274 Unexplored Spain 
but no other large bird is so brightly coloured, and no other 
brightly coloured bird is so large. In brief, size and beauty of 
plume united reach their maximum development in this remark- 
able bird, while the open nature of its haunts and its gregarious 
habit seem specially designed to display its marked characteristics 
of form and colour to the most striking advantage. When to 
these superficial attractions is added the fact that little or 
nothing has hitherto been known of its nesting habits, one 
may realise the intense longing of a naturalist, not only to 
behold a flamingo city—itself the most remarkable sight in the 
bird-world—but to lift the veil through which the flamingo’s 
home-life has been but dimly seen.” 
