THESE birds are found on many of our sea-coasts, and are common in the isles of Scotland. They build their nests on the highest parts of the cliffs which hang over the sea. They are proverbial for their voracity, each Cormorant devouring three or four pounds of fish a-day, which is about half the average weight of the bird. Like most birds living on fish, however, its digestion is extremely rapid, and it requires a pro

portionably larger supply of food. If deprived of this, it soon dies. On the Western coast of the Hebrides, in severe gales, when no fish are to be got, these poor birds are to be seen huddled together in their caves and crevices, perishing with hunger.

The talent for fishing possessed by some of this species is turned to good account by the crafty Chinese fisherman, who fastens an iron ring round the bird's neck, so that it cannot swallow; thus prepared, he sits quietly in his boat till he sees a fish, when the bird is tossed into the water; it dives, and presently rises with the fish, which is seized upon by the boatman, who then waits for another chance.

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Bishop Stanley mentions a couple of Cormorants which were kept as pets," and were found to be quiet enough, except when pressed by hunger. One day a gentleman's servant, who went in to look at them, had on a pair of red plush breeches, which instantly caught their attention. These they probably mistook for raw meat, which was their ordinary food: they consequently made such a furious charge upon the poor young man, that the owner was obliged to attack them with a stick, and even then could not keep them off without difficulty. They were at last sent away for killing a favourite pointer.

We cannot conclude our notice of this remarkable bird without calling attention to the peculiarity of its leg and foot, and their fitness to its mode of living. This bird has to seek its food beneath the surface of the water. Its erect form, and the backward position of its legs, must greatly assist it in diving after the fishes on which it feeds. Its four toes are webbed and connected together, presenting an example of a completely webbed-foot, which gives it great velocity under water and its leg is so flattened at the sides, that the front edge, which cuts the water, is scarcely thicker than the blade of a carving knife.

THIS bird has such small and short wings that it would in vain attempt to fly. But these wings, though small, are of great use to it when it seeks its food. The Penguin is fond of fish, and moves with amazing swiftness, by help of its wings, under water, in search of its prey. It passes the chief part of its life on or in the sea; and, being usually very fat, it does not suffer from remaining a long time in a wet and cold state.

When on land, flocks of these birds may be seen walking upright in a formal, stately manner, holding their heads high. They look, from a little distance, like a company of soldiers. As the feathers on the breasts of some of these species are beautifully white, with a line of black running across, they have some

times been compared, when seen afar off, to a number of children with white aprons tied round their waists with black strings.

The Penguin loves a cold climate. It sleeps very soundly and is extremely tenacious of life. The female lays a single egg. She makes a slight hollow in the earth, just large enough to prevent her egg from rolling out. The manner in which the Penguins and Albatrosses, with a few other species of sea birds, lay out together a piece of ground of four or five acres, for their nests, and superintend their charge, is fully described in Bishop Stanley's work on Birds.* Some Penguins in the South Sea Islands are called Hopping Penguins, and Jumping Jacks, from their habit of leaping quite out of the water, sometimes to the height of three or four feet, on meeting with any check in their course through the sea.

The poor inhabitants of the rugged shores of Scotland, and the more northern Shetland or Ferroe islands, value the Penguin and Albatross for their feathers, skin, oil, and eggs; and in order to lay in a store of these articles for winter use, run many risks, and encounter serious hardships. There, we are told, this "dreadful trade" is carried on in all its horrors. The favourite resort for sea fowl is a tremendous precipice about 1,300 feet high, formed by the abrupt termination of Conachan, the most elevated hill in the island of St. Kilda, and supposed to be the loftiest precipitous face of rock in Great Britain. The people of the island, young and old, venture in search of birds to various points, crevices, and ledges of rocks, one false step from which would be certain death, and upon which an unpractised eye can scarcely look without shuddering.

"I'll look no more

Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong."

* Vol. ii. p. 276, &c. Edit. 1840.

"The REPTILIA, according to most Naturalists, include five orders, the Testudinata, or Tortoises and Turtles; the Enaliosauria of Conybeare, to which the gigantic fossil genera, the Icthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus, belong; the Loricata, or Crocodiles and Alligators; the Sauria, or Lizard tribe; and the Ophidia, or Serpents."-Bell's History of British Reptiles.