela seu parte plumata ovata et acuminata, capiti colloque concolori terminantur.

Rostri singularis formatio: mandibula enim superior magnopere curvata, longe ultra inferiorem excurrit: quod nescio an casu potius evenire suspicarer, quam proprium esse et perpetuum, ni in omnibus quæ examinavi speciminibus ita se res constanter haberet. Nomen igitur triviale curvirostris inde deductum utile est ad notam distinctionis. Nomen etiam Impeyanus apte satis possit retineri; cum physicis nempe nostratibus primo hanc avem communicavit uxor lectissima Domini Eliæ Impey Equitis aurati, quæ plura secum ab Indis specimina attulit.

Magnitudine gallum gallinaceum vulgarem, seu phasianum gallum Linnæi, plene æquat Phasianus curvirostris. Femina mare minor, maxima ex parte fusca, notis undulisque pallidioribus et nigrioribus variata. In hoc etiam differt, quod remiges primarii nigrent; secundariis nigro ferrugineoque transverse fasciatis; quodque cauda sit brevissima, corpori concolor. Crura præterea non calcaribus sed tuberibus tantum armata. Illas Indiæ partes quas Hindostan nomine norunt hodierni, septentrionales præcipue inhabitat Phasianus curvirostris.

THE Phasianus curvirostris, or Impeyan Pheasant, is a species known only within these few years. It is a bird of uncommon beauty and lustre of plumage: the general colour of the wings and back is a rich, glossy, blackish purple, varied with changeable hues of green and copper-colour. The feathers on the neck are of a narrow and sharpened form, and of a very bright copper-ferruginous. The orbits of the eyes are surrounded with a naked skin of a blueish-green tinge: the tail is of a bright bay or ferruginous colour, and is rounded at the end: the under parts of the body are of a dull black. The top of the head is ornamented by a crest of singularly beautiful structure, consisting of a great many small, upright, nearly naked shafts, each terminated by an oval sharp-pointed web or feathered part, of the same brilliant appearance with the rest of the head and neck.

The beak is of a singular form; the upper mandible being considerably prolonged over the lower, and extremely curved. It might be suspected that this was an accidental circumstance; but as it takes place equally in all the specimens I have yet seen, I imagine it to be the proper and constant form of the beak. It therefore affords a very good mark of distinction, and the Latin trivial or common name is taken from thence. Its English name of Impeyan Pheasant may be still retained with great propriety, since it was first introduced to the notice of naturalists by the Lady of Sir Elijah Impey, who brought several specimens from India.

The size of this curious bird is at least equal to that of a common fowl. The female is smaller than the male, and is principally of a brown colour, varied with marks and undulations of a deeper and lighter cast; the longer wing feathers are also black in the female, the secondary ones barred with black and ferruginous: the tail extremely short, and coloured like the rest of the bird; and the legs, instead of spurs, as in the male, are only furnished with a knob or tubercle. The Impeyan Pheasant is chiefly found in the northern parts of Hindostan.

NAscitur Ibex in variis Europæ et Asiæ regionibus. Cordi sunt ei rupes locaque montosa, nec alicubi cernitur. Ab hoc ortas esse omnes capræ vulgaris seu domesticæ varietates nonnullis physicis persuasum est. Maxima ejus est copia in insula Creta; generatur etiam in Corsica.

Magnitudine capram vulgarem superat. Color generalis est cinereo-fuscus, in nonnullis speciminibus ferrugineo leviter tinctus. Corporis inferiora ex albido subflavescunt. Crura plerumque nigris maculis interspersa. Per dorsi longitudinem decurrit linea perpetua. Caput vasta gerit cornua, quorum pars superior 106 prominentibus et semicirculatis tuberibus notatur. Retro curvantur in apices mucronatos desinentia. Gula plerumque barbata.

Mirandi est Ibex roboris et pernicitatis: saltu fertur longissimo: pendet sæpe de rupium lateribus more capræ communis. Cornua fœminæ longe minora quam maris.

Opus subire laboris et periculi plenum dicuntur venatores, quos, cum ad vitæ discrimen ventum sit, fallere sæpe et effugere solet Ibex, præcipitem se de monte in cornua dando, et a terra statim, nulla accepta injuria, resiliendo.

THE Ibex, or Steinbock, which some naturalists have considered as the original or stock, from whence the several varieties of the common or domestic Goats have proceeded, is a native of several parts of Europe and Asia, but is constantly found in rocky and mountainous regions. It abounds in the island of Crete, and is also found in Corsica.

In size it is superior to the common goat. Its general colour is a dark cinereous brown, slightly tinged in some individuals with ferruginous: the under parts of the body are of a dull yellowish white. On the legs are often seen marks or patches of black: along the back runs a continued stripe of black. The horns are of enormous size, and are marked on the upper side by large 108 semicircular prominences or tubercles: they are curved backwards, and terminate in a sharp extremity; the throat is commonly bearded.

