THE SWIMMERS. 115 



so as evidently to be endowed with great sensibility, as is likewise the tongue, which is large and fleshy 

 except at its sides, which are fringed and toothed with horny ridges. When we observe the use that 

 the Duck makes of this organ, we perceive that, unlike other birds, it discriminates its food, not by 

 sight or smell, but by the sense of touch resident in its tongue. It plunges its beak into the mud, and 

 brings up whatever it may happen to meet with, and from this mouthful of stuff it selects, by the aid of 

 that member alone, whatever is good for food ; while what is' useless escapes through the straining 

 apparatus at the sides of the bill. In comparison with this remarkable structure of the beak, the other 

 characters whereby these birds are distinguishable become of secondary importance, nevertheless they 

 also are somewhat striking. The slightly elongated body is strongly built, the neck either of moderate 

 length, or very long and slender, the high and narrow head of medium size. The tarsus is small or 

 moderate (or, exceptionally, very high), four-toed, and webbed in front. The moderate-sized wings 

 are somewhat pointed ; they consist occasionally of but twelve feathers, and are either truncate or 

 rounded, sometimes wedge-shaped or pointed at the extremity. The plumage is always close, 

 smooth, and well packed with down. The distribution of the various races of these birds is more 

 limited than that of many Natatorial families, and some of them at certain seasons migrate regularly 

 from colder to warmer climates, and vice versd. 



The FLAMINGOES (PJuenicopteri), notwithstanding their extraordinary length of leg and neck, 

 which have induced some authors to class them with the Wading Birds, are, both in their general 

 structure and mode of life, most undoubtedly to be regarded as members of the present order, and 

 are, as their internal anatomy teaches, very nearly related to the Swans. Their body is slenderly 

 built, neck very long, head large, and the wings, in which the second quill is the longest, of moderate 

 length ; the tail, which consists of twelve feathers, is remarkably short. The peculiarly constructed 

 beak is somewhat longer than the head, higher than broad, but thick and bent down towards the 

 middle, at an obtuse angle. The upper rnandible, which is much smaller and feebler than the lower, 

 is remarkably flat ; both mandibles are provided at their circumference with the lamellated sieve-like 

 structure characteristic of the Lamellirostres, The whole apparatus very much resembles a box, of 

 which the lower jaw forms the body, while the upper mandible constitutes the lid. This extraordinary 

 bill is covered with soft skin, but is hard at its apex, and towards its base presents a soft cere. The 

 legs, which are most disproportionately long and slender, are denuded of feathers for a considerable 

 distance above the heel ; the three front toes are of moderate length, and connected by a broad, 

 slightly-excavated web. The hind toe, which is considerably elevated, is short and feeble. The 

 thick, compact, soft plumage is beautifully coloured, and is exactly comparable to that of other 

 Swimming Birds. The internal structure of the Flamingo has been carefully studied by Wagner, 

 and found to correspond in every particular with that of the Ducks (Anatidd). Naturalists are at 

 present acquainted with about half a dozen species belonging to this group, and although the history 

 of some of them is far from complete, enough is known to induce us to believe that in their mode of 

 life they differ in no respect from the species with which we are best acquainted. These remarkable 

 birds are widely distributed over -the warmer portions of the globe, and are met with principally in 

 Asia, Africa, and South Europe. According to the accounts of both ancient and modern writers, they 

 make their appearance every year in great numbers in the vicinity of the lakes of Sardinia and Sicily, 

 as also in Albufera de Valencia, and other parts of Spain. Along the coasts of Egypt, Tripoli, Tunis, 

 Algiers, and Morocco, they are abundant, as also in Smyrna, and near the banks of the Volga, but 

 are very rarely met with in Greece. Occasionally a few stragglers have been seen as far north as the 

 banks of the Rhine ; generally speaking, however, the south coast of Europe must be regarded as 

 their northern limit, and North Africa and Central Asia as their usual habitat Those species that 



