Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/314

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that as quails eat hellebore, and ftarlings hemlock, without any harm to themfelves ; fo parrots not only eat innoxioufly the feed of carthamus, or baftard-fafTron, but alfo grow fat thereby, which yet is a purgative to man. Phil. Tranf. ibid. The ftructure and ceconomy of birds are, in many reflects, different from thofe of their fellow-biped man, and of their fel- low-brutes the quadrupeds, having fome parts which thofe want, and being without others which they have, befides great varia- tions in the contrivance of parts which are common to both ; all wifely adapted tc their different conditions and manners of life.

Among the parts peculiar to birds, are, firft, the bill, which ferves them both in lieu of lips and teeth; wherewith the ra- pacious tear their meat, the granivorous crack their feeds, and feparating the pulp with the tongue, throw out the husk. Drake, Anthrop. 1. i. c. 13. p. 60.

Secondly, a horny membrane, to draw over and cover their eyes, and fave them from the annoyance of thorns and buftics, much like that which frogs are fumifhed with, to fecure their eyes from mud and dirt. Boyle, Phil. Work, abridg. T. 2. p. 163. Niezuent. Relig. Philof. cont. 22. §. 18. p. 340. To which may, thirdly, be added, feathers and wings for cloathing and flight.

The parts not to be found in birds are, 1. Teeth and lips, as already mentioned. ?. Lacteal vefiels. 3. Kidneys, and a bladder of urine, which they can be without, as they have but little moifture in their bodies, do but rarely drink, and this only to moiften their food 4. Afeptuv. tranjverfum, the want of which is fupplied by a peculiar difpofition of the lungs. Voter. Phyf. p. 806—810.

Laftly, Pliny fays they alfo want an epiploon; but in two eagles, and other birds diffected by the royal academifts at Paris, there were membranes like epiploons found. Pitfield, Nat. Hift. Anim. p. 185.

Some authors alfo fpeak of duels which pafs immediately from a fort of kidneys to the extremity of the rectum of birds, whereby a white, liquid kind of excrement is difcharged, being firft mixed with the groflcr faeces. Gentzken, Phyf. Hypoth. P. 2. c. 5. §. 4- p-94-

Variations in the parts of birds from thofe of men and quadru- peds, are, r. In the ear, where the cavities and the drum are of a peculiar make. Vid. Philof. Tranf. N° 199. p.711.

2. In the divifion of the aorta. Vid. Pitfield, Nat. Hift. Anim.

P- 2 3 6 -

3. In the fpinal marrow, which is divided into two in the middle of the hack, with a ventricle between the two. Phil. Tranf. N° 189. p. 374.

4. In the bones, which are all hollow and fiftuJar, to make the body lighter and more buoyant. Niewent. Relig. Philof. cont. 23. §. 12. p. 335, feq.

5. In the heart, which has a flefhy valve at the mouth of the vena cava. Pitfield, lib. cit. p. 210.

6. In the lungs, which are ftrongly conjoined to the back, for greater convenience of flight. Voter. Hb. cit. p. 808.

7. In the ftomach, of which birds have two or three, to fupply the want of maftication. Grew, Comp. Anat. of Stom. c.

8. p. 31, feq. Voter, ubi fup. p. 710 & 810. Gentzken, Phyf. P. 2. c. 5. §. 2. p. 93.

8. In the legs and feet, which, in fome fpecies of birds, are made to hold or cling faft by; in others to wade in the mud without finking. Niewent. Relig. Philof. cont. 22. §. jg. p.

34i.

9. In their tails, which are made to poife their bodies in flight. Id. ibid. §. 20. p. 342.

10. In the pectoral mufcles, which, in birds, are the ftrongeft of all, as ferving for the motion of the wings, which, in long or fwift flights, requires great ftrength j whereas in man, the crural mufcles are ftrongeft; fo that, if he would fly, it muft rather be by the action of his legs than his arms. Willugbby, in Phil. Tranf. N d 120. p. 482.

i i. In the brain, which is different from that both of man and quadrupeds, being adapted rather to the exercife of the locomotive faculty, than for imagination and memory. Id. ibid.

12. In the bronchial ducts, which are extended to the very bottom of the cavity of the abdomen, that the air received into them, may the better fill and inlarge the thorax, whereby they are rendered much lighter, than if their bodies were fo- lid, like other animals. Gentzken, Phyf. Hypoth. p. 93. Hift. Acad. Scienc. ann. 1693. p. 259, feq.

13. In the ovaries, which, in birds, are fingle, and only fur- niihed with fingle tubes, whereby to convey the eggs to the uterus ; the whole faftened to their back. Jauvry, in Hift. Acad. Scienc. ann. 1699. p, 36.

The ears of birds differ much from thofe of men or beafts : there is almoft a direct paflage from one ear to the other of birds ; fo that prick but the fmall membrane called the drum in either ear, and water poured in at the one ear will run out at the other. But this is not all ; what is much more remarkable, they have no cochlea; but, inftead thereof, there is a fmall twifting paffage that opens into a large cavity running betwixt two fculls, and paries all round the head ; the upper fcull is jfupported by many hundreds of fmall thread-like pillars or fibres, which, as is fuppofed, have another ufe alfo 3 to break

tli^ fourn\ from making any confufed cchc, and to make it one and diftinct.

