XXVIII ■ BEAKS 



353 



mode ill wliicli the H;iniiiii;ocs sit on their iicsts. This 

 is a luw ti-uiieated cone of mud with a depression ut the 

 top for eggs, fashioned at tlie margin of a lake 

 containing brackish water. Tliis cone varies hora two 

 to fifteen inches in height, and the flamingo sits on it 

 with the legs doubled under her, and the neck folded 

 on the trunk with the head directed forward (p. 171.) 



Flamingoes congreirate in immense flocks, and when, 

 as is often the case in the secluded lakes of East Africa, 

 they stand together like a huge army, the area of the 

 lake occupied l)y them seems to be covered by a pink 

 cloud. The rosy pink of the feathers and legs of these 

 birds is ex(|uisite. The colouring matter permeates the 

 skeleton and persists when the bones are macerated. 

 When they rise on the wing, the black pinions (remiges) 

 arc exposed and then the scarlet wing coverts come 

 well into the picture, forming a feast of colour. When 

 a flock of flamingoes rises from the water, it leaves 

 an impression which, like a glorious vision, is never 

 forgotten. 



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