FLAMINGOES. 387 



the water does not move in the act of breathing, but remains 

 perfectly steady. They are ribbed much in the same way as the 

 hull of a ship, and any change of form which they undergo while 

 swimming takes place in that part of their body which is raised 

 above the water. Moreover, in their shape these birds are fashioned 

 in strict conformity with the kind of life to which they are ap- 

 pointed. If their principal occupation requires them to remain 

 nearly stationary, floating and dabbling in the water, their body 

 is shaped somewhat like a punt ; if they are to fly rapidly through 

 the air, their form is narrowed posteriorly, as in the terns or sea- 

 swallows ; and if destined to dive and shoot along wholly im- 

 mersed in the water, they taper towards the fore part, as is exem- 

 plified in the divers. 



The nests of the Anatidae are generally placed upon the ground, 

 amidst coarse herbage, by the bank of a lake or river : they are 

 principally composed of grass and other vegetation, and lined 

 more or less carefully with down and feathers. 



To this family belong the Flamingoes, the Spur-winged Geese, 

 the Geese proper, the Swans, the River-Ducks, the Sea-Ducks, 

 the Spine-tailed Ducks, and the Mergansers. 



Sub-Family I. 

 THE FLAMINGOES. PHCENICOPTERIN^.* 



General Characteristics. — Bill large, compressed, suddenly bent downwards in 

 the middle, and the lateral margins laminated ; the tarsi very long, slender, with the 

 tibia also lengthened and naked ; the toes short, the anterior ones united by a mem- 

 branous web. 



These remarkable birds are widely distributed throughout the 

 warmer parts of the world. They are usually observed upon the 

 sea-shore or in the salt marshes, in flocks consisting of many in- 

 dividuals, one of which generally acts as sentinel while the others 

 are feeding or resting. They fly in a triangular phalanx, but alight 

 in a straight line, and generally remain so while seeking their food. 

 They are capable of running quickly, but when walking, sometimes 

 assist themselves by placing their upper mandible on the ground. 



* <PoivIk€o^, phoenikeos, purple (rose-coloured) ; Trrepov, pteron, a i.-vr^ : red-winged. 



