138 ‘ THE ZOOLOGIST. 
The Egyptian piastre, which is of silver and the exact size of 
our threepenny piece, is of no greater value, so that the cost of a 
live Flamingo first-hand at the port of delivery may be said to be 
from eighteenpence to a couple of shillings. 
This information is derived from a letter in French addressed 
by a resident at Damietta, Mons. A. Anhoury, to Mr. Burrell, 
H.B.M. Consul at Port Said, and kindly forwarded by him. 
Another account, by Dr. Couvidon, forwarded by Dr. G. H. 
Kingsley, while confirmatory of the mode of capture above 
described, adds some further details of interest which are worth 
quoting. 
It appears that the poorer Arabs who do not own boats are 
obliged in this pursuit to rely on their own indididual exertions, 
and have to resort to a different stratagem. 
The Flamingoes never swim in deep water, and are generally 
to be seen in the proximity of small islands without going at any 
time out of their depth, but standing on their long legs, hardly 
ever wetting their breast-feathers. They put their heads, however, 
under water in search of food, and can remain in that position a 
long time without detriment. They are very watchful, and place 
sentinels (as Wild Geese do) to give notice of the approach of an 
enemy. ‘These sentinels watch while the rest of the flock sleep, 
standing on one leg, the long neck folded backwards in graceful 
curves, the head reposing on the back, half buried in the scapular 
feathers. At the first cry of alarm they are all off. 
These habits being known to the natives, says Dr. Couvidon, 
“the Arab who is poor and without capital goes at night, sinking 
himself in the water up to his mouth, his head covered with 
grass from the lake, crawls noiselessly near the sentinel, which 
he seizes by the legs and draws swiftly under water, before it can 
ery out or give an alarm ; and by keeping the beaks of his victims 
closed he can secure a certain number before the flock has 
awakened and departed.” 
There is yet another plan when the fowler is single-handed. 
He crawls sufficiently near to the birds to throw a net over them, 
and in this way catches sometimes as many as six or eight, and 
even more, at a time. 
Referring to the method first above-mentioned, Dr. Couvidon 
states that a few stuffed Flamingoes are used as decoys, and are 
stuck up in the centre of the net, watch being kept by the fowler 
