I am birds, distinguished from other animals, chiefly by the softness of the beak, an

I am birds, distinguished from other animals, chiefly by the softness of the beak, and the consequent softness of the palate, to which they are confined. The feathers are soft, and the body is generally clothed with down, instead of hair. The tongue is soft, and the stomach is generally soft, and never furnished with teeth. The birds are never furnished with a bone of any consequence, but their frame is composed of a horny substance, called cartilage. They have no cuticular substance, but the skin is blended with the feathers, so as to form one uniform whole. The birds form, with quadrupeds, a distinct class of warm-blooded animals, but are never mingled with them in one common mass, by the natural philosopher. The birds constitute an order of animals, perfectly distinct from