It is an animal of great strength and swiftness, and is capable of leaping to a surprising distance; and, like the common goat, is often seen to hang on the brinks of precipices, amongst the lofty crags which it inhabits. The horns of the female are far smaller than those of the male.

The chase of this animal is said to be an exercise of considerable danger, as well as fatigue, and it is said, that when closely pressed, the animal has a practice of throwing itself down a precipice, and lighting on its horns, without receiving the least injury, and by this means often escapes its pursuers.

LUtrarum aliæ species fluvios, aliæ maria incolunt. Cernere est in his subobscura externæ cujusdam similitudinis cum piscibus vestigia, quæ in Castore manifestior, in Phoca evidens et conspicua, maxima autem et certissima est in Trichechi genere, donec in Trichecho Manato, seu illo cui cauda rotundata, quadrupedis forma jam fere deperdita, in cetariis animalibus penitus deleatur; his enim tanta videtur esse cum piscibus affinitas, ut inter eos numerentur a plurimis qui de historia naturali antiquitus conscripserint.

Magni venditur hujusce speciei vellus, ex quo præcipue conficiuntur vestes lautissimæ magnatum Turcicorum et Russicorum. Varietas vero est altera et major, cujus pilus pretiosior et delicatior.

Circa littora Kamtschatkæ nec non insularum Asiam et Americam interjacentium præcipue cernitur Mustela Lutris. Piscibus vescitur, more Lutræ vulgaris. Natat audacter et celerrime. Maximo erga prolem amore servet, qui sane non modo huic generi sed et cetario forsan violentior quam reliquis plerisque animalibus.

Color fusco-nigricat. Longitudo, ut plurimum, paulo superat quatuor pedes a naso ad extremum caudæ.

THE Lutræ, or Otters, of which some species inhabit fresh waters and others the sea, are remarkable for the first or beginning approach in point of external figure amongst quadrupeds to the animals of the fishy tribe, which is more nearly approached to by the Beaver; still more by the Seal, and extremely so by the genus Trichechus; till in the Trichechus Manatus, or round-tailed Manati, the outline of a quadruped is almost obliterated, and at length is quite lost in the Cetaceous tribe, which have so much the general habit or appearance of fishes, that by many of the older writers on natural history they have been classed as such.

Considered in a commercial view the present species is highly important, since its fur is one of the richest and most valuable hitherto discovered, and affords to the Russian nobility and to the Turks, a principal article of their magnificent dress. It is however chiefly the larger variety of this species which is most esteemed, the fur of the one here figured being not so exquisitely fine as that of the larger sort.

This animal is principally found about the shores of Kamtschatka, and the intermediate islands between Asia and America. Like the rest of its genus, it feeds on fish, swims with great strength and celerity, and is remarkable for a very strong attachment to its young; a particular in which not only the animals of this genus, but even those of the cetaceous tribe at least equal, if not exceed most other animals. The colour of the Sea Otter is a very deep blackish-brown. Its general length from the nose to the tip of the tail is somewhat more than four feet.

ANtequam detectus esset orbis occiduus, musices palmam ab aliis avibus facile præripuit Luscinia, in sylvis Europæis cantatrix omnium jucundissima. Mirum sane scientiæ zoologicæ insignis illa epocha attulit incrementum, plurimaque comperta sunt animalia quæ forma singulari omnia hactenus in veteri orbe conspecta longe superabant. Tum primum physicis innotuerunt Didelphides, in folliculo abdominali catulos diu post partum gestantes. Rana Pipa, seu Surinamensis, quæ modo prorsus contrario pullos in cellulis dorsalibus gerit, 114 inter prodigia quæ ingeniosa protulit natura, merito habebatur. Viderunt primum gaudio simul et stupore perculsi istius temporis philosophi immense magnitudinis Condoram, quæ cum ovibus correptis avolat, immo etiam armenta majora persequitur et devastat; nec non perexiguum Trochilum, plurimis insectis minutiorem, superbientemque coloribus queis cedit longe quicquid est humanæ artis. Inter aves cantatrices deprensa est turdi species suaviloquo carmine lusciniæ ipsi antecellens.

Notissimum est aves Americanas plumis versicoloribus nitidissimas, cantu illo jucundissimo quo sylvæ prataque Europæa maxime hilarantur, ut plurimum carere: quam ob causam Britanniæ eleganter gratulatur poeta nostras non ignobilis.

Canit tamen Philomela mœstum aliquod et querulum, ut dulce dolentem putemus.

Vox vero avis quam nunc describere pergimus, sonat ardentius quiddam, clarius et alacrius; varium magis et canorum. Arbusculæ plerumque insidens nocte dieque canit Turdus Orpheus, idque numeris adeo musicis et sonoris ut in stuporem plane rapiat auditores. Si orbis occidui incolis credendum sit, vincuntur longe dulces teneræque Lusciniæ querelæ potentioribus Americanæ cantatricis carminibus.

