PHCENICOP TER ID^ : FLA MING OES. 



889 



thousand. Eggs 2, 3 2o-.3.55 X 2. l0-2.2.-i, long, oval, with thick shell, roughened with white 

 flaky substance, bluish when this is scraped away- The nest is made of mud scraped up into 

 the shape of the frustum of a cone, about 18 or 20 inches or less across at the base, of less 

 diameter at the top, and from a few inches to more than a foot high ; the eggs are laid in a 

 slight hollow, on the bare earth, which cakes and hardens on drying, keeps its shape for years, 

 and may be used over and over again — probably not by the same birds by which it was first 

 erected, but by some members of the colony which resorts to the same spot to breed year after 

 year. The nests are repaired by the addition of fresh mud, till they may become over two feet 

 high. On such a pedestal as this tho bird sits with lior \<>n-2 ]. -> 1.. nt .l.,iil,l, li.i:l/Miit;illy 



Fig. (i'12. — AmericMii Flciiniiigoes. (From a photograph of a group uiouuted by F. S. Webster.) 



under her, the heels and tail sticking far out bcliind, the lonix neck bent so that the head nestles 

 closely, and the eggs under the Itreast rather than under tlii' belly. The food, both of an animal 

 and vegetable kind, is i)rocured by scooping up and sifting tlie e.xtremely soft, sticky ooze or 

 slime which composes the bottom (tf tiie shallow salt-water bays and salt or brackish lagoons 

 which are alike the feeding-grounds and the nesting-places of these singular l)irds ; they are gen- 

 erally found fat, but their flesh is rank, oily, and unfit to be eaten. They fly well, with their 

 long legs stretched out behind, like Herons, but the long neck also stretched out straight before, 

 like Gee.se or Swans, and not like Herons, which latter double the neck in upon the shoulders. 

 The voice is a hoarse guttural outcry of one syllable, uttered instantly on alarm ; tlie birds are 

 e.Ktremely wary and watchful, when feedintr or resting, and on this account, as well as from 

 tiu' natUH' of their haunts, are difliciilt to approach witliiu gunshot range. The flocks nt times 

 go througii for tiicir amusement some extraordinary performances kTin\\ii m-^ the " dress 



