_A ~Survey~ of BIRDS._
Having briefly, as well as I could, dispatch’d the Tribe of _Quadrupeds_,
I shall next take as brief and transient a View of the _feather’d Tribe_.
And here we have another large Province to expatiate in, if we should
descend to every Thing wherein the Workmanship of the Almighty appears.
But I must contract my Survey as much as may be; and shall therefore give
only such Hints and Touches upon this curious Family of Animals, as may
serve for Samples of the rest of what might be observ’d.
[Illustration]
CHAP. I.
_Of the MOTION of Birds, and the PARTS ministring thereto._
As this Tribe hath a different Motion from that of other Animals, and
an amphibious Way of Life; partly in the Air, and partly on the Land
and Waters; so is their Body accordingly shap’d, and all their Parts
incomparably fitted for that Way of Life and Motion; as will be found by
a cursory View of some of the Particulars. And the
I. And most visible Thing, is the Shape and Make of their Body, not thick
and clumsy, but incomparably adapted to their Flight: Sharp before, to
pierce and make Way through the Air, and then by gentle Degrees rising to
its full Bulk. To which we may add,
II. The neat Position of the _Feathers_ throughout the Body; not ruffled,
or discompos’d, or plac’d some this, some a contrary Way, according to
the Method of Chance; but all artificially plac’d[a], for facilitating
the Motion of the Body, and its Security at the same Time, by way of
Cloathing: And for that End, most of the Feathers tend backward, and
are laid over one another in exact and regular Method, armed with warm
and soft Down next the Body, and more strongly made, and curiously
clos’d next the Air and Weather, to fence off the Injuries thereof. To
which Purpose, as also for the more easy and nimble gliding of the Body
through the Air, the Provision Nature hath made, and the Instinct of
these Animals to _preen_ and _dress_ their Feathers, is admirable; both
in respect of their Art and Curiosity in doing it, and the _Oyl-bag_[b],
Glands, and whole Apparatus for that Service.
III. And now having said thus much relating to the Body’s Motion, let
us survey the grand Instrument thereof, the _Wings_. Which as they are
principal Parts, so are made with great Skill, and plac’d in the most
commodious Point of the Body[c], to give it an exact Equipoise in that
subtile Medium, the Air.
And here it is observable, with what incomparable Curiosity every Feather
is made; the _Shaft_ exceeding strong, but hollow below, for Strength
and Lightness sake; and above, not much less strong, and fill’d with a
_Parenchyma_ or _Pith_, both strong and light too. The _Vanes_ as nicely
gaug’d on each Side as made; broad on one Side, and narrower on the
other; both which incomparably minister to the progressive Motion of the
Bird, as also to the Union and Closeness of the Wing[d].
And no less exquisite is the textrine Art of the _Plumage_[e] also; which
is so curiously wrought, and so artificially interwoven, that it cannot
be viewed without Admiration, especially when the Eye is assisted with
Glasses.
And as curiously made, so no less curiously are the Feathers placed in
the Wing, exactly according to their several Lengths and Strength: The
_Principals_ set for Stay and Strength, and these again well lined,
faced, and guarded with the _Covert_ and _Secondary Feathers_, to keep
the Air from passing through, whereby the stronger Impulses are made
thereupon.
And lastly, To say no more of this Part, that deserves more to be said
of it, what an admirable _Apparatus_ is there of _Bones_, very strong,
but withal light and incomparably wrought? of _Joynts_, which open, shut,
and every way move, according to the Occasions either of extending it
in Flight, or withdrawing the Wing again to the Body? And of various
_Muscles_; among which the peculiar Strength of the _Pectoral Muscles_
deserves especial Remark, by Reason they are much stronger[f] in Birds
than in Man, or any other Animal, not made for Flying.
IV. Next the Wings, the Tail is in Flight considerable; greatly assisting
in all Ascents and Descents in the Air, as also serving to steady[g]
Flight, by keeping the Body upright in that subtile and yielding
_Medium_, by its readily turning and answering every Vacillation of the
Body.
And now to the Parts serving to Flight, let us add the nice and compleat
Manner of its Performance; all done according to the strictest Rules of
Mechanism[h]. What Rower on the Waters, what Artist on the Land, what
acutest Mathematician could give a more agreeable and exact Motion to the
Wings, than these untaught flying Artists do theirs! Serving not only to
bear their Bodies up in the Air, but also to waft them along therein,
with a speedy progressive Motion, as also to steer and turn them this Way
and that Way, up and down, faster or slower, as their Occasions require,
or their Pleasure leads them.
V. Next to the Parts for Flight, let us view the _Feet_ and _Legs_
ministering to their other Motion: Both made light, for easier
Transportation through the Air; and the former spread, some with
Membranes for Swimming[i], some without, for steady Going, for Perching,
for Catching and Holding of Prey[k], or for Hanging by the Heels to
gather their Food[l], or to fix themselves in their Places of Retreat
and Safety. And the latter, namely the _Legs_, all curved for their easy
Perching, Roosting, and Rest, as also to help them upon their Wings in
taking their Flight, and to be therein commodiously tucked up to the
Body, so as not to obstruct their Flight. In some long, for Wading and
Searching the Waters; in some of a moderate Length, answerable to their
vulgar Occasions; and in others as remarkably short, to answer their
especial Occasions and Manner of Life[m]. To all which let us add the
placing these last mentioned Parts in the Body. In all somewhat out of
the Center of the Body’s Gravity[n], but in such as swim, more than in
others, for the better rowing their Bodies through the Waters, or to help
them in that Diving[o] too.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] See before _Book IV. Chap. 12. Note (l)._
[b] Mr. _Willughby_ saith, there are two Glands for the Secretion of the
unctuous Matter in the _Oyl-bag_. And so they appear to be in Geese. But
upon Examination, I find, that in most other Birds, (such at least as I
have enquir’d into,) there is only one Gland: In which are divers little
Cells, ending in two or three larger Cells, lying under the Nipple of the
_Oyl-bag_. This _Nipple_ is perforated, and being pressed, or drawn by
the Bird’s Bill, or Head, emits the liquid Oyl, as it is in some Birds,
or thicker unctuous Grease, as it is in others. The whole _Oyl-bag_ is
in its structure somewhat conformable to the Breasts of such Animals as
afford Milk.