Nec solum sua voce præcellit miranda hæc avis, sed vocem etiam cantusque aliarum plurimarum volucrum imitatur, nec non aliorum animalium, et rerum etiam domesticarum sonitus.

Non lautior est illi vestitus quam lusciniæ nostræ. Color generalis est cinereo seu plumbeo-fuscus, alis caudaque obscurioribus. Pars corporis inferior propemodum albicat, ut et rectrices duæ exteriores, marginibus nigris. Rostrum et crura nigricant. Tectrices extrema, remigesque aliqui secundarii subalbidi alam maculant.

Turdum nostrum vulgarem magnitudine fere æquat Orpheus, sed elegantior est et delicatior. Varietas hujus avis est; paulo minor, quæ lineola alba in superciliis præcipue distinguitur, quæque a nonnullis auctoribus (inter cæteros a Linnæo) ut species diversa notatur. Pennantus tamen varietatem meram esse judicat. Interdum quoque pectore, maculato conspicitur, quod, forsan fiat antequam plumas perfectas nacta sit.

Reperitur Turdus Orpheus in omni calidiori America, in ipsis etiam nuperrime fœderatis provinciis. Sylvas humidas præcipue amat, variisque baccis vescitur.

THE Nightingale, so uniformly admired as the pride of the European woods, and so celebrated from the earliest ages for its supereminent musical powers, continued to bear the palm of melody from the rest of the feathered tribe till the discovery of the western hemisphere. At that striking period the knowledge of the animal world was increased in all its branches by a vast variety of new and interesting species; many of which exceeded in singularity of form all that the Old Continent had displayed. The Opossums, so remarkable for the extraordinary manner in which they bear their young about them, long after the period of exclusion, were then first discovered: the Pipa, or R 117 toad of Surinam, which in a manner directly opposite, bears its young in numerous cells on its back, was another object of wonder to the naturalists of Europe: while amongst birds, the prodigious size of the Condor, which seizes and carries off sheep, and even attacks and destroys the larger cattle, opposed to the diminutive race of Humming-birds, some of which are far less than several insects, and adorned with colours which no art can express, called forth all that admiration which philosophic inquirers must ever feel at new and curious discoveries in the history of Nature.

Amongst birds possessed of musical powers, a species of thrush was found to exist, to whose voice even the warblings of the nightingale were judged inferior. It is remarkable that many of the highly gay and brilliant birds of America, are destitute of that pleasing power of song which gives so peculiar a charm to the groves and fields of Europe; and an elegant poet has beautifully expressed the supposed superiority of our own island in this respect.

The music however of the nightingale has always been considered as plaintive or melancholy, and such as conveys ideas of distress.

But the notes of the bird now to be described are of a livelier nature, a bolder strain, and of a more varied richness and force of tone. It sings both 118 by day and night, and generally seats itself on the top of some small tree, where it exerts a voice so powerfully strong, and so sweetly melodious as to charm even to rapture those who listen to its lays. If we may rely on the attestations of those who have resided on the Western Continent, all the thrilling sweetness and varied modulations of the nightingale, must yield to the transcendent music of the songster of America.

Exclusive of its own enchanting note, it possesses the power of imitating those of most other birds; nay it even carries this propensity so far as to imitate the voices of various other animals, as well as different kinds of domestic sounds.

This wonderful bird is as undistinguished by any peculiar gaiety of appearance as the European nightingale. Its general colour is a pale cinereous brown; the wings and tail deeper, or more inclined to blackish: the under part of the body is nearly white, and the two exterior feathers of the tail are of the same colour, with dark margins: the bill and legs are black. The covert feathers of the wings are slightly tipped with white, and some of the shorter or secondary wing-feathers are white also, forming a mark of that colour on the wing.

It is nearly of the size of the common or song-thrush, but of a more delicate shape. Of this bird there is a smaller variety, which has a white line over each eye: this by some authors (and amongst others by Linnæus,) is made a distinct species; Mr. Pennant however has regarded it merely in the light of a variety. It has also been seen with a spotted breast, which probably is the state in which it appears before it has attained its full plumage.

This bird is an inhabitant of all the warmer parts of America, and is found as far north as the united British States. It chiefly frequents moist woods, and feeds principally on the different kinds of berries.

AVEM ostendit tabula quæ a specimine pulcherrimo simul et integerrimo delineata est. Tantum est affinitatis inter hoc genus et genus Falco, ut striges quasi nocturni quidam falcones non male habeantur, et apte satis observavit Linnæus eandem esse inter has et illos differentiam, quæ est inter phalænas et papiliones. Dividitur genus in species cornutas et cornubus carentes; illas scilicet quibus capiti utrinque assurgunt plumæ cornuum more, easque quibus caput omnino læve.

In editione licet duodecima Systematis Naturæ Linnæi species memorentur tantum duodecim, progressu tamen temporis id accessit incrementi, ut jam cognitæ 120 numerentur tantum non quinquaginta. Vix ulla major quam quæ in tabula depingitur, cujus moles paululum aquilæ cedit.

