192 Wonders of the Bird World 



resemble Geese in the " gaggling " note, and their food also 

 consists of grass and other plants. The nestling of the 

 Flamingo is covered with whitish down, and there is no 

 indication in its little straight bill of the peculiar form which 

 the latter organ will assume as the bird proceeds to 

 maturity. The young take to the water at once, and are 

 expert swimmers almost from the moment when they 

 emerge from the egg. The latter is greenish-blue, but this 

 colour is entirely concealed by a thick chalky coating, 

 which has to be removed before the proper tint can be 

 observed. The old birds are excellent swimmers and seem 

 to delight in standing in water up to their " knees," and this 

 partiality for water makes their mode of nesting a still 

 greater matter of surprise. We will let Mr. Chapman tell 

 the story of his discovery in his own words 



" One cannot go far into the ' marisma ' without seeing 

 that extraordinary fowl, the Flamingo, certainly the most 

 characteristic bird of the wilderness. In herds of from three 

 to five hundred in number, several of which are often in 

 sight at once, they stand feeding in the open water, all their 

 heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water- 

 plants from the bottom. On approaching them, which can 

 only be done with extreme caution, their silence is first 

 broken by the sentries, who commence walking away with 

 low croaks ; then the whole five hundred necks rise at once 

 to the full extent, every bird gaggling his loudest as they 

 walk obliquely away, looking back over their shoulders as 

 though to take stock of the extent of the danger. Pushing 

 a few yards forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful 

 sight cannot be imagined than the simultaneous spreading 

 of their thousand crimson wings, flashing against the sky 

 like a gleam of rosy light. 



" On examining narrowly the different herds, there was 

 an obvious dissimilarity in the appearance of certain groups ; 

 one or two in particular seemed so much denser than the 