[c] In all Birds that fly much, or that have the most occasion for their
Wings, it is manifest that their Wings are plac’d in the very best Part,
to balance their Body in the Air, and to give as swift a Progression, as
their Wings and Body are capable of: For otherwise we should perceive
them to reel, and fly unsteadily; as we see them to do, if we alter their
Æquipoise, by cutting the End of one of the Wings, or hanging a Weight at
any of the extreme Parts of the Body. But as for such Birds as have as
much occasion for Swimming as Flying, and whole Wings are therefore set
a little out of the Center of the Bodies Gravity. See _Book IV. Chap. 8.
Note (q)._ And for such as have more occasion for Diving than Flying, and
whose Legs are for that Reason set more backward, and their Wings more
forward. _Chap. 4. Note (k)_ of this _Book_.
[d] The wise Author of Nature hath afforded an Example of the great
Nicety in the Formation of Birds, by the Nicely observ’d in a Part no
more considerable than the Vanes of the Flag-feathers of the Wing. Among
others, these two Things are observable: 1. The Edges of the exterior or
narrow Vanes bend downwards, but of the interior or wider Vanes upwards;
by which Means they catch, hold, and lie close to one another, when the
Wing is spread; so that not one Feather may miss its full Force and
Impulse upon the Air. 2. A yet lesser Nicety is observ’d, and that is, in
the very sloping the Tips of the Flag-feathers: The interiour Vanes being
neatly slop’d away to a Point, towards the outward Part of the Wing; and
the exteriour Vanes slop’d towards the Body, at least in many Birds; and
in the Middle of the Wing, the Vanes being equal, are but little slop’d.
So that the Wing, whether extended or shut, is as neatly slop’d and
form’d, as if constantly trimm’d with a Pair of Scissors.
[e] Since no exact Account that I know of, hath been given of the
Mechanism of the _Vanes_, or _Webs_ of the Feathers, my Observations may
not be unacceptable. The _Vane_ consists not of one continu’d Membrane;
because if one broken, it would hardly be reparable: But of many
_Laminæ_, which are thin, stiff, and somewhat of the Nature of a thin
Quill. Towards the Shaft of the Feather, (especially in the Flag-feathers
of the Wing,) those _Laminæ_ are broad, _&c._ of a semicircular Form;
which serve for Strength, and for the closer shutting of the _Laminæ_
to one another, when Impulses are made upon the Air. Towards the outer
Part of the Vane, those _Laminæ_ grow slender and taper: On their under
Side they are thin and smooth, but their upper outer Edge is parted into
two hairy Edges, each Side having a different Sort of Hairs, laminated
or broad at Bottom, and slender and bearded above the other half. I
have, as well as I could, represented the uppermost Edge of one of these
_Laminæ_ in Fig. 18. with some of the Hairs on each Side, magnify’d with
a Microscope. These bearded Bristles, or Hairs, on one Side the _Laminæ_,
have strait Beards, as in Fig. 19. those on the other Side, have hook’d
Beards on one Side the slender Part of the Bristle, and strait ones on
the other, as in Fig. 20. Both these Sorts of Bristles magnify’d, (only
scattering, and not close,) are represented as they grow upon the upper
Edge of the _Lamina s. t._ in Fig. 18. And in the Vane, the hook’d Beards
of one _Lamina_, always lie next the strait Beards of the next _Lamina_;
and by that Means lock and hold each other; and by a pretty Mechanism,
brace the _Laminæ_ close to one another. And if at any Time the Vane
happens to be ruffled and discompos’d, it can by this pretty easy
Mechanism, be reduc’d and repair’d. Vid. _Book IV. Chap. 12. Note (m)._
[f] _Pectorales Musculi Hominis flectentes humeros, parvi & parum carnosi
sunt; non æquant 50am aut 70am partem omnium Musculorum Hominis. E contra
in Avibus, Pectorales Musculi vastissimi sunt, & aquant, imò excedunt,
& magìs pendent, quàm reliqui omnes Musculi ejusdem Avis simul sumpti._
Borell. de Mot. Animal. Vol. I. Prop. 184.
Mr. _Willughby_ having made the like Observation, hath this Reflection on
it, _whence, if it be possible for Man to fly, it is thought by them who
have curiously weighed and considered the matter, that he would attempt
such a Thing with Hopes of Success, must so contrive and adapt his Wings,
that he may make use of his Legs, and not his Arms in managing them_:
(because the Muscles of the Legs are stronger, as he observes.) Willugh.
Ornith. L. 1. c. 1. §. 19.
[g] Mr. _Willughby_, _Ray_, and many others, imagine the principal use
of the Tail to be to steer, and turn the Body in the Air, as a Rudder.
But _Borelli_ hath put it beyond all doubt, that this is the least use of
it, and that it is chiefly to assist the Bird in its Ascents and Descents
in the Air, and to obviate the Vacillations of the Body and Wings. For
as for turning to this or that Side, it is performed by the Wings and
Inclination of the Body, and but very little by the help of the Tail.
[h] See _Borelli ubi supr._ Prop. 182, _&c._
[i] It is considerable in all Water-Fowl, how exactly their Legs and
Feet correspond to that way of Life. For either their Legs are long, to
enable them to wade in the Waters: In which case, their Legs are bare
of Feathers a good way above the Knees, the more conveniently for this
Purpose. Their Toes also are all abroad; and in such as bear the Name
of _Mudsuckers_, two of the Toes are somewhat joined, that they may
not easily sink in walking upon boggy Places. And as for such as are
whole-footed, or whose Toes are webbed together (excepting some few)
their Legs are generally short, which is the most convenient Size for
Swimming. And ’tis pretty enough to see how artificially they gather up
their Toes and Feet when they withdraw their Legs, or go to take their
Stroke; and as artificially again extend or open their whole Foot, when
they press upon, or drive themselves forward in the Waters.
[k] Some of the Characteristicks of Rapacious Birds, are, _to have
hooked, strong, and sharp-pointed Beaks and Talons, fitted for Rapine,
and tearing of Flesh; and strong and brawny Thighs, for striking down
their Prey._ Willughby Ornith. L. 2. c. 1. Raii Synops. Av. Method. p. 1.
