4i6 



ZOOLOGY 



usually long and the feet suited to wading and swimming. 

 They are heavy eaters, Hving largely on fish. They are often 

 expert fishermen, — the white pelicans acting in concert in driv- 

 ing the fish before them into shallow water, where they capture 

 numbers of them in a capacious pouch of the lower jaw. The 

 flamingos are long-legged, wonderfully colored birds with most 

 interesting gregarious nesting habits. 



Fig. 215. 



Fig. 215. A right lateral view of the skull of the American Flamingo {PhcBnicopterus ruber) 

 Photographed from specimen by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt. 



Questions on the figure. — Distinguish upper and lower jaws, comparing 

 them as to massiveness. Is this the usual condition in birds? How much of the 

 skull is occupied by the brain? To what habits of the flamingo is the form of its 

 beak an adaptation? Compare with Fig. 219. 



The Anseres {geese). The geese, ducks, and swans are 

 familiar because of their widespread migrations and because of 

 numerous domestic varieties. They have heavy bodies and 

 characteristic form (Fig. 212). Three toes are united by the 

 web. Their bills are broad and serrate. They feed upon vege- 

 tation and the smaller water animals. Their wings are long and 



