hunt rivers for fish spawn and water insects: among them, the long-legged plover should be noticed. The varieties of the sand-piper, in the next case (129), now claim a careful inspection. Sand-pipers inhabit various parts of the world, and, like the ibises, love the neighbourhood of water, where they seek the food congenial to them. The Phalaropes, which are also represented in this case, are natives of the eternal ice of the arctic regions, where they subsist upon crustacea. The visitor passes from the sand-pipers to the case of Snipes (130), including the British varieties, and the snipe of India. In the next case (131) the visitor should notice the Chinese and South American jacanas, that walk about unconcernedly upon the floating leaves of water plants; with these are grouped the South American Screamers. The three last cases devoted to wading birds, contain the varieties of the British and North American Rails : the varieties of the Gallinule, including the European purple gallinule, the South American variety, and the Australian black-backed variety; and the Finfoots of Africa and America. All these birds inhabit marshy land, or the banks of streams, and derive their food from the insect life that swarms near the water. With the finfoots the collection of wading birds closes; but before going on his way, the visitor should glance at the paintings which are hung about the wall cases in this room or compartment. These include portraits of Lord Chancellor Bacon; Andrew Marvel; a copy from the picture at Wimpole of Admiral Lord Anson; Camden; Matthew Prior; William Cecil, Lord Burghley; Sir Isaac Newton; Archbishop Cranmer ; and George Buchanan. Having examined these works, the visitor's way lies in a direct line to the last room of the eastern gallery-to that, the wall cases of which, are filled with the families of

WEB-FOOTED BIRDS.

This section of the birds includes all those which are able to support themselves upon the surface of the water. The varieties include the gaudy Flamingos; the Albatross that frighted the ancient mariner; the Pelicans with their pouches; the impetuous Gannets, and the remarkable Frigate Bird. And here, too, the visitor will find the varieties of ducks, geese, and swans, all classed in regular order. The web-footed birds occupy no less than thirty-one cases; to each of which the visitor should pay some attention. The first case of the series (135) is gay with the bright red plumage of the flamingos, with their crooked upper mandible, and their long legs and necks. The next four cases (136— 139) of the series are occupied by the varieties of the Goose. In the first of these cases the visitor should notice the varieties of the spur-winged goose from various parts of the world; including the black-backed goose. In the three following cases the white fronted and grey-legged European geese; the Canada and Magellanic geese; and the Indian barred-headed goose; and the cereopsis from New Holland. The stately Swans from various parts of the world, all graceful; including the handsome black-necked swan, and the whistling swan, occupy the three cases next in succession (140-142). The Ducks occupy no less than eight cases; and the visitor will linger over the beautiful varieties, without once allowing the unkind association of green peas to enter his head. In the first four cases (143–146) are the sub-families of the true duck, collected from various parts of the world ;—the teal from China; the whistling duck from South America, and the European varieties of the common teal, the widgeon, and the sheldrake. Three cases

*

(147—149) are filled with those sub-families of the duck which prefer the sea or the great lakes, including the handsome red-crested European duck; the eider duck, which is robbed of its down for the comfort of mankind; the scoter and nyroca ducks; and, in the third case, the spinous-tailed ducks of southern climes. The arctic birds, known as the Mergansers, are grouped in the next case (150): and, proceeding on his way, the visitor will arrive before the cases (151-152) of Divers, from the north, so called from the strength with which they dive for the fish upon which they live; but their powers in this respect are not equalled by those of a sub-family of web-footed birds, which the visitor will presently reach. Before reaching the cases in which the interesting sub-families of the Gulls are exhibited the visitor should remark the varieties of the Grebes in case 152; the two following cases devoted to the Auks from the arctic regions; and the true Auks of Britain; the varieties of the Penguins, or marine parrots; and the Guillemots. From these birds the visitor's way lies in the direction of the six cases (155 -160) in which the sub-families of the gulls are grouped. The contents of the first cases will at once strike him: here are the Petrels, and the associations of shipwreck and disaster with which they have ever been connected. The group includes the stormy petrel, and the albatross. They have an altogether wild and singular appearance. The true gulls of every sea are grouped in the next three cases (157-159): they come from the ice of the polar seas, and from our own shores, including the kittiwake gull, and the European black-backed gull. The last case of the gull family (160) is given to

*These birds build in the crevices of precipitous rocks, and the female lines the nest with the down plucked from her breast. From these nests natives rob the down and sell it.

the Terns, which are caught in all parts of the world; and the Skimmers, so called from the dexterity with which they skim the surface of the water, keeping the under mandible immersed, and the upper dry, in search of prey. Next to the gulls are placed the Tropic Birds (161), the name of which indicates their native clime. These birds prey upon fish; some, as the red-tailed tropic bird, darting upon the flying-fish; and others, as the darters, boldly plunging into the tide from overhanging boughs, in search of their favourite prey; here, too, is the common Cormorant. Four more cases remain for examination, and then the visitor will have closed his inspection of the museum specimens of birds. These four cases contain, however, one or two birds, the habits of which are singular. First, there are the Pelicans with their capacious pouches. The rapidity with which these birds swallow small fish has been witnessed by most people at our Zoological Gardens. The visitor should notice next, the European Gannet, of which strange stories of strength and prowess are related. The velocity with which they dive in search of food has been variously estimated. It is said that on the coast of Scotland, fishermen have found them entangled in their nets at the extraordinary depth of a hundred and twenty feet below the surface. Pennant relates a story of a bird, which, on seeing some pilchards lying upon a floating plank, darted down with such strength that its bill pierced the board. And now the visitor should turn to contemplate the grand and solitary Frigate Bird. This bird appears to have the power of sustaining itself in the air for an indefinite period, and to wander with the utmost confidence on its broad pinions, over hundreds of miles of ocean, now and then dipping to secure its prey. This slim, pale, and solitary wanderer must have a noble appearance, when calmly

sailing upon its great expanse of wing, a thousand miles from any resting-place, its food floating in the element below, to be taken at will. Before leaving the last, or most northerly apartment of the eastern zoological gallery, the visitor would do well to notice a few of the pictures which are suspended above the wall cases. Here are portraits of Voltaire; the hardy Sir Francis Drake; Cosmo de Medici and his secretary (a copy from Titian); Martin Luther; Jean Rousseau; Captain William Dampier, by Murray; Giorgioni's Ulysses Aldrovandus; Sir Peter Paul Rubens; the inventor of moveable type, John Guttenberg (which would be more appropriately placed in the library); John Locke; a poor woman, named Mary Davis, who in the seventeenth century, was celebrated for an excrescence which grew upon her head, and finally parted into two horns; the great Algernon Sidney; Pope; Ramsay's portrait of the celebrated Earl of Chesterfield, who, according to Dr. Johnson, "taught the morality of a profligate, and the manners of a dancing master," and a landscape by Wilson. At the northern door of this gallery are, a painting of Stonehenge, and one of the cromlech at Plâs Newydd, in Anglesea.

The visitor's way now lies to the west out of the eastern zoological gallery into the most southerly of the two northern galleries. This gallery, which consists of five compartments, or rooms, is called

THE NORTHERN ZOOLOGICAL GALLERY.

The wall cases of this gallery, to which the visitor's attention should now be exclusively devoted, contain various zoological families. In the first eight wall cases of the room are distributed the varieties of Bats. These are placed here, away from the mammalia, on account of the pressure of room. They are not to be mis