[l] Such Birds as climb, particularly those of the _Wood-pecker_ Kind,
have for this Purpose (as Mr. _Willughby_ observes, L. 2. c. 4.) 1.
Strong and musculous Thighs. 2. Short Legs and very strong. 3. Toes
standing two forwards and two backwards. Their Toes also are close joined
together, that they may more strongly and firmly lay hold on the Tree
they climb upon. 4. All of them——have a hard stiff Tail bending also
downwards, on which they lean, and so bear up themselves in climbing.
[m] _Swifts_ and _Swallows_ have remarkably short Legs, especially the
former, and their Toes grasp any Thing very strongly. All which is useful
to them in building their Nests, and other such Occasions as necessitate
them to hang frequently by their Heels. But there is far greater use of
this Structure of their Legs and Feet, if the Reports be true of their
hanging by the Heels in great Clusters (after the manner of Bees) in
Mines and Grotto’s, and on the Rocks by the Sea, all the Winter. Of
which latter, I remember the late learned Dr. _Fry_ told this Story at
the University, and confirmed it to me since, _viz._ That an ancient
Fisherman, accounted an honest Man, being near some Rocks on the Coast of
_Cornwal_, saw at a very low Ebb, a black List of something adhering to
the Rock, which when he came to examine, he found it was a great Number
of _Swallows_, and, if I misremember not, of _Swifts_ also, hanging by
the Feet to one Another, as Bees do; which were covered commonly by the
Sea-Waters, but revived in his warm Hand, and by the Fire. All this the
Fisherman himself assured the Doctor of. Of this, see more, _Chap. 3.
Note (d)_ of this Book.
[n] In Birds that frequent not the Waters, the Wings are in the Center
of Gravity, when the Bird lies along, as in Flying; but when it stands
or walks, the Erection of the Body throws the Center of Gravity upon the
Thighs and Feet.
[o] See _Chap. 4. Note (k)._
CHAP. II.
_Of the HEAD, STOMACH, and other Parts of Birds._
Thus having dispatched the Parts principally concerned in the Motion
of the _Feather’d Tribe_, let us proceed to some other Parts not yet
animadverted upon. And we will begin with the _Head_, concerning which
I have already taken notice of its Shape for making way through the
Air; of the make of the _Bill_, for gathering Food, and other Uses; the
commodious Situation of the _Eye_; and I might add that of the _Ear_
too, which would be in the way, and obstruct Flight, if ’twas like that
of most other Animals: Also I might say a great deal of the Conformation
of the _Brain_, and of the Parts therein wanting, and of others added,
like to what is observable in Fishes; whose Posture in the Waters
resembles that of Birds in the Air[a], and both very different from Man
and Beasts; and lastly, to hint at no more, I might survey the peculiar
Structure of the _Larynx_[b], the _Tongue_[c], the inner _Ear_[d], and
many Matters besides; but for a Sample, I shall only insist upon the
wonderful Provision in the Bill for the judging of the Food, and that
is by peculiar Nerves lodged therein for that Purpose; small and less
numerous in such as have the Assistance of another Sense, the Eye; but
large, more numerous, and thickly branched about, to the very End of the
Beak, in such as hunt for their Food out of Sight in the Waters, in Mud,
or under Ground[e].
And now from the Head and Mouth, pass we to its near Ally, the Stomach,
another no less notable than useful Part; whether we consider the
Elegancy of its Fibres and Muscles, or its Multiplicity; one to soften
and macerate, another to digest; or its Variety, suited to various Foods,
some membraneous, agreeable to the frugivorous, or carnivorous Kind; same
musculous and strong[f], suited to the Comminution, and grinding of Corn
and Grain, and so to supply the Defect of Teeth.
And now to this Specimen of the Parts, I might add many other Things,
no less curiously contriv’d, made and suited to the Occasions of these
Volatiles; as particularly the Stratum and Lodgment of the _Lungs_[g];
the Configuration of the _Breast_, and its Bone, made like a Keel, for
commodious Passage through the Air, to bear the large and strong Muscles,
which move the Wings, and to counterpoise the Body, and support and rest
it upon at roost. The _Neck_ also might deserve our Notice, always either
exactly proportion’d to the Length of the Legs, or else longer, to hunt
out Food, to search in the Waters[h]; as also to counterpoise the Body
in Flight[i]. And lastly, I might here take Notice of the Defect of the
Diaphragm, so necessary in other Animals to Respiration; and also of
divers other Parts redundant, defective, or varying from other Animals.
But it would be tedious to insist upon all; and therefore to the Examples
already given, I would rather recommend a nice Inspection[k], of those
curious Works of God, which would be manifest Demonstrations of the
admirable Contrivance and Oeconomy of the Bodies of those Creatures.
From the Fabrick therefore of their Bodies, I shall pass to a Glance of
one or two Things, relating to their _State_; and so conclude this Genus
of the animal World.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _Cerebra Hominum & Quadrupedum in plerisque similia
existunt——Capitibus Volucrum & Piscium contenta, ab utrisque prioribus
longè diversa, tamen inter se, quoad præcipuas ἐγκεφάλου partes, Symbola
reperiuntur._ The Particulars wherein the Brains of Birds and Fishes
agree with one another, and wherein they differ from the Brain of Man and
Beasts, see in the same justly famous Author, _Willis Cereb. Anat._ c. 5.
[b] _Circa bifurcationem Asperæ Arteriæ, elegans Artificis liberè agentis
indicium detegitur ex Avium comparatione cum Quadrupedibus: cùm Vocis
gratia in diversis Avibus diversam musculorum fabricam bifurcationi
Asperæ Arteriæ dederit, quorum nullum vestigium extat in Homine &
Quadrupedibus mihi visis, ubi omnes vocis musculos capiti Arteriæ junxit.
In Aquilâ, ~&c.~ supra bifurcationem, ~&c.~_ Steno in Blas. Anat. Animal.
