. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders : with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . Birds; Reptiles. 282 DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. indentations at the point, turned in a backward direction. Its head is slender and cylindrical, and forms the termination of a slim and excessively long neck, which gives it much the resem- blance of a serpent grafted on a bird. In all its movements this neck is the counterpart of the reptile, and imitates its undula- tions ; therefore, in the United States it has i-eceived the name of the "Serpent
. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders : with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . Birds; Reptiles. 282 DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. indentations at the point, turned in a backward direction. Its head is slender and cylindrical, and forms the termination of a slim and excessively long neck, which gives it much the resem- blance of a serpent grafted on a bird. In all its movements this neck is the counterpart of the reptile, and imitates its undula- tions ; therefore, in the United States it has i-eceived the name of the "; They are iintiring swimmers and excellent divers. When any danger threatens them, they dive completely under water, and do not reappear until they have found some tufts of reeds in which to hide, even should the distance be as. l>arter {Ait/ii/i^n^ Levaillant). much as one thousand feet from the spot where it disappeared. These birds are of a wild and suspicious nature, confining them- selves to solitary places. They perch upon trees which grow by the sides of a pool or river, in order to dart upon any unfortunate fish which comes within their reach, which they seize with ex- traordinary address, swallowing it whole if not too large. If. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Figuier, Louis, 1819-1894; Gillmore, Parker. New York : D. Appleton
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectrep
