and aquatic surface-insects.

3. Form and flight. Stout, for a sea-bird; and they don't care to fly,
preferring to _swim_ out of danger. Body 7 to 8 inches long; wings,
from carpal joint to end, 4-3/4,--say 5. These quarters of inches, are
absurd pretenses to generalize what varies in every bird. 8 inches
long, by 10 across the wings open, is near enough. In future, the
brief notification 8 x 10, 5 x 7, or the like, will enough express a
bird's inches, unless it possess decorative appendage of tail, which
must be noted separately.

4. Foot. Chestnut-leaved in front toes, the lobes slightly serrated
on the edges. Hind toe without membrane. Color of foot, always black.

5. Beak. Long, slender, straight. (How long? Drawn as about a fifth
of the bird's length--say an inch, or a little over.) Upper mandible
slightly curved down at the point. In Titania arctica, the beak is
longer and more slender.

6. Voice. A sharp, short cry, not conceived by me enough to spell any
likeness of it.

7. Temper. Gentle, passing into stupid, (it seems to me); one, in
meditative travel, lets itself be knocked down by a gardener with his
spade.

8. Nest. Little said of it, the bird breeding chiefly in the North.
Among marshes, it is of weeds and grass; but among icebergs, of what?

9. Eggs. Pear-shape; narrow ends together in nest; never more than
four.

10. Brood. No account of.

11. Feathers. Mostly gray, passing into brown in summer, varied with
white on margin. Reddish chestnut or bay bodice--well oiled or
varnished.

12. Uses. Fortunately, at present, unknown.

V.

RALLUS AQUATICUS. WATER-RAIL.

116. Thus far, we have got for representatives of our dabchick group,
eight species of little birds--namely, two Torrent-ouzels, three
Lily-ouzels, one Grebe, and two Titanias. And these we associate,
observe, not for any specialty of feature in them, but for common
character, habit, and size; so that, if perchance a child playing by
any stream, or on the sea-sands, perceives a companionable bird
dabbling in an equally childish and pleasant manner, he may not have to
look through half a dozen volumes of ornithology to find it; but may be
pretty sure it has been one of these eight. And having once fastened
the characters of these well in his mind, he may with ease remember
that the little grebe is the least of a family of chestnut-leaf-footed,
and sharp-billed creatures, which yet in size, color, and diving power