P. 2. c. 4.
The _Aspera Arteria_ is very remarkable in the _Swan_, which is thus
described by _T. Bartholin_, viz. _Aspera Arteria admirandæ satìs
structuræ. Nam pro Colli longitudine deorsum Oesophagi comes protenditur
donec ad sternum perveniat, in cujus capsulam se incurvo flexu insinuat
& recondit, velut in tuto loco & thecâ, moxque ad fundum ejusdem
cavitatis delata sursum reflectitur, egrediturque angustias Sterni, &
Claviculis mediis concensis, quibus ut fulcro nititur, ad Thoracem se
flectit——Miranda hercle modis omnibus constitutio & Respriationi inservit
& Voci. Nam cùm in stagnorum fundo edulia pro victu quærat, longissimo
indiguis collo, ne longa mora suffocationis incurreret periculum. Et
certè dum dimidiam fere horam toto Capite & Collo pronis vado immergitur,
pedibus in altum elatis cœloque obversis, ex eâ Arteriæ quæ pectoris
dictæ vaginæ reclusa est portione, tanquam ex condo promo spiritum
haurit._ Blas. ib. c. 10.
[c] The Structure of the _Tongue_ of the _Wood-Pecker_ is very singular
and remarkable, whether we look at its great Length, its Bones and
Muscles, its encompassing part of the Neck and Head, the better to exert
it self in Length; and again, to retract it into its Cell; and lastly,
whether we look at its sharp, horny, bearded Point, and the glewy Matter
at the end of it, the better to stab, to stick unto, and draw out little
Maggots out of Wood. _Utilis enim Picis_ (saith _Coiter_) _ad Vermiculos,
Formicas, aliaque Insectæ venanda talis Lingua foret. Siquidem Picus,
innata suâ sagacitate cùm deprehendit alibi in arboribus, vel carie,
vel aliâ de causâ cavatis, Vermes insectaque delitescere, ad illas
volitat, seseque digitis, ungulisque posterioribus robustissimis, & Caudæ
pennis rigidissimis sustentat, donec valido ac peracuto Rostro arborent
pertundat; arbore pertusâ, foramini rostrum immittit, ac quo animacula
stridore excitet percellatque, magnam in arboris cavo emittit vocem,
insecta vociferatione hâc concitata huc illucque repunt; Picus v. linguam
suam exerit, atque aculeis, hamisque animalia infigit, infixa attrahit &
devorat._ Vid. Blasii ubi supra. P. 2. c. 24.
[d] I have before, in _Book IV. Chap. 3. Note (u)_, taken notice of what
others have observed concerning the _inner Ear_ of _Birds_, reserving my
own Observations for this Place: Which I hope may be acceptable, not only
for being some of them new, but also shewing the Mechanism of Hearing in
general.
In this Organ of Birds, I shall take notice only of three Parts, the
_Membranes_ and _Cartilages_; the _Columella_; and the _Conclave_: The
_Drum_, as some call it, or _Membrana Tympani_, as others, consists of
two Membranes, the Outer, which covers the whole _Meatus_, Bason or
_Drum_, (as some call it) and the inner Membrane. To support, distend
and relax the outermost, there is one single Cartilage, reaching from
the Side of the _Meatus_, to near the middle of the Membrane. On the top
of the _Columella_ is another Cartilage, consisting of three Branches,
_a.b.c._ in Fig. 23. The longest middle Branch _a_. is joined to the
top of the single upper Cartilage before spoken of, and assists it to
bear up the upper outer Membrane: The two Branches, _b.c._ are joined to
the _Os Petrosum_, at some distance from the outer Membrane: Upon this
inner Cartilage, is the inner Membrane fixed, the two outer Sides of
which, _a.b._ and _a.c._ are joined to the outer Membrane, and make a
kind of three-square Bag. The Design of the two Branches or Legs of the
Cartilage, _b.c._ are I conceive to keep the _Cartilage_ and _Columella_
from wavering side-ways, and to hinder them from flying too much back:
There is a very fine slender Ligament extended from the opposite side,
quite cross the _Meatus_ or Bason, to the Bottom of the _Cartilage_, near
its joining to the _Columella_. Thus much for the _Membranæ Tympani_, and
their _Cartilages_.
The next Part is the _Columella_ (as _Schelhammer_ calls it.) This is a
very fine, thin, light, bony Tube; the Bottom of which spreads about,
and gives it the Resemblance of a wooden Pot-lid, such as I have seen
in Country-Houses. It exactly shuts into, and covers a _Foramen_ of
the _Conclave_, to which it is braced all round, with a fine subtile
Membrane, composed of the tender Auditory Nerve. This Bottom or Base of
the _Columella_, I call the _Operculum_.
The last Part, which some call the _Labyrinth_ and _Cochlea_, consisting
of Branches more like the _Canalos Semicirculares_ in Man, than the
_Cochlea_, I call the _Conclave Auditûs_. It is (at in most other
Animals) made of hard context Bone. In most of the Birds I have opened,
there are _circular Canals_, some larger, some lesser, crossing one
another at right Angles, which open into the _Conclave_. But in the
_Goose_ it is otherwise, there being cochleous Canals, but not like
those of other Birds. In the _Conclave_, at the Side opposite to the
_Operculum_, the tender Part of the _Auditory Nerve_ enters, and lineth
all those inner retired Parts, _viz._ the _Conclave_ and _Canals_.
As to the _Passages_, _Columnæ_, and other Parts observable in the Ear
of Birds, I shall pass them by, it being sufficient to my Purpose, to
have described the Parts principally concerned in the Act of Hearing.
And as the Ear is in Birds the most simple and incomplex of any Animals
Ear; so we may from it make an easy and rational Judgment, how _Hearing_
is performed, _viz._ _Sound_ being a _Tremor_, or _Undulation_ in the
Air, caused by the Collision of Bodies, doth as it moves along, strike
upon the _Drum_, or _Membrana Tympani_ of the Ear: Which Motion, whether
strong or languid, shrill or soft, tuneful or not, is at the same Instant
impressed upon the _Cartilages_, _Columella_, and _Operculum_, and so
communicated to the _Auditory Nerve_ in the _Conclave_.