Color generalis e rufo ferrugineus, maculis majoribus minoribusque fuscis, nigris, cinereisque variatus, nec non punctulis innumeris concoloribus distinctus. Color præterea vel pallidior vel saturatior pro diversa ætate et valetudine. Irides croceo-rubræ. Rostrum nigrum. Ungues nigri, unci, validissimi. Crura ad ipsos ungues plumata.

In Anglia rarissime conspicitur hæc species; interdum tamen in locis sylvosis et saxosis invenitur. In Gallia, Germania, et reliquis Europæ partibus minime rara. Cuniculos, aves, aliaque animalia prædatur.

Supervacaneum forsan sit notare genus male ominatum et luctus præsagum ab omnibus fere populi semper habitum fuisse: quæ superstitio etiam in America dominatur, quaque ex antiquis immunes fuisse soli videntur Athenienses, qui bubonem utpote avem Minervæ dilectam, magno favore tutati sunt; illam ipsam præcipue speciem de qua jam agitur, cujus non dubito quin tunc temporis maxima ibi esset copia, cum hodie nulla sit penuria.

Notandum est striges aliquot, duas nempe vel tres, mole et partium proproportione huic simillimas, coloribus tamen longe diversas, a nonnullis varietates potius quam species vere distinctas haberi; strigem scilicet Scandiacam Linnæi, in Suecia Septentrionali natam, quæ penitus albet; strigemque Virginianam ejusdem auctoris, Americæ Australis incolam, quæ a nostra ave in eo tantum differt, quod pectus et abdomen alba sint, striis innumeris transversis fusco-nigricantibus fasciata.

THE species of Owl here represented, is taken from a specimen of uncommon beauty and perfection. The alliance between this genus and that of Falco, is extremely strong; and indeed owls may be considered as a kind of nocturnal Hawks, differing, as Linnæus most happily observes, from those birds in the same manner as moths differ from butterflies; the one being chiefly nocturnal, the other diurnal. They are divided into the horned and hornless, or those which have elongated plumes standing up on each 122 side the head in the manner of horns, and those which have the head perfectly smooth.

In the twelfth edition of the Systema Naturæ of Linnæus, the species of owls amount to no more than twelve. Such however have been the rapid advances of ornithology since that period, that the number of species at present known is not far short of fifty.

Of all the species the present is perhaps the largest; being not far inferior to an eagle. Its general colour is rufous or ferruginous, beautifully varied with larger and smaller spots and markings of brown, black, and cinereous; together with innumerable freckles or minute specklings of the same colours. It is also found of a deeper or lighter hue, according to various circumstances of age and health. The irides are of a bright reddish-orange: the beak black: the claws are also black, and extremely large, strong, and crooked: the legs are feathered to the claws themselves.

In England this species is but rarely seen: it is however sometimes found, and frequents woody and rocky places. In France, Germany, and many other parts of Europe it is not uncommon. It preys on rabbits, birds, and various animals.

It is needless to observe that owls in general are regarded in most countries as birds of ill omen, and superstitiously considered as messengers of woe. This appears to be the case in the new world as well as the old, since the Americans hold the same opinion. The Athenians alone amongst the ancients, seem to have been free from this popular prejudice, and to have regarded the owl with veneration rather than abhorrence; considering it as the favorite bird of Minerva. The species thus venerated, was the same which we have just described: it was probably extremely common in the adjacent regions, as it also is at this day.

It may not be improper to observe, that two or three of the very large horned owls which nearly resemble this species in size and general proportion, have been considered by some authors rather as varieties than as really distinct, though differing widely in colour; for instance the Strix Scandiaca of Linnæus, which is found in the northern parts of Sweden, and which is totally white; and the Strix Virginiana of Linnæus, found in North America, which differs in having the breast and belly white, with innumerable transverse bars of brown or blackish.

EGregie distinguit hanc aviculam color splendidus et varius. Collum posticum cum laterum parte superiore, abdominis inferiore, aterrimum est et quasi holosericum. Alæ caudaque fusca tinguntur leviter sub-ferrugineo. Vertex capitis aureo-viridis, quo nihil concipi possit fulgentius. Guttur concolor infra mandibulam inferiorem lucet colore minus saturo. Uterque rostri S 125 angulus maculam habet oblongam nigram. Pectus et abdominis pars superior coloris sunt splendidissime phœnicei, striis numerosis transversis cæruleo-viridibus undulati; quod oritur a coloribus mixtis pennarum, quæ basi nigricant, medio aureo-virides, apicibus phœniceis. Rostrum modice curvatum, acutum, nigrum. Pedes quoque nigri. Senegalam incolit hæc avicula, monstratque eam figura magnitudine naturali.

