THE CRANE KIND. 171 



also, the heron, the bittern, the cormorant, and the shag, have takes 

 ap their residence, and annually bring forth their young together. 

 Here the crane kind seems to have formed their general rendezvous ; 

 and as the inhabitants say, every sort of bird has its several quarter, 

 where none but their own tribe are permitted to reside. Of t'i^s 

 grove the peasants 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 together. 



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 common kind among us ; but these birds have not 

 yet made their way into Europe. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



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 gro- 

 velling class of animals. With a longer neck and legs than any other 

 of the crane kind, it seeks its food by wading 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 use- 

 less, 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 an6 

 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 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 ne- 

 ver seen swimming, its legs and thighs being sufficient for bearing 11 

 'nto those depths where it seeks for prey. 



This extraordinary bird is now chiefly found in America, but it 

 wai once known on all the coasts of Europe Its beauty, its SIM 