And now if we compare the Organ and Act of Hearing, with those of Sight,
we shall find, that the _Conclave_ is to Hearing, as the _Retina_ is
to Sight; that sonorous Bodies make their Impressions thereby on the
Brain, as visible Objects do by the _Retina_. Also, that as there is an
_Apparatus_ in the Eye, by the opening and shutting of the Pupil, to make
it correspond to all the Degrees of Light, so there is in the Ear to
make it conformable to all the Degrees of Sound, a noble Train of little
Bones and Muscles in Man, _&c._ to strain and relax the Membrane, and
at the same Time to open and shut the _Basis_ of the _Stapes_ (the same
as what I call the _Operculum_ in Birds:) But in Birds, there is a more
simple, but sufficient _Apparatus_ for this Purpose, tender Cartilages,
instead of Bones and Joints, to correspond to the various Impressions of
Sounds, and to open and shut the _Operculum_. Besides which, I suspect
the Ligament I mentioned, is only the Tendon of a Muscle, reaching to the
inner _Membrana Tympani_, and joined thereto (as I find by a stricter
Scrutiny) and not to the Cartilage, as I imagined. By this Muscle, the
inner Membrane, and by Means of that the Outer also can be distended or
relaxed, as it is in Man, by the _Malleus_ and its Muscle, _&c._
[e] _Flat-billed Birds, that grope for their Meat, have three Pair of
Nerves, that come into their Bills, whereby they have that Accuracy to
distinguish what is proper for Food, and what to be rejected by their
Taste, when they do not see it. This was most evident in a Duck’s Bill
and Head; a Duck having larger Nerves that come into their Bills than
Geese, or any other Bird that I have seen; and therefore quaffer and
grope out their Meat the most. But then I discovered none of these Nerves
in round-bill’d Birds. But since, in my Anatomies in the Country, in a
Rook, I first observed two Nerves that came down betwixt the Eyes into
the upper Bill, but considerably smaller than any of the three Pair of
Nerves, in the Bills of Ducks, but larger than the Nerves in any other
round-bill’d Birds. And ’tis remarkable that these Birds, more than any
other round-bill’d Birds, seem to grope for their Meat in Cow-dung,
~&c.~_ _Mr._ J. Clayton, _in_ Philos. Transact. Nᵒ. 206.
_I observ’d three Pair of Nerves in all the broad-bill’d Birds that I
could meet with, and in all such at feel for their Food out of Sight,
as Snipes, Woodcocks, Curlews, Geese, Ducks, Teals, Widgeons, ~&c.~
These Nerves are very large, equalling almost the Optic Nerve in
Thickness.——Two are distributed nigh the End of the upper Bill, and are
there very much expanded, passing through the Bone into the Membrane,
lining the Roof of the Mouth._ Dr. _A. Moulen_. Ibid. Nᵒ. 199. Or both in
Mr. _Lowthorp_’s Abridg. V. 2. p. 861, 862.
[f] The _Gizzard_ is not only made very strong, especially in the
Granivorous; but hath also a Faculty of Grinding what is therein. For
which Purpose, the Bird swalloweth rough Stones down, which, when grown
smooth, are rejected and cast out of the Stomach, as useless. This
Grinding may be heard in Falcons, Eagles, _&c._ by laying the Ear close
to them, when their Stomachs are empty, as the famous Dr. _Harvey_ saith.
_De Generat. Exer._ 7.
As to the Strength of the _Gizzard_, and the Use of Stones to the
Digestion of Fowls, divers curious Experiments may be met with, try’d by
_Seigneur Redi_, with glass Bubbles, solid Glass, Diamonds, and other
hard Bodies. See his _Exp. Nat._
[g] It is no less remarkable in Birds, that their _Lungs_ adhere to the
_Thorax_, and have but little play, than that to other Animals they
are loose, and play much, which is a good Provision for their steady
Flight. Also they want the _Diaphragm_, and instead thereof, have divers
large Bladders made of thin transparent Membranes, with pretty large
Holes out of one into the other. These Membranes seem to me to serve
for _Ligaments_, or _Braces_ to the _Viscera_, as well as to contain
Air. Towards the upper Part, each Lobe of the Lungs is perforated in two
Places, with large Perforations; whereof one is towards the outer, the
other towards the inner Part of the Lobe. Through these Perforations, the
Air hath a Passage into the Belly, (as in _Book I. Chap. 1. Note (b)_;)
that is, into the foremention’d Bladders; so that by blowing into the
_aspera Arteria_, the Lungs will be a little rais’d, and the whole Belly
blown up, so as to be very turgid. Which doubtless is a Means to make
their Bodies more or less buoyant, according as they take in more or less
Air, to facilitate thereby, their Ascents, and Descents: Like as it is in
the _Air-bladders_ of Fishes, in the last cited Place. _Note (i)._
[h] _Such Birds as have long Legs, have also a long Neck; for that
otherwise they could not commodiously gather up their Food, either on
Land, or in the Water. But on the other Side, those which have long
Necks, have not always long Legs, as in Swans——whose Necks serve them to
reach to the Bottom of Rivers, ~&c.~_ Willughby’s Ornithol. L. 1. c. 1.
§. 7.
[i] We have sufficient Instances of this in _Geese_, _Ducks_, &c. whose
Wings, (their Bodies being made for the Convenience of Swimming,) are
plac’d out of the Center of Gravity, nearer the Head. But the extending
the Neck and Heads in Flight, causeth a due Æquipoise and Libration of
the Body upon the Wing. Which is another excellent Use of the long Necks
of these Birds, besides that of reaching and searching in the Waters for
their Food.
But in the _Heron_, whose Head and long Neck, (although tuck’d up in
Flight,) over-balance the hinder Part of the Body; the long Legs are
extended in Flight, to counterpoise the Body, as well as to supply what
is wanting in the Tail, from the Shortness of it.
[k] _Steno_ thus Concludes his Myology of the Eagle, _Imperfecta
hæc Musculorum descriptio, non minùs arida est Legentibus, quàm
Inspectantibus fuerit jucunda eorundem præparatio. Elegantissima enim
Mechanices artificia, creberrimè in illis obvia, verbis non nisi
obscure exprimuntur, carnium autem ductu, tendinum colore, insertionum
proportione, & trochlearam distributione oculis exposita omnem superant
admirationem._ Steno in Blas. Anat. Animal. P. 2. c. 4.
