400 NATURAL HISTORY. 



furnished with, strong spurs, like those of the jacana, to be mentioned 

 shortly, while from the top of the head arises a long and slender horn 

 which curves gracefully forward, giving the bird the most unique appear- 

 ance. Its voice is described as a harsh scream like the bray of a jackass. 

 It is, however, excelled in vocal powers by a related species from Buenos 

 A}Tes. Of it Mr. Gibson says, " It is much addicted to soaring, and scores 

 may be seen at a time, rising in great spiral circles till they become mere 

 specks hi the sky, and actually disappear at last. Even at this elevation 

 the cry is distinctly audible, and has often drawn my attention to the bird 

 as having really vanished into the blue ether. The cry, which may be 

 often heard at night, is frequently indulged in, and consists of the sylla- 

 bles cha-ha, uttered by the male, while the female invariably responds to 

 it. or rather follows it up with cha-ha-li, placing the accent on the last 

 syllable. Preparatory to producing it, if on the ground, the bird draws 

 back its head and neck slightly ; and at that moment, if one is sufficiently 

 mar. the inhalation of air into the chest may be faintly heard. The note 

 is of great strength and volume, and is still distinguishable a couple of 

 miles away, if the day should be calm." 



Wading Birds. 



The flamingoes are strange, but in another way. They look like swans 

 on stilts, all but the beak, and that is most peculiar. At the middle it is 

 bent abruptly downwards, the upper half shutting into the lower. The 

 legs are long, and terminate in webbed feet ; while the neck is extremely 

 long, and the bill is provided with sifting-plates, like those of the ducks. 

 As will be seen, these features (besides many others anatomical) make it a 

 form intermediate between the swimming and the wading birds, some plac- 

 ing it in the one group, while others assign it a position in the other. 



Many of the habits of the flamingoes are well known, but others were 

 not settled until a very recent date. A group of them feeding is a beauti- 

 ful sight, and it is no wonder that the inhabitants of Spanish America, 

 noticing their lengthened lines, their subjection to a leader, and their 

 red plumage, call them ' English soldiers.' Mr. Richard Hill described, 

 many years ago, their habits in confinement. " I was struck," he says, 

 " with their attitudes, with the excellent adaptation of their twofold char- 

 acter of waders and swimmers, to their habits, while standing and feeding 

 in the sort of shoal which we made them in a large tub upon deck. We 

 were here able to observe their natural gait and action. With a fine 

 exactness, like a man treading a wine-press, they trod and stirred the 

 mashed biscuits and junked fish with which we fed them ; and plied their 



