258 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



description of throne, with her legs hanging down on each side. 

 The young ones run about very soon after they are hatched, but it is 

 some time before they are able to fly — not, indeed, until they are 

 clothed with their full plumage. At two years old they assume the 

 more brilliant colours of the adult bird. 



Fig. 95. — Flamingoes. 



The Flamingo is found in all the warm and temperate regions of 

 the globe. On certain islands off the American continent they exist 

 in such numbers that navigators have given them the name of the 

 Flamingo Islands. In the Old World they are found spread over a 

 region below the fortieth degree of latitude, principally in Egypt and 

 the Nile tributaries ; during the summer they seek a cooler climate, 

 end they are then seen in numerous flocks on the southern coasts 

 of France. The height of these magnificent bixds reaches to about 



