FLAMINGOES. '^ 321 



the trochlea for the second toe markedly shorter than either of the others, and 

 much bent back, whereas in the storks and herons these three trochlese are of 

 nearly equal length. In the existing forms the basipterygoid facets on the 

 rostrum of the skull are rudimentary ; and in all the metacoracoid (as figured in 

 Vol III. p. 294) is characterised by its shortness and breadth, and its firm articula- 

 tion with the breast-bone. In their long legs and neck, and the absence of 

 unfeathered areas on the latter, as well as in many features of 

 their internal anatomy, the flamingoes resemble the storks, near 

 which they are placed by some authorities. Their extinct 

 allies are, perhaps, still more stork-like ; so that the family 

 may probably be regarded as somewhat intermediate between 

 the storks and ducks, being ancestrally connected with the 

 former. 



The true flamingoes, of which there are 



True Flamingoes. . . . ^ . . front view op the 



some nine existing species, constitute the genus lower end of the 



Phcenicopterus, and are readily characterised by the beak ^^^^^t tibia of the 



being sharply bent down at an angle in front of the nostrils ; 



its upper mandible being broad and flattened, and the lower tubercle. ' ' 



one deep and channelled. The leg is also of great length, with 



the metatarsus but little shorter than the tibia. While some species have a small 



first toe, in others this is completely wanting ; and in all nearly the whole length of 



the tibia is devoid of feathers. The neck is of great length and slenderness ; and 



the wing of moderate size, with the first quiU slightly the longest ; while the tail 



is short and even. Flamingoes, although unknown in Australia, are distributed 



over the warmer regions of the greater part of both hemispheres, a few individuals 



occasionally wandering as far north as the British Islands and Northern Germany. 



With the exception of two species inhabiting the Chilian Andes, these birds 



frequent open country in the neighbourhood of large rivers, where the water may 



be either fresh, brackish, or salt. In a fossil state flamingoes occur in the lower 



Miocene rocks of France. All the members of the genus are characterised by the 



general red hue of the plumage, — either rosy white or full scarlet, — with black on 



the wings. In the adult of the European flamingo (P. roseus) the whole of the 



plumage is rosy white, with the exception of the quills of the wings, which are 



black, and the light scarlet wing-coverts. The iris and naked skin round the eyes 



are yellow ; the beak is rosy red at the base and black at the tip ; and the legs 



and feet are pinkish red. Young bjrds, on the other hand, lack nearly all the 



rose-colour, while their secondary quills are barred with black, and all the naked 



parts are of a leaden hue. A full-grown bird may vary from 5 to as much as 6 feet 



5 inches in length. In this species there is a small third toe, which is, however, 



wanting in the two Chilian forms. The common flamingo visits the salt-marshes 



and lagoons at the mouth of the Rhone and other districts in the south of France 



during the breeding-season, where it may at times be met with in thousands. It 



is also abundant in similar localities in Spain ; and its range extends southwards 



to the Cape, and eastwards to Lake Baikal, India, Ceylon, etc. The American 



flamingo (P. ruber) is, however, distinct, having the general colour of the plumage 



a full vermilion-scarlet. Flocks of flamingoes, as they may be seen by the lakes 



VOL. IV. — 21 



