Mrs. Loudon's Entertaining Naturalist: Being popular descriptions, tales, and anecdotes of more than Five Hundred Animals.Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
General
Mrs. Loudon's Entertaining Naturalist: Being popular descriptions, tales, and anecdotes of more than Five Hundred Animals.
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Animals -- Juvenile literature; Zoology -- Juvenile literature
Linnæus divided this class into six Orders:
1. _Land Birds._
I. RAPACIOUS BIRDS (_Accipitres_).--Having the upper mandible
hooked, and an angular projection on each side near the point, as
the eagles, hawks, and owls.
II. PIES (_Picæ_).--Having their bills sharp at the edge, somewhat
compressed at the sides, and convex on the top, as the crow.
III. PASSERINE BIRDS (_Passeres_).--Having the bill conical and
pointed, and the nostrils oval, open, and naked, as the sparrow and
linnet.
IV. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS (_Gallinæ_).--Having the upper mandible
arched, and covering the lower one at the edge, and the nostrils
arched over with a cartilaginous membrane, as the common poultry.
2. _Water Birds._
V. WADERS (_Grallæ_).--Having a roundish bill, a fleshy tongue, and
the legs naked above the knees, as the herons, plovers, and snipes.
VI. SWIMMERS (_Anseres_).--Having their bills broad at the top, and
covered with a soft skin, and the feet webbed, as ducks and geese.
ORDERS OF AMPHIBIA.
Under the third class, or Amphibia, Linnæus arranged such animals as
have a cold, and, generally, naked body, a lurid colour, and nauseous
smell. They respire chiefly by lungs, but they have the power of
suspending respiration for a long time. They are extremely tenacious of
life, and can repair certain parts of their bodies which have been lost.
They are also able to endure hunger, sometimes even for months, without
injury.
The bodies of some of them, as the turtles and tortoises, are protected
by a hard and horny shield or covering; those of others are clad with
scales, as the serpents, and some of the lizards; whilst others, as the
frogs, toads, and most of the water-lizards, are entirely naked, or have
their skin covered with warts. Many of the species shed their skins at
certain times of the year. Several of them are furnished with a poison,
which they eject into wounds that are made by their teeth. They chiefly
live in retired, watery, and marshy places; and, for the most part, feed
on other animals, though some of them eat water-plants, and many feed on
garbage and filth. None of these species chew their food; they swallow
it whole, and digest it very slowly.
The offspring of all these animals are produced from eggs, which, after
they have been deposited by the parent animals in a proper place, are
hatched by the heat of the sun. The eggs of some of the species are
covered with a shell; those of others have a soft and tough skin or
covering, not much unlike wet parchment; and the eggs of several are
perfectly gelatinous. In those few that produce their offspring alive,
as the vipers and some other serpents, the eggs are regularly formed,
but are hatched within the bodies of the females.
This class Linnæus divided into three Orders:
I. REPTILES.--Having four legs, and walking with a crawling pace,
as the tortoises, toads, and lizards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account