[Illustration: DIPPERS OR WATER WRENS.]
The Dippers or Water Wrens have straight and slender bills; large and
stout toes, furnished with strong hooked claws, and short wings and
tails. The decidedly aquatic habits of these Birds form a curious
exception to the rest of the Sparrow family. They live constantly on the
edge of the water, or in the water itself, hunting for the Insects which
constitute their food.
Although their toes are not webbed, they may often be noticed diving and
moving about under water, by extending their wings and using them as
fins. They are frequently seen flying along streams, and catching the
winged Insects skimming over the surface of the water. They build their
nests along the banks of mountain streams, and thrive in great numbers
in such rocky countries as the Alps, Pyrenees, and other mountain chains
in the south, west and north of Europe.
Fishes.
[Illustration: FLYING-FISH.]
THE numerous Fishes that inhabit the waters all over the globe are
divided into two great groups—the Cartilaginous Fishes, with their
framework made up of bones in the form of cartilage or gristle, and the
Osseous, or bony Fishes. These large groups are sub-divided in a most
puzzling manner by many Naturalists. The long Latin and Greek names used
to classify these groups and smaller families are so much more difficult
to remember than are the divisions of the great group of Mammals, that
we will entirely discard all these derivations and explanations, using
only the common English names for grouping them according to their
peculiarities of form, the arrangement of the gills, the number and form
of their fins, etc., etc.
The first great group of Cartilaginous Fishes is divided into three
sections, which make in reality four families, as the second section
comprises two. In the first of these we find the queer family of
Lampreys, in which the mouth forms a sucker. In the second, are the
family of Raias, and the Shark family, characterized by their mouth
being furnished with jaws. The third includes the Sturgeons, which are
distinguished by having the gills free.
The Bony Fishes are divided into four great sections. The first is
represented by the family of Globe Fish and Coffers, which have the jaw
attached to the cranium. The second includes the queer family of
Pipe-fish and Sea-horses, which have the gills divided into round tufts
arranged in pairs. The third division includes the family of soft-finned
Fishes, in which the rays of the fins are soft. In the fourth section
are the various families of spiny-finned Fishes. And in some one of
these groups with their distinct characteristics, may be classified all
the numerous Fishes that are known to modern Naturalists.