THE PELICAN. 289 



the bird, by a slight up-and-down movement of the head, 

 raise up into its mouth a considerable quantity of red 

 coloured fluid. As soon as the upper part of -the throat 

 and mouth becomes filled, it will drop or run down from 

 the corners of the flamingo's mouth ; the flamingo then 

 bends its long neck over the gaping cariama and pours 

 this fluid into the mouth, and as frequently on the back 

 of the cariama. Having seen this repeatedly, I took an 

 opportunity of obtaining a portion of this fluid and 

 submitted it to the examination of Dr. Murie. We 

 placed it under the microscope, and find it composed of 

 little else than blood ; in fact, the red blood-corpuscles are 

 wonderfully abundant in the otherwise clear and almost 

 transparent glutinous fluid. That this does not proceed 

 from any disease or injury done to the flamingo, nor arise 

 or is produced by any portion or part of the food taken 

 by them, I am perfectly certain, for the birds are in the 

 most vigorous health and condition ; but I believe that it 

 is an attempt to supply food to the cariamas, just as the 

 hedge-sparrow and other birds supply food to the young 

 cuckoo, and I have no doubt, if a careful observer had the 

 opportunity of watching the flamingoes on their breeding- 

 ground, he would find that this is the mode of feeding 

 their young : no doubt other food is also provided, but 

 most likely mixed with this secretion. I think it highly 

 probable that this habit was noticed in ancient Egypt, 

 and, by the confusion of names in translation, the pelican 



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