564 



A HISTORY OF 



the animal leads a life of moderate felicity; in 

 part making use of its many natural advanta- 

 ges, and in part necessarily conforming to the 

 imperfections of its figure. 



The shoveler chiefly feeds upon frogs, toads, 

 and serpents ; of which, particularly at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, they destroy great num- 

 bers. The inhabitants of that country hold 

 them in as much esteem as the ancient Egyp- 

 tians did their bird ibis : the shoveler runs 

 tamely about their houses ; and they are con- 

 tent with its society, as an useful, though a 

 homely, companion. They are never killed ; 

 and, indeed, they are good for nothing when 

 they are dead, for the llesh is unfit to be 

 eaten. 



This bird breeds, in Europe, in company 

 with tht- heron, in high trees ; and in a nest 

 formed of the same materials. Willoughby tells 

 us, that in a certain grove, at a village call- 

 ed Seven Huys, near Leyden, they build and 

 breed yearly in great numbers. In this grove, 



also, the heron, the bittern, the cormorant, and 

 the shag, have taken up their residence, and 

 annually bring forth their young together. 

 Here the crane kind seem to have formed 

 their general rendezvous ; and, as the inhabi- 

 tants say, every sort of bird has its several 

 quarter, where none but their own tribe arc 

 permitted to reside. Of this grove the pea- 

 sants of the country make good profit. "When 

 the young ones are ripe, those that farm the 

 grove, with a hook at the end of a long pole, 

 catch hold of the bough on which the nest is 

 built, and shake out the young ones ; but 

 sometimes the nest and all tumble down to- 

 gether. 



The shoveler lays from three to five eggs, 

 white, and powdered with a few sanguine or 

 pale spots. We sometimes see, in the cabinets 

 of the curious, the bills of American shovelers, 

 twice as big and as long as those of the com- 

 mon kind among us ; but these birds have not 

 yet made their way into Europe. 



CHAPTER CX1X. 



THE FLAMINGO. 



THE Flamingo has the justest right to be 

 placed among cranes ; and though it happens 

 to be web-footed, like birds of the goose kind, 

 yet its height, figure, and appetites, entirely 

 remove it from that groveling class of animals. 

 With a longer neck and legs than any other of 

 the crane kind, it seeks its food by wailing 

 among waters, and only differs from all of this 

 tribe in the manner of seizing its prey ; for as 

 the heron makes use of its claws, the flamingo 

 uses only its bill, which is strong and thick 

 for the purpose, the claws being useless, as 

 they are feeble, and webbed like those of 

 water-fowl. 



The flamingo is the most remarkable of all 

 the crane kind, the tallest, bulkiest, and the 

 most beautiful. The body, which is of a 

 beautiful scarlet, is no bigger than that of a 

 swan ; but its legs and neck are of such an 

 extraordinary length, that, when it stands 

 erect, it is six feet six inches high. Its wings, 

 extended, are five feet six inches from tip to j 



tip ; and it is four feet eight inches from tip to 

 tail. The head is round and small, with a 

 large bill, seven inches long, partly red, partly 

 black, and crooked like a bow. The legs and 

 thighs, which are not much thicker than a 

 man's finger, are about two feet eight inches 

 high ; and its neck near three feet long. The 

 feet are not furnished with sharp claws, as in 

 others of the crane kind ; but feeble, and 

 united by membranes, as in those of the goose. 

 Of what use these membranes are does not 

 appear, as the bird is never seen swimming, 

 its legs and thighs being sufficient for bearing 

 it into those depths where it seeks for prey. 



This extraordinary bird is now chiefly 

 found in America ; but it vt as once known on 

 all the coasts of Europe. Its beauty, its size, 

 and the peculiar delicacy of its flesh, have 

 been such temptations to destroy or take it, 

 that it has long since deserted tht j shores fre- 

 quented by man, and taken refuge in countries 

 that are as yet but thinly peopled. In those 