CHAP. III.
_Of the MIGRATION of Birds._
Concerning the _State_ of this Tribe of _Animals_, the first Thing I
shall speak of, (by Reason God himself instanceth in it,) shall be their
Migration, mention’d, _Jer._ viii. 7. _Yea, the Stork in the Heaven
knoweth her appointed Times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the
Swallow observe the Time of their Coming; but my People, ~&c.~_
In which Act of Migration, there are two Things to me, exceedingly
notable. One is what the Text speaks of, their knowing their proper Times
for their _Passage_, when to come[a], when to go; as also that some
should come when others go; and some others go when these come. There is
no doubt but the Temperature of the Air, as to Heat and Cold, and their
natural Propensity to breed their Young; may be great Incentives to those
Creatures to change their Habitation: But yet it is a very odd Instinct,
that they should at all shift their Habitation: That some certain
Place is not to be found in all the terraqueous Globe, affording them
convenient Food and Habitation all the Year, either in the colder Climes,
for such as Delight in the colder Regions, or the hotter, for such _Birds
of Passage_ as fly to us in Summer.
Also it is somewhat strange, that those untaught, unthinking Creatures,
should so exactly know the best and only proper Seasons to go and
come. This gives us good Reason to interpret the מועדיה _appointed
times_[b], in the Text, to be such Times as the Creator hath appointed
those Animals, and hath accordingly, for this End, imprinted upon their
Natures such an Instinct, as exciteth and moveth them thus, at proper
Times, to fly from a Place that would obstruct their Generation, or not
afford convenient Food for them, and their Young, and betake themselves
to another Place, affording all that is wanting for Food or Incubation.
And this leads me to another Thing remarkable in this Act of Migration;
and that is, That those unthinking Creatures should know what Way to
steer their Course[c] and whither to go. What but the great Creator’s
Instinct should ever move a poor foolish Bird, to venture over vast
Tracts of Land, but especially over large Seas? If it should be said,
That by their high Ascents up into the Air, they can see cross the Seas;
yet what should teach or persuade them, that that Land is more proper for
their Purpose, than this? That _Britain_, (for Instance,) should afford
them better Accommodations than _Ægypt_[d], than the _Canaries_, than
_Spain_, or any of those many intermediate Places over which some of
them probably fly.
And lastly, to all this, let us briefly add the Accommodations these
_Birds of Passage have_, to enable them to take such long Flights, _viz._
the Length of their Wings, or their more than ordinary Strength[e] for
Flight.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _Curiosa res est, scire, quàm exacte hoc genus avium, ~[Gruum]~
quontannis observet tempora sui reditûs ad nos. Anno 1667. primæ Grues
comparuerunt in campestribus Pisæ 20 Feb. ~&c.~_ F. Redi Exp. Nat. p.
100. ubi plura.
[b] From יעד _indixit_, _constituit_, _scil locum, vel tempus, ubi
vel quando aliquid fieri debet_. Buxt. in verb.
_De voluntate suâ certiorem reddidit._ Con. Kircher concordant. Pars.
1. Col. 1846. מועד _Generaliter pro re aliguâ certà, artestatâ, &
definitâ accipitur. 1. Pro tempore certo & constituto. 2. Deinde pro
sesto seu Solennitate, quæ certo & stato tempore celebratur. 3. Pro loco
certo constituto._ Id. ibid. Col. 1847.
[c] _Quis non cum admiratione videat ordinem & politiam peregrinantium
Avium, in itinere, turmatim volantium, per longos terrarum & maris
tractus absque Acu marinâ?——Quis eas certum iter in aëris mutabili
regione docuit? Quis præteritæ signa, & futuræ viæ indicia; quis eas
ducit, nutrit, & vitæ necessaria ministrat? Quis insulas & hospitia,
illa, in quibus victum reperiant, indicavat; modumque ejusmodi loca in
peregrinationibus suis inveniendi? Hæc sanè superant hominum captum &
industriam, qui non nisi longis experientiis, multis itinerariis, chartis
geographicis,——& acûs magneticæ beneficio,——ejusmodi marium & terrarum
tractus conficere tentant & audent._ Lud. de Beaufort. Cosmop. divina
Sect. 5. c. 1.
[d] I instance particularly in _Ægypt_, because Mr. _Willughby_ thinks
_Swallows_ fly thither, and into _Æthiopia_, &c. and that they do
nor lurk in Holes, or under Water, as _Olaus Magnus_ Reports. _Vid._
_Ornith._ L. 2. c. 3. But _Etmuller_ puts the Matter out of doubt; who
saith, _Memini me plures, quàm quas Medimnus caperit, Hirundines arcte
coacervatas intra Piscinæ cannas, sub glacie prorsus ad sensum exanimes
pulsantes tamen, reperiisse._ Etmuller Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 5. This
as it is like what _Ol. Magnus_ saith, so is a Confirmation of it.
The Archbishop’s Account is, _In Septentrionalibus aquis sæpius casu
Piscatoris extrahuntur Hirundines, in modum conglemeratæ massæ, quæ
ore ad os, & alâ ad alam, & pede ad pedem post principium autumni sese
inter cannas descensuræ colligârunt.——Massa autem illa per imperitos
adolescentes——extracta, atque in æstuaria portata, caloris accessu
Hirundines resolutæ, volare quidem incipiunt, sed exiguo tempore durant._
Ol. Mag. Hist. L. 19. c. 20.
Since my penning this Note, we had, at a Meeting of the Royal-Society,
_Feb. 12. 1712-13._ a farther Confirmation of _Swallows_ retiring under
Water in Winter, from Dr. _Golas_, a Person very curious in these
Matters; who speaking of their Way of Fishing in the northern Parts, by
breaking Holes, and drawing their Nets under the Ice, saith, that he saw
sixteen Swallows so drawn out of the _Lake of Samrodt_, and about Thirty
out of the King’s great Pond in _Rosineilen_; and that at _Schlebitten_,
near an House of the Earl of _Dohna_, he saw two Swallows just come out
of the Waters, that could scarce stand, being very wet and weak, with
their Wings hanging on the Ground: And that he hath observ’d the Swallows
to be often weak for some Days after their Appearance.
