Storks, Herons, and Pelican Tribe 



439 



which to build their nests, though they sometimes nest in trees. From two to four white 

 eggs are laid, from which, if all goes well, as many young, covered with fluffly white down, 

 are hatched. 



The Jabieus are distant relatives of, and scarcely inferior in size to, the Adjutants. There 

 are three species, one occurring in the- Indian Peninsula, New Guinea, and Australia, one 

 in Africa, and one in South America. It is to this last species that the. name Jabiru 

 correctly applies. Furthermore, there can he no doubt that it is one of the handsomest 

 of its tribe. The whole plumage is pure white, and the upper-parts are made additionally 

 resplendent by an indescribable satin-like gloss. The beautiful whiteness of its plumage is 

 enhanced by the fact that the head and neck, bill and feet, are jet-black. Some would give 

 the palm of beauty to the African Saddle-billed Stork. Black and white, as in the 

 American form, are the contrasting '^colours"; but the plumage of the body, instead of being 

 pure white, is plentifully enriched with black, with beautiful purple reflections. 



Fhoto hy D. U Souef] 



[MeWourae. 



FLAMINGOES. 

 In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the birda very remarkable appearance. 



More or less nearly allied to the Storks are several species familiar enough to the 

 professional ornithologist, but not very well known generally. One of the rarest and most 

 interesting of these .is the Whale-headed or Shoe-billed Stork of the Nile, remarkable 

 for its enormous boat-shaped bill. More common but equally interesting are the beautiful 

 Flamingoes. Apart from the brilliancy of their colour, the most noticeable feature of these 

 birds is the curious beak, which is bent downwards at a sharp angle, and provided on its 

 inside with horny plates resembling those of the Ducks and Swans. The tongue of this bird, 

 unlike that of the Stork Tribe generally, is thick and fleshy, and also resembles that of 



the duck. , . , , -i i , ^ tx 



The flamingo is the only member of the Stork Tribe which builds a mud-nest Its 

 foundation laid often in as much as 15 inches of water, and rising above the surface from 

 6 to 8 inches, with a diameter at the top of 15 inches, it forms a pde of no mean size. 

 Strangely enough, though these birds are never so happy as when wadmg - knee ' deep m 

 water yet after the construction of the nest the incubation of the eggs is delayed so long 



