■*,92 " R E M A R K S o n .t h .'E
C E T A C T A .
"The cetaceous animals which we Law in the South Sea, are the fin
fi£h, [Balcenaphyfalis, Linn.) the bottle nofed whale, .the grampus,
the porpefle, and the dolphin o f the antients. T h e two lall are
feen all over the ocean from the line to the antardtic polar circle.
W e had no opportunity o f examining any but a female o f the dolphin,
{ Delphimis Delphis, Linn, ) which we found perfectly to anfwer
to the accurate defcriptions o f the various zoologilts. I t was. ftruck
with the harpoon, and we feaftedon it with as much, or perhaps
more appetite, than they did in the time o f Dr. Caius. [See Mr,
Pennant's Britijh Zoology, vol. 3. p. 63. edit, in 4to.)
B I B. D S,
T h e birds o f the.South Sea, and o f Tierra del Fuego, are numerous,
and form a .confiderable variety of fpecies ; among which are
two genera entirely new, and a third hitherto confounded with federal
others (the pinguin.) T h e y live fecure in every b.ufh, and on
every tree, undifturbed for the greateft part by the inhabitants;
they enliven the woods with their continual Longs, and contribute
much to the fplendor of nature by their varied plumage. It is a
received notion that birds o f many colours do not ling well, but not
to mention the common goldfinch, which is perhaps, one of the
moll
O R c; A N I c B O. D I E- S. 1 9 3
moll beautiful birds in nature,, and has a.;very: melodious note, we
have numerous inftances here to the contrary. The wild forefts of
N ew Zeeland,'and the cultivated groves of O-Taheitee, refound
alike with the harmony o f the Ihining fongfters.. There is only one
tame fpecies o f birds, properly fpeaking, in the tropical ifl.es of
the South Sea, viz. the common cock and hen j they are found numerous
at Eafter Illand, where they are the only domellic animals:
they are likewife in great plenty at the Society Illes, and Friendly
Ides, at which laft they are o f a prodigious lize : they are alfo not
uncommon at the Marquelas, Hebrides, * and N ew - Caledonia ;■
but the low ifl.es, and thofe o f the temperate zone, are quite def-
titute o f them. W e can hardly reckon certain parroquets and pigeons
among domellic birds ; for though the natives o f the Friendly
and Society Illes, fometimes catch and tame them, yet they never
have any breeds o f them. Th e number of. our new birds from
New-Zeeland, is thirty-feven j that o f the tropical illes, is forty-
feven;1 the fpeci'esfrpm the ocean, the Southern extremities o f America
and the Southern lands, are upwards o f twenty. T h e whole
number thus amounts to . 104; o f which one half are aquatic : we
havebefides thefe, met with about thirty Linn Dean Ipecies, of which
-above .twenty are aquatic j and I am well pcrfuaded that we have not
ibcen able to procure every fpecies in the fame manner, as we have not
•obtained a compleat Flora o f every country we vifited; the number
C c of
ANIMAL
K IN G D OM