This pafiage, obferved betwixt the two fculls, is much larger in finging birds than in others that do not fing ; fo very remark- able, that anv perfon thdt has been but (hewn this, may eafilv judge by the head what bird is a finging bird, or has aptitude thereto, though lie never faw the bird before, nor knew what bird it were. Phil. Tranf. N° 206. p. 993. The pofture and action of birds in ftanding and walking, are fhewn by Borelli to be very different from thofe of man, tho* both be bipeds ; particularly as to contrivance, whereby birds are enabled to ftand better on one foot. Bar ell de Motu Ani- mal. 1. r. prop. 144. Phil. Tranf. N" 144. p. 63. Sturm. Math. Juven. T. 2. p. 177. Redi, in Phil. Tranf.'N* 92. p. 6004. Ray, Wifd. of God, P. r. p. 28. The digeftion of birds is very flrong, efpecially In hens, ducks, and pigeons, whofe ftomachs have been found to act even on glafs bullets. Bo\le, Phil. Work, abridg, T. 2. p. 183. The fagacity of birds in building and placing their nefts out of the reach of enemies, and in avoiding noxious plants, is pro- digious. It is faid they will not fo much as touch or perch on fuch plants, being warned of the danger by the fmell or efflu- via of the plant. Id. ibid. T. 1. p. 437. Their whole ftructure is admirably accommodated to flight, efpecially that of the pelican, which, befide all other appara- tus for this purpofc, has a quantity of air lodged in the vefi- culae of the skin, which it takes in at every infpiration, and expels again at expiration, whereby its bulk is conffderably inlargcd, without any fenfible increafe of weight. Hift. Acad. Scienc. ann. 1693. P- 2 59> ^" ec l-

Cocks and hens in Virginia have no rumps ; and what is more, in thofe that are tranfported thither from England, the rumps in time rot off 7. Phil. Tranf. N° 206. p. 9^2, feq. Some have talked of the fpeech or language of birds, with which Apollonius pretended to have been acquainted, and to have received divers intelligences by means thereof; particu- larly of an afs fallen down loaded with corn, from the relation of a fparrow. The augurs were fuppofed to be particularly knowing in this language ; on which a great part of their fci- ence depended. Plin. Nat. Hift. 1. 10. c. 49. Salmutb. ad Pancirol. P. 2. tit. 10. p. 201. Philojlr. 1. 1. c. 14. Pitifc. Lex. Antiq. T. 1. p. 217. voc. avis. Feetkfs Birds, «tog^, a fictitious denomination given by fome of the antients to the birds of paradife, from a miftaken notion that they had no feet, and could not walk, but only fly. Voter. Phyf Exper. p. 8 r (. Salmutb. ad Pancirol. P. 2. tit. 1. p. 29. Thefe were placed in contradiftindtion to the oftriches, which could only walk, not fly. Pitficld, Nat. Hift. Anim. p. 221. Subterranean Birds, thofe which refide in caves and holes under ground ; as fome fpecies of owls, batts, CSV, Kirch. Mund bubter. 1. 8. §. 4. T. 2. p. 88.

To this clafs mzf alfo be referred thofe vaft quantities of ducks, which break out of the caves adjoining to the Zirchnitzer fca in time of thunder, in fuch numbers as to cover the lake. Phil. Tranf, N° jgi. p. 420. Singing Birds are the nightingale, blackbird, ftarling, thrufh,

linnet, lark, throftle, Canary-bird, bullfinch, goldfinch, &c. Migratory Birds, the fame with birds of paflage. See Pas- sage birds. Decoy Birds, thofe trained up to call and allure others into the fowler's nets, fnares, lime-twigs, or the like. Salmutb. ad Pancirol. P. 1. tit. 23. p. 303. Mejfage Birds, aves internunc'nc, thofe employed to convey let- ters, or other difpatches, either for the fake of expedition or fafety. Salmutb. ad Pancirol. P. 2. tit. 1 . p. 31. See Car- rier pidgeon. Mocking Bird, in Virginia, a bird which imitates the voices of men, and the notes of all other birds, by way of difguife, and thus eludes and efcapes the fowler. Phil. Tranf. No. 206. p, 993. Trev. Diet. Univ. T. 4. p. 264. See MocK-bird. Humming Bird, the American tomineius, denominated from the noife it makes in flight. It is faid to be the fmalleft of the whole fpecies of birds. Phil. Tranf. N D 200. p. 760. See Guainumbi. Anomalous Birds. It is difputed whether the bat belong to the bird or quadruped kind. Later natural ifts incline to the Tat- ter, and, notwithftanding its wings, condemn it to be a moufe. Voter. Phyf. Exper. P. 2. §. 8. c. 3. p. 811. See Bat. The like difficulty has been raifed with refpect to the barnacle, folan-goofe, or macreufe. Some, notwithftanding its feathers, maintain it to be a fifh. What {hall we then fay of thep/fl- guin, or penguin, an eaftern bird, denominated from the ifland of that name, which walks erect like a man, has no feathers, nor flies, nor affbeiates with other birds; and which fome will have to participate both of the human, the volatile, and the fiftiy kingdom a. In reality, it is animal bipes and implume, and confequcntly a man, on the terms of Plato's definition. Kircher fpeaks of a bird called hoang-cio-yu in China, which even changes its nature and kind twice every year, being a bird all the ftimmer, and a fifh all the winter b .— [ a Trev. Diet. T. 4. p. 658. voc. pinguin. b Id. T. 4. p. 264. voc.

oifieau.J

Macer, among the antients * ; and Willughby b and Ray c ,

among the moderns, have written exprefsly on birds. This

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