THIS bird is highly distinguished by the variety and splendor of its colours. The back of the neck, the upper part of the sides, and the lower part of the abdomen are of a deep velvet-black: the wings and tail brown, with a slight cast of ferruginous: the upper part of the head of the most splendid golden-green that can be conceived: the throat the same, but on the part immediately beneath the lower mandible somewhat more obscure than on the S2 127 sides. At each corner of the beak is an oblong patch of black. The breast and upper part of the belly are of the most vivid crimson, undulated transversely with numerous blueish-green streaks: this undulated appearance on the breast is owing to the feathers being tipped with crimson, while the middle is green-gold, and the base nearly black. The beak is moderately curved, sharp and black: the legs are also black. It is a native of Senegal. The figure represents it of its natural size.

TRochilorum genus, minutissimum, pulcherrimum, nitidissimum, in America solummodo nascitur; calidiori præcipue, perpauca enim sunt in contrarium exempla. Vividum illis est ingenium, miraque alarum pernicitas; tanta præterea colorum fulgentissimorum coruscatio, ut dignior sit quæ cum metallorum politissimorum, gemmarumque pretiosissimarum nitore, potius quam cum aliarum avium splendid­issimo vestitu possit comparari: nec enim sapphirinæ cedit aut smaragdinæ luci, aut aureo chrysolithi splendori.

Cavendum tamen est putemus lautum hunc ornatum universo generi communem: sunt enim nonnullæ species tantum non obscuræ, virore quodam subaureo fusco-purpureas alas dorsumque leviter perfusæ. Cum numerosissimum sit genus, quo facilius distinguantur species, visum est illud in duas divisiones disponere, quas scilicet vocarunt physici curvirostres et rectirostres. In posteriore militat species quam jam descripsimus. Rarissima est, Cayenamque inhabitat.

Magnitudine trochilum qui colubris dicitur fere æquat, provinciis nuperrime fœderatis notissimum; coloribus autem longe differt. Corporis enim superiora aureo-viridia, inferiora, excepta gula, subfusca. Abdominis ima parte gradatim albicante. Erigitur crista magna, paululum compressa, læte ferrugineo-rubra, quasi e serico mollissimo confecta. Alarum remiges caudaque cupreo-fusca. Uropygium albet. Utrinque a collo extant torquis more pennæ plures longæ rubro-ferrugineæ, singulæ apice expanso terminatæ aureo-viridi, quas dicitur avis vel erigere vel deprimere posse ad libitum. Gula aureo-viret, interdum tamen in fuscum versicolor. Rostrum pedesque nigricant.

THE brilliant and lively race of Humming-Birds, so remarkable at once for their beautiful colours and diminutive size, are the peculiar natives of the American continent, and, with very few exceptions, are principally found in the hottest parts of America. Their vivacity, swiftness, and singular appearance unite in rendering them the admiration of mankind; while their colours are so radiant, that it is not by comparing them with the analogous hues of other birds that we are enabled to explain with propriety their peculiar appearance, but by the more exalted brilliancy of polished metals and precious 131 stones: the ruby, the garnet, the sapphire, the emerald, the topaz, and polished gold being considered as the most proper objects of elucidation.

It is not however to be imagined that all the species of humming-birds are thus decorated: some are even obscure in their colours, and instead of the prevailing splendor of the major part of the genus, exhibit only a faint appearance of a golden-green tinge, slightly diffused over the brown or purplish colour of the back and wings. The genus is of a very great extent, and in order that the species may with greater readiness be distinguished, it has been found necessary to divide them into two sections, viz. the curve-billed and the strait-billed. It is under the latter of these divisions that we must rank the species here repre­sented, which is one of the rarest of the whole tribe, and is a native of Cayenne.

In size it is nearly equal to the Trochilus Colubris, or common red-throated humming-bird, so often seen in the united British states, but its colours are far different. The upper parts of the body are green-gold: the under parts, except the throat, are brownish, gradually becoming white on the lower part of the abdomen: the head is ornamented with a large upright, and somewhat compressed crest, of a delicate silky appearance, and of the richest ferruginous or reddish colour. The long wing-feathers and tail are of a coppery brown: the rump white. On each side the neck are situated several long feathers standing out in the manner of a ruff, which give a most singularly beautiful aspect to this species: these feathers are of a reddish brown, each terminated by a golden-green expanded tip, and the bird is said to have the power of raising or depressing them at pleasure. The throat is golden-green, which, in particular lights, changes into brown: the bill and legs are blackish.

SI fas sit putemus Naturam decorum illum partium consensum congruentiamque, quibus pleraque gaudent animalia, consulto præterire, hoc certe Phœnicoptero accidit, cujus collum et crura enormi adeo et monstrosa sunt longitudine ut promptum habilemque avis gestum et incessum aliquatenus impedire videantur. Quo magis hæc incommoda augeantur, rostrum ipsum quasi vi aliqua curvatum et diffractum videtur, mandibulis a medio subito descendentibus; unde fit ut caput fere retro ad terram inter pascendum convertere, et velut a latere cibum capere cogatur.

