36 THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



a small, raised, useless hind-toe , but sometimes 

 none. Wings moderate ; tail short. Body small, 

 neck and legs excessively long. 



Plumage and Colouration. — In adults usually rosy- 

 white ; wings always red with black quills ; young 

 pale drab with darker streaks. A bare space 

 between bill and eye. No sexual difference. All 

 quills shed at once when moulting. 



Young. — Active, but fed at first by the parents, who 

 disgorge into their mouths. They are clad in white 

 down and have a straight beak. 



Nest. — A rounded lump of mud, projecting from mud 

 or water, scraped up by the birds. They always 

 breed in colonies. 



Eggs. — One or two ; bluish-white, with chalky shell. 



Incubation. — Thirty days or more. 



Food. — Small aquatic animals and aquatic vegetation ; 

 they feed like ducks, but with head inverted, the 

 upp6r jaw being used as the lower one is by a 

 duck. 



Gait. — A walk ; they swim fairly well^ but slowly, sitting 

 high in the water. 



Flight. — Heavy and direct, with neck and legs out- 

 stretched, and constant flapping. They start awk- 

 wardly by running, and fly in skeins like geese. 



Disposition and Habits. — Shy but stupid ; essentially 

 gregarious, but constantly quarrelling, though 

 rarely, if ever, actually fighting. 



Note. — A gaggling cackle, much like that of geese. 



Economic Qualities. — The flesh is edible, and the 

 plumage is used for ornament. As, however, the 

 birds are completely harmless, and exceedingly 

 picturesque, their chief use is in embellishing the 

 landscape. 



Captivity. — They live well if allowed constant access 

 to water, and will eat grain like ducks ; they are 

 sometimes sensitive to cold, and in any case are 



