Treasury of the animal world, ed. by W. Anderson1854 |
Common terms and phrases
amphibia animal ant-hill antennæ ants appearance Arabs attack beautiful Bedouin bees bird bird of prey body bones branches brown byah called camel cells chamois CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW claws close coati cocoons colour cormorant covered creature crocodile devoured distance dromedary eagle eggs eight enemies eyes feathers feed feet female fins fish flesh foot furnished ground habits hatched hawk head herd hippopotamus horse hundred inches in length inhabitants insects jaws kind kinkajou larvæ leap leaves legs light living llama locusts male mandibles manner motion mouth mulberry nature neck nest never night-jar observed oviparous peculiar placed plantigrade possess prey quadrupeds remarkable reptiles resemble river salmon seen shark sheep side silkworm skin snake sometimes species spermaceti spider spot swallow swimming tail teeth thick thread titmouse trees tribe trout upper usually vicugna viviparous whale whilst wings worms young
Popular passages
Page 85 - As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
Page 235 - ... is such as to alter the appearance of the very ocean. It is divided into distinct columns of five or six miles in length, and three or four in breadth ; and they drive the water before them with a kind of rippling.
Page 62 - Let us figure to ourselves this prodigious crowd of insects covering the ground lying between these two ant-hills, and occupying a space of two feet in breadth. Both armies met at half-way from their respective habitations, and there the battle commenced. Thousands of ants took their station upon the highest ground, and fought in pairs, keeping firm hold of their antagonists by their mandibles : a considerable number were engaged in the attack and leading away prisoners.
Page 119 - ... powers of its wing were wonderful, exceeding, if possible, the various evolutions and quick turns of the swallow genus. But the circumstance that pleased me most was, that I saw it distinctly, more than once, put out its short leg while on the wing, and, by a bend of the head, deliver somewhat into its mouth. If it takes any part of its prey with its foot, as I have now the greatest reason to suppose it does these chafers, 1 no longer wonder at the use of its middle toe, which is curiously furnished...
Page 27 - A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Page 235 - The first check this army meets in its march southward, is from the Shetland Isles, which divide it into two parts ; one wing takes to the east, the other to the western shores of Great Britain, and fill every bay and creek with their numbers ; others pass on towards Yarmouth, the great and ancient mart of Herrings ; they then pass through the British channel, and, after that, in a manner disappear...
Page 104 - ... swallow them, till each bird hath, after this manner, devoured five or six fishes. Then their keepers call them to the fist, to which they readily fly; and, one after another, vomit up all their fish, a little bruised with the first nip given in catching them. When they have done fishing, setting the birds on some high place, they loose the string from their necks, leaving the passage to the stomach free and open; and, for their reward, they throw them part of their prey; to each, one or two...
Page 62 - The scene of warfare occupied a space of about three feet square ; a penetrating odour exhaled from all sides ; numbers of dead ants were seen covered with venom. The ants, composing groups and chains, laid hold of each other's legs and pincers, and dragged their antagonists on the ground. These groups formed successively. The fight usually commenced between two ants, who...
Page 240 - Impended, the young again enter the rivers, and are then about eighteen inches m length. They again seek the ocean on the return of frosts. At two years old, the salmon weighs six or eight pounds, and requires five or six years to attain the weight of ten or twelve. The salmonfishery is one of the most important branches of business in the north of Europe. Immense quantities of this fish are taken every year, and form a considerable accession to the general mass of nutriment. The flesh is bright...
Page 86 - ... and bright for this climate.) They at first made small circles, and the young birds imitated them ; they paused on their wings, waiting till they had made their first flight, and then took a second and larger gyration, — always rising towards the sun, and enlarging their circle of flight so as to make a gradually extending spiral. The young ones still slowly followed, apparently flying better as they mounted ; and they continued this sublime kind of exercise, always rising till they became...