Coloris autem eximia elegantia avi plenæ et adultæ formæ inconcinnitatem compensat. Color generalis est roseo-coccineus, in aliquibus corporis partibus fere in albedinem transiens: est etiam ubi ob ætatem, seu alias quascunque causas, nonnullis in locis albedo fere dominatur. Remiges, seu pennæ alarum longiores, sunt semper aterrimæ, et ob insignem a cæteris coloribus discrepantiam, mirum afferunt huic avi ornamentum. Rostrum rubro-fuscescens, apice nigro. Crura pedesque sanguinei.

Phœnicopterus ansere non multo minor est. Nidum dicitur ex luto effingere in formam coni, seu colliculi, adeo levati, ut cruribus utrinque dependentibus et extensis illi insideat.

Africæ est indigena, sed et in Europæ regionibus calidioribus advena infrequens conspicitur. Varias etiam Americæ partes inhabitat Phœnicopterus.

IF ever Nature may be said to have violated the general rules of proportion by which most animals are so gracefully distinguished, it must be in the Flamingo; the neck and legs of which are so enormously and even awkwardly long, that they seem to subject the bird to some inconvenience and constraint in its manner of walking and sitting. To add to these apparent disadvantages the beak is so constructed as to appear as if bent or broken by some accidental violence; the mandibles curving suddenly downwards from the middle. From this circumstance, the bird when feeding, is obliged T2 135 to turn its head almost with the back towards the ground, and to take its food in a lateral direction.

But the superior elegance of its plumage, when in a state of perfection, makes ample amends for the extravagance of its shape. The general colour of the bird is roseate crimson, or rather scarlet, which softens in some parts almost into white; and indeed the bird is so much subject to vary from age and other circumstances, that it is frequently seen with the white almost the predominating colour in some parts of the body. The long feathers of the wings are always of a deep black, which adds greatly to the beauty of the bird, by the contrast it forms to the rest of the plumage. The beak is reddish-brown, with a black tip: the legs and feet red.

The Flamingo is not much inferior in size to a goose. It is said to build its nest of mud, in the form of a hillock, and of such a height as to admit of its sitting upon it with its legs hanging down on each side at full length.

It is a native of Africa, but is not unfrequently seen as an occasional visitant in many of the warmer parts of Europe. It is also a native of the West Indies.

HUIC generi peculiare est rostrum minimum, rictu oris amplissimo, retroque longe ultra ipsas mandibulas protenso; unde fit ut os latissime apertum, deforme omnino, et monstrosum videatur. Hanc ipsam tamen conformationem hujusmodi avibus, noctu tantum evolantibus, ad cibum commodius arripiendum benevole dedit natura: majora enim insecta, phalænas nempe et scarabæos prædantur, queis facilius captandis inservit oris amplitudo.

Characteribus plerisque externis Caprimulgus Hirundini est simillimus; ideoque a quibusdam physicis in isto genere disponitur: nec sane quid vetat quin inter hirundines apte satis possit numerari: immo Linnæus ipse observat genus Caprimulgi ab Hirundine differre uti phalæna a papilione, aut strix a falcone.

Inter omnes hujus generis aves species jam depicta est longe maxima. Cayanam in America Australi incolit, et magnitudine cedit paulum Falconi Buteoni. Color ejus est pallide ochraceus, seu pallide gilvus, punctis maculisque innumeris fuscis variatus. Remiges seu pennæ alarum longiores, cum cauda, fasciis transversis albidis fuscisque notantur. Crura sunt brevia, et ad ipsos fere pedes plumulis vestita.

Caprimulgi, ut plurimum, sunt aves solitariæ. Nomen Caprimulgus huic generi datum est, quoniam speciem communem Europæam caprarum et ovium mammas noctu exsugere vulgo olim crederetur.

THE birds of this genus are distinguished by having the beak very small, while the rictus or opening of the mouth runs extremely backwards on each side, so as to pass far beyond the mandibles themselves. In consequence of this formation the mouth appears of so immoderate a size, as to be almost viewed in the light of a deformity. This very circumstance however is the kind provision of nature for enabling the birds of this genus to support their existence. They fly only by night, and feed on the larger insects, as beetles, moths, &c. which this large extent of mouth enables them the more easily to obtain.

In most of their external characters these birds are very nearly allied to the swallow-tribe, and have even been ranked by some naturalists in that genus. In fact there is no impropriety in regarding them as a kind of nocturnal swallows; and Linnæus, in the Systema Naturæ, very properly observes that they are as nearly allied to swallows as moths are to butterflies, or as owls to hawks.

Of all the birds of the genus Caprimulgus, the species here represented is by far the largest. It is a native of Cayenne in South America. It is in size not far short of a buzzard. The colour is a dull pale ochre, or cream-colour, speckled and varied with innumerable spots and marks of brown. The long-feathers of the wings and tail are barred with brown and whitish: the legs are short, and coated almost to the toes with small feathers.