[e] As _Swallows_ are well accommodated for long Flights, by their long
Wings, so are _Quails_ by the Strength of their _pectoral Muscles_, by
the Breadth of their Wings, _&c._ For Quails have but short Wings for the
Weight of their Body; and yet they fly from us into warmer Parts, against
Winter, and to us in Spring, crossing our Seas. So divers Travellers tell
us they cross the _Mediterranean_ twice a Year, flying from _Europe_ to
_Africa_, and back again: Thus _Bellonius_ in Mr. _Willughby_, saith,
When we sail’d from _Rhodes_ to _Alexandria_ of _Ægypt_, many Quails
flying from the North towards the South, were taken in our Ship; _whence
I am verily persuaded, that they shift Places: For formerly also, when
I sail’d out of the Isle of ~Zant~ to ~Morea~, or ~Negropont~, in the
Spring Time, I had observ’d ~Quails~ flying the contrary Way, from
~South~ to ~North~, that they might abide there all Summer. At which Time
also, there were a great many taken in our Ship._ Ornith. p. 170.
CHAP. IV.
_Of the INCUBATION of Birds._
Another Thing relating to the State of this Tribe of Animals, is their
_Incubation_.
And first, the _Egg_ it self deserves our Notice. Its Parts within, and
its crusty Coat without, are admirably well fitted for the Business of
Incubation. That there should be one Part provided for the Formation
of the Body[a], before its Exit into the World, and another for its
Nourishment, after it is come into the World, till the Bird is able to
shift for, and help it self; and that these Parts should be so accurately
brac’d, and kept in due Place[b], is certainly a design’d, as well as
curious Piece of Workmanship.
And then as to the Act it self, of _Incubation_, What a prodigious
Instinct is it in all, or almost all the several Species of Birds, that
they, and only they, of all Creatures, should betake themselves to this
very Way of Generation? How should they be aware that their Eggs contain
their Young, and that their Production is in their Power[c]? What should
move them to betake themselves to their Nests, and there with Delight and
Patience to abide the due Number of Days? And when their Young are gotten
into the World, I have already shewn how admirable their Art, their Care,
and Στοργὴ is in bringing them up until, and only until, they are able to
shift for themselves.
And lastly, when almost the whole Tribe of Birds, do thus by Incubation,
produce their Young, it is a wonderful Deviation, that some few Families
only, should do it in a more novercal Way[d], without any Care or
Trouble at all, only by laying their Eggs in the Sand, exposed to the
Heat and Incubation of the Sun. Of this the Holy Scripture it self
gives us an Instance in the Ostrich: Of which we have an Hint, _Lam._
iv. 3. _The Daughter of my People is become cruel, like the Ostriches
in the Wilderness._ This is more plainly expressed in _Job_ xxxix. 14,
15, 16, 17. _~[The Ostrich]~ leaveth her Eggs in the Earth, and warmeth
them in the Dust, and forgetteth that the Foot may crush them, or that
the Wild-Beast may break them. She is hardened against her Young ones,
as though they were not hers: Her Labour is in vain, without Fear.
Because God hath deprived her of Wisdom, neither hath he imparted unto
her Understanding._ In which Words I shall take notice of three Things,
1. Of this anomalous Way of Generation. It is not very strange, that
no other Incubation but that of the Sun, should produce the Young;
but ’tis very odd and wonderful that any one Species should vary from
all the rest of the Tribe. But above all, 2. The singular Care of the
Creator, in this Case, is very remarkable, in supplying some other Way
the Want of the Parent-Animals Care and Στοργὴ[e], so that the Young
should notwithstanding be bred up in those large and barren Desarts of
_Arabia_ and _Africa_, and such like Places where those Birds dwell,
the most unlikely and unfitting (in all human Opinion) to afford
Sustenance to young helpless Creatures; but the fittest therefore to
give Demonstrations of the Wisdom, Care, and especial Providence of the
infinite Creator and Conservator of the World. 3. The last Thing I shall
remark is, That the Instincts of Irrational Animals, at least of this
specified in the Text, is attributed to GOD. For the Reason the Text
gives why the _Ostrich is hardened against her young Ones, as though they
were not hers, is, Because _GOD_ hath deprived her of Wisdom, and not
imparted Understanding to her_; _i.e._ he hath denied her that Wisdom, he
hath not imparted that Understanding, that Στοργὴ, that natural Instinct
to provide for, and nurse up her Young, that most other Creatures of the
same, and other Tribes are endowed with.
Thus I have dispatched what I intend to insist upon concerning the State
of this Set of Animals; of which, as also of their admirable Instincts,
a great deal more might deserve our especial Observation; particularly
the admirable Curiosity, Art, and Variety of Nidification[f], used among
the various Species of Birds; the great Sagacity, and many Artifices
used by them in the Investigation and Capture of their Prey[g], the due
Proportion of the more and less useful, the Scarcity of the Voracious
and Pernicious, and the Plenty of the Mansuete and Useful[h]. Also the
Variety of their Motion and Flight might deserve Consideration, the
Swiftness of such whose Food is to be sought in far distant Places, and
different Seasons[i]; the slower Motion and short Flights of others more
domestick; and even the Aukwardness of some others to Flight, whose
Food is near at hand, and to be gotten without any great Occasion of
Flight[k]. These and divers other such like Things as these, I say, I
might have spoken more largely unto; but I shall pass them by with only a
bare Mention, having already taken notice of them in the Company of other
Matters of the like Nature, and manifested them to be Acts of excellent
Design, Wisdom, and Providence, in the great Creator.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _The Chicken is form’d out of, and nourish’d by the White alone,
till it be grown great. The Yolk serves for the Chicken’s Nourishment,
after it is well grown, and partly also after it is hatch’d. For a
good Part of the Yolk remains after Exclusion, being receiv’d into the
Chicken’s Belly; and being there reserv’d, as in a Store-house, is by the
~Appendicula~, or ~Ductus intestinalis~, as by a Funnel, convey’d into
the Guts, and serves instead of Milk, ~&c.~_ Willugh. Ornith. L. 1. c. 3.
