336 HISTORY OF 



The nest is not less curious than the animal that 

 builds it : it is raised from the surface of the pool 

 about a foot and a half, formed of mud scraped 

 up together, and hardened by the sun, or the 

 heat of the bird's body : it resembles a truncated 

 cone, or one of the pots which we see placed on 

 chimnies : on the top it is hollowed out to the 

 shape of the bird, and in that cavity the female 

 lays her eggs, without any lining but the well 

 cemented mud that forms the sides of the build- 

 ing. She always lays two eggs, and no more ; 

 and, as her legs are immoderately long, she 

 straddles on the nest, while her legs hang down, 

 one on each side, into the water. 



The young ones are a long while before they 

 are able to fly ; but they run with amazing swift- 

 ness. They are sometimes caught; and, very 

 different from the old ones, suffer themselves to 

 be carried home, and are tamed very easily. In 

 five or six days they become familiar, eat out of 

 the hand, .and drink a surprising quantity of sea 

 water. But though they are easily rendered do- 

 mestic, they are not reared without the greatest 

 difficulty ; for they generally pine away for want 

 of their natural supplies, and die in a short time. 

 While they are yet young, their colours are very 

 different from those lively tints they acquire with 

 age. In their first year they are covered with 

 plumage of a white colour, mixed with grey ; in 

 the second year the whole body is white, with 

 here and there a slight tint of scarlet, and the 

 great covert feathers of the wings are black ; the 

 third year the bird acquires all its beauty, the 