The goatsuckers in general are solitary birds. The name Caprimulgus or Goatsucker was given to this genus from the popular superstition of the common European species being supposed to suck the teats of sheep and goats.

INTER elegantiores jure possit hic numerari quodquot in uberrima illa psittacorum nutrice, Nova Hollandia generantur. Rostrum pedesque nigricant. Caput, collum, et abdomen magnifice atro-purpurea. Dorsum, humeri, alæ caudaque coloris graminei saturatioris, superficie quasi holoserica. Rectrices duæ intermediæ cæruleo versicolori leviter tinguntur.

Æquat magnitudine hæc avis psittacum splendidum prius in hoc opere descriptum. Cauda longa et cuneata, rectricibus inequaliter ad latera decrescentibus. U 141 Remiges primores rectricesque duæ vel tres exteriores coloris sunt cyanei.

Alia extat psittaci species? huic nostræ valde affinis, quamque Lathamius in Synopsi Avium pro varietate tantum proponit; coloribus quamvis differat; quæ enim huic partes atropurpureæ sunt, in illa splendidissime coccineæ: color præterea viridis longe quam huic lucidior: an tamen vere sit distincta avis, seu varietas tantum, ut verum fatear, vix ausim pro certo affirmare.

AMONGST the beautiful species of Parrots so plentifully dispersed over the island of new Holland, the present may be considered as one of the most elegant. The beak and legs are blackish; the head, neck, breast and belly of the richest and deepest atropurpurean, or dark crimson: the back, shoulders, and tail, deep grass-green, with a rich silky or velvet-like surface: the two middle feathers of the tail are slightly clouded with a varying cast of blue, and the two or three exterior ones incline strongly to this colour. The long feathers of the wings are also blue. The tail is of U2 143 great length, and cuneiform, or with the feathers unequally shortening at the sides.

There is a species of parrot extremely nearly allied to this, tho’ differing considerably in colour, being of the brightest and most vivid scarlet in all those parts which in the present bird are purple. The green also is of a very different appearance, and of a much brighter cast.

Mr. Latham describes it as a mere variety of the present species: indeed it is not easy to determine with absolute certainty whether it be really distinct or a variety only.

QUadrupedum nonnullæ sunt species ita formatæ, ut animalibus diversi penitus generis simillimæ videantur. Istiusmodi est Manis, quam, si quis exteram tantum figuram inspiciat, inter lacertas numerandam esse putaret, vel saltem inter quadrupedes mammatos, ut dicuntur, et lacertas vinculum esse.

Animal Jerboa dictum gestus motusque habet avi similes; communiter enim, more avis, pedibus tantum posterioribus quiescit, cum pedes antici adeo breves sint, ut iis solummodo ad arripiendum cibum utatur. Eodem fere modo in Kanguroo se res habet, nec non in duobus vel tribus aliis ejusdem generis animalibus.

Vespertilio quoque alterum et mirum est exemplum quadrupedis anomali, et avis more volantis. In classe cetaria sensim quasi decrescit figura generalis quadrupedis in exteram formam piscis; in specie præcipue Trochechi Manatus nominata.

Inter ipsas denique aves non desunt exempla aliqua formæ primo intuitu dubiæ et incertæ, animalibusque diversæ omnino indolis et naturæ obscuræ cujusdam et indistinctæ similitudinis. Hujusmodi sunt Pinguinariæ, queis alæ adeo sunt breves, ad volandum prorsus inutiles, pennis præterea parvulis et ambiguis obsitæ, (sintne enim squamæ an pennæ primo pene dubitum est,) ut ad ipsorum piscium similitudinem videantur quodammodo accedere: nullo enim alio gestu libere et commode uti possunt nisi natandi et submergendi; cum vero in sicco progredi tentant, vacillante valde et incerto motu feruntur, et turbatæ, statim titubantes decidunt.

Omnium hujus generis avium species in tabula longe est maxima, coloresque habet præ ceteris nitidos et elegantes. Rostrum illi nigrum est, apice flavescente, basique maxillæ inferioris crocea. Caput, cum gula, collique parte postica, est atro-fuscum. In collo utrinque fascia longitudinalis flavissima conspicitur. Cætera avis a parte superiore est cinerea, singulis pennis apice cærulescente terminatis, ita ut primo intuitu velut maculata appareat. Tota pars corporis inferior alba est: crura pedesque nigra. Eximia haæc species mundi Antarctici est incola, et præcipue prope Terram del Fuego conspicitur. In Linnæi systemate frustra quæritur.

Notandum est, species duas hujus generis, quas solas descripsit Linnæus, quamvis ad rigidam sui systematis normam, (quantum attinet nempe ad pedes et rostra) recte disponantur; in ceteris tamen ita dissimiles esse congeneribus, ut vix possint cum iis apte sociari; cumque in systemate Linnæano nullum his avibus genus peculiare tributum sit, me nomine generico (Pinguinaria scilicet) illas non dubitasse distinguere.

