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11
For instance, in quadrupeds the ears stand out freely from the
head and are set to all appearance above the eyes. Not that they are
in reality above the eyes; but they seem to be so, because the
animal does not stand erect, but has its head hung downwards. This
being the usual attitude of the animal when in motion, it is of
advantage that its ears shall be high up and movable; for by turning
themselves about they can the better take in sounds from every
quarter.
12
In birds, on the other hand, there are no ears, but only the
auditory passages. This is because their skin is hard and because they
have feathers instead of hairs, so that they have not got the proper
material for the formation of ears. Exactly the same is the case
with such oviparous quadrupeds as are clad with scaly plates, and
the same explanation applies to them. There is also one of the
viviparous quadrupeds, namely the seal, that has no ears but only
the auditory passages. The explanation of this is that the seal,
though a quadruped, is a quadruped of stunted formation.
13
Men, and Birds, and Quadrupeds, viviparous and oviparous alike, have
their eyes protected by lids. In the Vivipara there are two of
these; and both are used by these animals not only in closing the
eyes, but also in the act of blinking; whereas the oviparous
quadrupeds, and the heavy-bodied birds as well as some others, use
only the lower lid to close the eye; while birds blink by means of a
membrane that issues from the canthus
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