296 VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 



wing-stroke are known to every child. The spoonbill is a stork-like 

 bird with a spoon-shaped bill with which it captures insect prey, 

 larvae, fish, frogs, etc. ; they are largely tropical in distribution. 

 Flamingoes are large, extremely long-legged, long-necked birds, with 

 wonderful pink plumage. They are good flyers, but are more char- 

 acteristically waders. In the breeding season they are decidedly 

 gregarious, building extensive colonies of tall, chimney-like nests of 

 mud, that are hollowed out at the top to receive the eggs. These 

 nests, which look like a lot of tree-stumps, are made high partly to 

 keep the eggs out of reach of the water, for they are built on low 

 ground, and partly because they are of a convenient height for these 

 long-legged creatures to sit down upon. One might imagine the 

 rather precarious situation involved in an attempt of these stilted 

 birds to sit down on a nest built at the level of the ground. In certain 

 respects the flamingoes are transitional between the storks and the 

 geese. 



THE GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS (ANSERIFORMES) 



This order is divided into two quite well-defined sub-orders con- 

 sisting of the screamers and the Anseres proper. 



The screamers are quite unlike the goose tribe in general appear- 

 ance and in habits, and it is only on the basis of skull and skeletal 

 characters that they are classed as Anseriformes. They are about the 

 size of turkeys and have a fowl-like head and bill. They are highly 

 unique in two respects; the ri&s are entirely devoid of uncinate proc- 

 esses, which are possessed by all other living birds; and they share 

 with the penguins and ratites the distinction of being the only birds 

 having the entire skin covered with feathers, no apteria or naked areas 

 being present. Some writers consider these two characters so dis- 

 tinctive that they would assign to the screamers rank as a separate 

 order. 



The horned screamer is the best known species, characterized by 

 the possession of a forward curving brow-horn about five inches in 

 length. It also has on the anterior margin of each wing two sharp 

 claw-like spikes, that could readily do considerable damage to an 

 antagonist. The disproportionately loud screaming note of these 

 strange birds has given them their name. 



The remaining members of the order are Anseres, familiar types to 

 everyone. The swans are large birds emblematic of grace of form 



