PELICANS 



raises up into its mouth a considerable quantity of red- 

 coloured fluid ; as soon as the upper part of the throat and 

 mouth became filled it dropped or ran down from the 

 corners of the flamingo's mouth, the flamingo then bent 

 its long neck over the gaping cariama and poured this fluid 

 into the mouth, and, frequently, on the back of the 

 cariama. Having seen this done repeatedly, I took an 

 opportunity of obtaining a portion of the fluid and sub- 

 mitted it to Dr. Murie for examination We placed it under 

 the microscope and found it composed of little else than 

 blood, in fact the red blood-corpuscles are wonderfully 

 abundant in the otherwise clear and almost transparent 

 glutinous fluid. That this did not proceed from any disease 

 of, or injury done to, the flamingo, nor arise from, nor is 

 produced by, any portion or part of the food taken by it, I am 

 perfectly certain, because the bird is in the most vigorous 

 health and condition ; but I believe that it was an attempt 

 to supply food to the cariamas, just as the hedge-sparrow 

 and other birds supply food to the young cuckoo, and I 

 have no doubt if a careful observer had the opportunity of 

 watching the flamingoes on their breeding-ground, he 

 would find that this is the mode of feeding their young ; 

 no doubt other food is also provided, but most likely mixed 

 with this secretion. I think it highly probable that this 

 habit was noticed in ancient Egypt, and, by the confusion 

 of names in translation, the pelican was supposed to be the 

 bird intended : in fact, I have heard that the representa- 

 tion (which I am very anxious to see) is much more like 

 a flamingo than a pelican. Again, a flamingo is much more 

 a bird of the wilderness than the pelican, seeing that the 

 pelican requires a good supply of fish, while the flamingo 

 can live and does well upon very small insects, seeds, and 

 little fry, and is found in places in which the pelican would 

 starve. 



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