508 



ANATID^E ; FLAMINGO ; GEESE. 



of its bill, would rather seem to belong to the Duck tribe. 

 The beak would closely resemble that of a Swan, were it 

 not bent down abruptly 

 in the middle ; and by 

 this change of form, it is 

 adapted to be used in a 

 position contrary to the 

 usual one, the head 

 being so bent down, that 

 the upper mandible, not 

 the lower, is applied 

 to the mud and ooze in 

 which the Bird is seeking 

 its food. The edges of 

 the mandibles are lami- 

 nated, as in the Ducks ; 

 and the tongue is fleshy, 

 and beset with rows of 

 curved spines. The Fla- 

 mingoes are waders in 

 their habits, chiefly fre- FIG. 289 FLAMINGO. 



quenting low muddy coasts, the mouths of large rivers, creeks, 

 lagoons, and inland lakes. The European species is seen on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean ; but it is more abundant in 

 Southern Africa, and on the shores of the Caspian. 



455. Of the true ANATID^, the Geese seem best adapted for 

 an inland residence ; their food consists chiefly of grain or grass; 

 and their legs are placed further forwards than in the Ducks. 

 The parent-stock of our domesticated breeds the common Wild 

 Goose or Grey Lag Goose, is still extant in some parts of England, 

 though its numbers are diminishing in consequence of the exten- 

 sion of cultivation. It ranges over the greater part of the 

 temperate regions of the Old World ; and is replaced in the 

 New by a species very closely allied to it, and equally domes- 

 ticable, the Canada Goose. Still further north is found the 

 Snow Goose, which seems altogether confined to the Arctic 

 regions. The Brent Goose is a much smaller Bird than the 



