36 THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



a small, raised, useless hind-toe , but sometimes 

 none. Wings moderate ; tail short. Body small, 

 neck and legs excessively long. 



PLUMAGE AND COLOURATION. In adults usually rosy- 

 white ; wings always red with black quills ; young 

 pale drab with darker streaks. A bare space 

 between bill and eye. No sexual difference. All 

 quills shed at once when moulting. 



YOUNG. Active, but fed at first by the parents, who 

 disgorge into their mouths. They are clad in white 

 down and have a straight beak: 



NEST. A rounded lump of mud, projecting from mud 

 or water, scraped up by the birds. They always 

 breed in colonies. 



EGGS. One or two ; bluish-white, with chalky shell. 



INCUBATION. Thirty days or more. 



FOOD. Small aquatic animals and aquatic vegetation ; 

 they feed like ducks, but with head inverted, the 

 upper jaw being used as the lower one is by a 

 duck. 



GAIT. A walk ; they swim fairly well, but slowly, sitting 

 high in the water. 



FLIGHT. Heavy and direct, with neck and legs out- 

 stretched, and constant flapping. They start awk- 

 wardly by running, and fly in skeins like geese. 



DISPOSITION AND HABITS. Shy but stupid ; essentially 

 gregarious, but constantly quarrelling, though 

 rarely, if ever, actually fighting. 



NOTE. A gaggling cackle, much like that of geese. 



ECONOMIC QUALITIES. The flesh is edible, and the 

 plumage is used for ornament. As, however, the 

 birds are completely harmless, and exceedingly 

 picturesque, their chief use is in embellishing the 

 landscape. 



CAPTIVITY. They live well if allowed constant access 

 to water, and will eat grain like ducks ; they are 

 sometimes sensitive to cold, and in any case are 



