96 



FACULTIES OF BIRDS. 



goes *. Macrobius and other emperors are said to 

 have been fond of these tongues, though Galen, as 

 quoted by Belon, ridicules the matter f. 



Whether it might be only on account of their rarity 

 that such dishes were prized, we find the same opinion 

 of the delicacy of the flamingo's tongue echoed by 

 modern voyagers, such as Dutertre, Roberts, and 

 Dampier, who describe the tongue as very large, with 

 a lump of fat near the root furnishing a morsel fit 

 for the king's table. Dampier might well ascertain 

 the fact, as he and two others by secreting themselves 

 killed fourteen of these birds at once J. 



Head and tongue of the Flamingo (Phcenicopterus ruber). 



The French Academicians describe the tongue of 

 the flamingo as edged with fleshy papillae turned 

 backward, the whole being large enough to fill the 



* Suetonius. f Oyseaux, p. 199. 



J Davies, Hist. Barb, p. 88. 



