ORNITHOLOGY, IItsToRv or. The only scientific writers on the subject of birds among the ancients were Aristotle and Pliny. The former of these writers speaks of the different kinds of food adapted to the different species, of which he gives an imperfect Ito and adds some remarks on their various periods of building their nests.1 Pliny's remarks on birds are very desultory,) and not very extended. The first writer among the moderns who has treated of birds' methodically is Peter Belon, who has classed, them principally according to their food and habitation. He has likewise added many observations on their external form and Ma racier. Conrad Gesner, his contemporary, has displayed much learning in his work, having given alphabetical tables of the names of birds in Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, Greek, and Latin, and numerous references to the writers from whom he collected his materials. Aldrovandus, the celebrated naturalist, fol lowed in the steps of Beton and Gesner, and added ranch to their store of learning and re search ; at the some time illustrating the sub ject with numerous wood cuts. The next ornithologists of any distinction, after these three, were Willoughby and Ray, the latter of whom published the works of the former, his friend, with many additions of his own, in 1678. In this work, the external and in ternal structure of birds are described. Jacob Theodore Klein, in his History of Birds, divides them into families, orders, and tribes; thg families distinguished according to their KA, the orders by the form of the bill, and the tribes by the form of the head, &a. In
the systematic arrangement of Moehring, the classes, orders, and genera of birds are distin guished by the form of the feet and bill. The system of Linnmus, which follows here in order of time, is dated from the year 1766. It is formed from the manners and habits of the birds, as well as their external form (see ZOOLOGY.) Brisson, in his system of Or nithology, has distributed birds into twenty six orders, from the form of the bill and feet, &c. including under these one hundred and fifteen 'genera, and thirteen hundred species The work, which is in six volumes 4to., is illustrated with more than two hundred and twenty excellent engravings. The work of Buffon, though popular, has but few claims to notice in a scientific point of view. Mr. Pen nant, in his distribution of birds, prefers Ray to Linnmus ; but Mr. Latham, in his Synopsis of Birds, adheres to the latter with very few exceptions, as dear also Mr. Shaw, in his General Zoology.
Among the writers who have treated of the birds of particular places, the most distin guished are Juan Hernandez on the birds of Mexico; Marcgrave on the birds of Brazil; Sir Hans Sloane on the birds of Jamaica ; Mr. Mark Catesby on the birds of Carolina, Flo rida, rte. ; Schwenckfel on those of Siberia ; Brunnick on those of Denmark ; Sonnerat on those of New Guinea ; Frisch on those of Germany; Valliant on those of the Cape, and Edwards on those of the West Indies.