AMONGST quadrupeds there are some particular species which in point of external appearance, seem to make an approach to creatures of a very different nature: thus the Manis has so much the appearance and make of a lizard, that if outward form alone was considered, it might be looked upon as constituting the connecting link between the proper or viviparous quadrupeds and lizards.

The Jerboa has the usual actions and attitudes of a bird; standing generally on its hind legs, and only making use of the fore-feet occasionally to hold its food. The same is the case with the Kanguroo, and with two or three other species of the same genus. The Bat may also be adduced as an example of a quadruped of an anomalous nature, and possessed of the power 148 of flight. The whole Cetaceous tribe affords a striking instance of the gradual declension of the quadruped form, till in the Manati it very nearly approaches to that of a very different class of beings.

Even amongst birds there are not wanting instances of the same sort of indistinct alliance to animals of an entirely opposite cast; the penguins, as they are called, being furnished with wings so very short, covered with small feathers so much resembling scales, and so perfectly useless for flight, that they seem approximated in some degree to fish: and are capable of exercising with ease and expedition no other actions but those of swimming and diving: since when they attempt to walk, they can merely stagger along in an awkward and unsteady manner, and if disturbed, are liable to stumble and fall.

Of all the species of this curious assortment of birds, that which is here figured is the largest; it is also the most elegant in its colours. The bill is black, with a yellowish tip; but the base of the lower mandible is orange-colour. The head, throat, and hind part of the neck are blackish-brown: on each side the neck is a longitudinal stripe of bright yellow: the remainder of the bird, on the upper part, is of a deep ash-colour, most of the feathers being tipped with blueish, so as to give the bird a speckled appearance. The whole under part is white: the legs black. This curious species is a native of the southern hemisphere, and is principally found about Falkland Islands. It is a species which does not occur in the works of Linnæus.

It may not be improper to observe, that the only two species of Penguin mentioned by Linnæus, tho’ placed in genera to which they may be allowed to belong, according to the strict principles of his mode of arrangement from the structure of the bills and feet, are yet so unfortunately stationed as to be totally disassociated by almost every other character, from the birds with which he has conjoined them. As there exists in the Linnæan System no name for this set of birds, considered as a separate genus, I have presumed to give the generic title of Pinguinaria.

MOSCHO Brasiliensi, quem descripsit celeberrimus Pennantus, tanta esse videtur cum hoc nostro similitudo et affinitas, ut non omnino pro certo ausim affirmare an species sit hæc revera distincta, an illius junior et parvula varietas. Pennanti Brasiliensis æqualis est magnitudine Cervo Capreolo, cum specimen ipsissimum quod depinximus vix Moscho Pygmæo majus sit; cum quo etiam congruit forma dentium; habens nempe incisores duos medios in maxilla inferiore latissimos et maximos, quibus utrinque adjacent dentes tres parvi et angusti. Caret etiam, ut et Moschus pygmæus, dentibus laniariis exsertis, qui in eo qui communis seu Moschiferus dicitur, insignes sunt ad notam, discriminis.

Color est ferrugineo-fuscus saturatior, maculis ovatis albis pulchre denseque distinctus. Corporis inferiora pallidiora; caput parvum; cauda modica; crura gracilia, jactatque totum animal peculiarem quandam elegantiam et concinnitatem. Non modo magnitudine et coloribus, sed forma et facie convenit huic cum animali a Seba depicto, nomine Cervuli Surinamensis subrubri, albis maculis notati.

Americæ Australis partes calidiores incolere creditur, præ cæteris Brasiliam. Præstat celeritate, locaque montosa et saxosa præcipue amat.

THE animal with which this species seems to have the greatest affinity is the Brasilian Musk of Mr. Pennant, and it is not impossible that it may be a variety of the same species in a much younger state. The Brasilian Musk being described by Mr. Pennant as of the size of a roe-buck, whereas the individual specimen here represented is scarce larger than the Moschus pygmæus, or Guinea Musk. It also exactly resembles that species in the form and disposition of the teeth, the two middle incisores in the lower jaw being extremely broad and large, and on each side of these are situated three small and slender teeth. Like the Moschus pygmæus it is also destitute of tusks, or exserted dentes laniarii, which form so conspicuous a feature in the large or common Musk.

The colour of this little animal is a very fine deep ferruginous brown, thickly and beautifully marked and spotted with somewhat oval patches of 152 white. The under part of the body is somewhat paler than the upper: the head is rather small; the tail of moderate length; the legs slender, and the appearance of the whole animal peculiarly elegant and delicate.

It seems to agree in size as well as in colour and general appearance, with the species represented by Seba, under the title of Cervula Surinamensis subrubra, albis maculis notata. It is believed to be a native of South America, and of Brazil in particular.

It is said to be an animal of extreme agility and swiftness; and to be found chiefly in rocky and mountainous situations.