_Ipsum animal ex albo liquore Ovi corporatur. Cibus ejus in lutco est._
Plin. L. 10. c. 53.
_Aristotle_ saith, _The long sharp Eggs bring Females; the round ones,
with a larger Compass at the sharper End, Males._ Hist. An. L. 6. c.
2. After which, he tells of a Sott at _Syracuse_, that sate drinking
so long, till Eggs were hatch’d; as also of the Custom of _Ægypt_, of
hatching Eggs in Dunghills.
[b] As the Shell and Skin keep the Yolk and two Whites together; so
each of the Parts, (the Yolk and inner White at least,) are separated
by Membranes, involving them. At each End of the Egg is a Treddle, so
call’d, because it was formerly thought to be the Sperm of the Cock.
_But the Use of these_, (saith Dr. _Harvey_ in _Willugh. Ornith._ c. 3.)
_is to be as ’twere, the Poles of this Microcosm, and the Connections
of all the Membranes twisted and knit together, by which the Liquors
are not only conserv’d, each in its Place, but do also retain their due
Position one to another._ This, although in a great Measure true, yet
doth not come up to what I have my self observ’d; for I find, that these
_Chalazæ_, or _Treddles_, serve not barely to keep the Liquors in their
Place, and Position to one another; but also to keep one and the same
Part of the Yolk uppermost, let the Egg be turn’d nearly which way it
will; which is done by this Mechanism: The _Chalazæ_ are specifically
lighter than the Whites, in which they swim; and being brac’d to the
Membrane of the Yolk, not exactly in the _Axis_ of the Yolk, but somewhat
out of it; causeth one Side of the Yolk to be heavier than the other; so
that the Yolk being by the _Chalazæ_ made buoyant, and kept swimming in
the Midst of two Whites, is by its own heavy Side kept with the same Side
always uppermost; which uppermost Side I have some Reason to think, is
that on which the _Cicatricula_ lies; that being commonly uppermost in
the Shell, especially in some Species of Eggs more I think than others.
[c] All Birds lay a certain Number of Eggs, or nearly that Number,
and then betake themselves to their Incubation; but if their Eggs be
withdrawn, they will lay more. Of which, see Mr. _Ray_’s Wis. of God, p.
137.
[d] The _Tabon_ is a Bird no bigger than a Chicken, but is said to lay an
Egg larger than a Goose’s Egg, and bigger than the Bird it self. These
they lay a Yard deep in the Sand, where they are hatch’d by the Warmth
of the Sun; after which they creep out, and get to Sea for Provisions.
_Navarett_’s _Account of China in Collect. of Voyages_, Vol. 1. This
Account is in all Probability borrow’d from _Nieremberg_, or _Hernandez_,
(that copy’d from him,) who call this Bird by the Name of _Daie_, and its
Eggs _Tapun_, not the Bird it self, as _Navarette_ doth. But my Friend
Mr. _Ray_ saith of it, _Historia isthæc proculdubio fabulosa & falsa est.
Quamvis enim Aves nonnulla maxima ova pariunt, ut v.g. ~Alkæ~, ~Lomwiæ~,
~Anates~, ~Arcticæ~, &c. hujusmodi tamen unum duntaxat, non plura ova
ponunt antequam incubent: nec ullam in rerum naturâ avem dari existimo
cujus ova albumine careant. Cum Albumen præcipua ovi pars sit, quodque
primum fœtus alimentum subministrat._ Raii Synop. Av. Method. p. 155.
[e] _The Eggs of the Ostrich being buried in the Sand, are cherished only
by the Heat of the Sun, till the Young be excluded. For the Writers of
Natural History do generally agree, that the old Birds, after they have
laid and covered their Eggs in the Sand, forsake them, and take no more
Care of them._ Willugh. Ornith. L. 2. c. 8. §. 1.
But there is another _Ostrich_ [of _America_] which _Acaret_ tells us of,
that takes more Care of her Young, by carrying four of her Eggs, a little
before she hatcheth, to four Parts of her Nest, there to breed Worms for
Food for her Young. _Acaret’s Disc. in Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 89.
[f] See _Book IV. ch. 13._
[g] See _Book IV. ch. 11. and 14._
[h] See _Book IV. ch. 10._ beginn.
[i] See _Book IV. ch. 8._
[k] The _Colymbi_, or _Douckers_, having their Food near at hand in
the Waters, are remarkably made for Diving therein. Their Heads are
small, Bills sharp-pointed, Wings small, Legs flat and broad, and placed
backward, and nearer the Tail than in Other Birds; and lastly, their
Feet; some are whole-footed, some cloven-footed, but withal fin-toed.
_Vid._ _Willugh. Ornith._ L. 3. §. 5.
CHAP. V.
_The CONCLUSION._
And now, if we reflect upon the whole Matter, we shall here find another
large Tribe of the Creation, abundantly setting forth the Wisdom and
Glory of their great Creator. We praise the Ingenuity and Invention of
Man, for the Contrivance of various pneumatick Engines; we think them
witty, even for their unsuccessful Attempts to swim in, and sail through
that subtle Element the Air; and the curious Mechanism of that Artist
is had in Remembrance, and praised to this Day, who made a Dove, or an
_Eagle_[a] to fly but a short Space. And is not therefore all imaginable
Honour and Praise due to that infinite Artist, that hath so admirably
contrived and made, all the noble Variety of Birds; that hath with such
incomparable Curiosity and Art, formed their Bodies from Head to Tail,
without and within, that not so much as any Muscle, or Bone, no, not even
a Feather[b] is unartificially made, misplaced, redundant, or defective,
in all the several Families of this large Tribe? But every Thing is so
incomparably performed, so nicely fitted up for Flight, as to surpass
even the Imitation of the most ingenious Artificer among mortal rational
Beings.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] _Vid._ _Book V. ch. 1. Note (aa)._
[b] _Deus non solùm Angelum, & Hominem, sed nec exigui & contemptibilis
animantis viscera, nec Avis pennulam, nec Herbæ flosculum, nec Arboris
folium sine suarum partium convenientiâ dereliquit._ Augustin. de Civ.
Dei, L. 5. c. 11.
[Illustration]