334 



FLAMINGOES, DUCKS, AND SCREAMERS. 



with the metatarsus exceeding the length of the third toe ; and the first toe is well 

 developed. The windpipe of the male differs from that of ordinary geese in being 

 dilated at the lower end. In colour the Egyptian goose has the sides of the head 

 and front of the neck mottled yellowish white ; a patch round the eye, the hinder- 

 neck, and a collar round the lower part of the latter are chestnut-brown ; on the 

 upper-parts the general hue is mingled grey and black, and that of the under-parts 

 yellowish brown, marked with black and white, and becoming lighter on the 

 hinder-part of the breast and abdomen; the breast having a patch of chestnut 

 brown. The carpal portion of the wing and wing-coverts is white, with black tips 

 to the smaller coverts; the secondaries are tinged with reddish bay, and edged 



with chestnut; and the prim- 

 aries and tail-feathers are 

 brilliant black. The iris is 

 yellow ; the beak is horn-colour 

 above, with the tip pink, the 

 nail, margin, and base dark 

 brown, and the lower mandible 

 cherry-red; the legs and feet 

 being pink. 



This handsomely coloured 

 bird, which is the vulpanser of 

 Herodotus, was domesticated 

 by the ancient Egyptians, and, 

 although not sacred, was the 

 emblem of Seb, the father of 

 Osiris. It now occurs in the 

 Nile Valley southwards of 

 Cairo, and thence ranges over 

 the greater part of tropical 

 Africa, and is the common wild 

 goose of the Cape Colony. 

 Going about either singly or in 

 pairs, the Egyptian goose frequents both rapid running streams and pools and lakes ; 

 and its nest may be situated either on dry land or among long swampy grass in 

 the Zambesi district. Further north these birds have, however, been known to 

 rear their young on ledges of steep cliffs. The young brood leave their parents as 

 soon as they are strong enough to fly. When on the wing, a loud, harsh, grating 

 noise, which has been compared to the bark of a dog, is continually uttered. This 

 goose has been more or less completely acclimatised in England, where it may not 

 unfrequently be seen on ornamental waters ; and in confinement it has bred with 

 several other members of the family, — among them the spur-winged goose. The 

 flesh is superior in quality to that of the latter species. The windpipe of the 

 male is peculiar in having a large bony capsule on the left side of its lower 

 extremity. 



So indissolubly was the attribute of whiteness connected among 

 the ancients with the swans, that the idea of a black swan, as ex- 



AMERICAN KNOB-WINGED GOOSE. 



