. Narrative of discovery and adventure in the polar seas and regions [microform] : with illustrations of their climate, geology, and natural history ; and an account of the whale-fishery. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. I'M '^ 'v. /,'â -â > ! ''^'r;'; '- ' ANIMAL LIFE. 87 esteems desirable. He is usually hovering high in the air, or seated on the loftiest icy pinnacles, whence, having fixed his eye on a dainty morsel, he darts down on the possessor, which, whether fulmar, snow-bird, or kittiwake, must instantly resign the coveted prize. Happily for these races the burgomaster class is
. Narrative of discovery and adventure in the polar seas and regions [microform] : with illustrations of their climate, geology, and natural history ; and an account of the whale-fishery. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. I'M '^ 'v. /,'â -â > ! ''^'r;'; '- ' ANIMAL LIFE. 87 esteems desirable. He is usually hovering high in the air, or seated on the loftiest icy pinnacles, whence, having fixed his eye on a dainty morsel, he darts down on the possessor, which, whether fulmar, snow-bird, or kittiwake, must instantly resign the coveted prize. Happily for these races the burgomaster class is very small in number, compared to the multitudes over whom he tyrannizes. The genus AnaSj comprehending the swan, the goose, and the duck, large, useful, and often beautiful fowls, traverse in vast flights all the northern seas and inlets. Like the rest of the An seres, they have all webbed feet, consisting of branching toes connected by a membrane, which enable them to move with equal facility on the water as on land. The swan, with its stately plumage, frequents chiefly the inland seas and lakes, of which it lias been called the peaceful monarch. The goose, a leas elegant but more valuable bird, migrates in vast numbers every spring to breed on the Arctic shores and islands, and afibrds a valuable supply of food to all the northern settlements. The Hudson's Bay Company salt three or four thousand annually for winter. The Indians celebrate the month of their arrival under the title of the goose-moon. Migration during the rigorous season, resorted to even by quadrupeds, becomes the still more natural resource of the feathered creation. In Septem- ber the flocks of geese, winging their way to the south- ward, supplied a warning to Captain Franklin of the winter that was closing in upon him. The duck reaches a still higher latitude than the goose, and endures still severer cold. Great flocks of that species called the eider arrive in spring on the most northern shores of Green
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
