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shape of a truncated cone, a foot and a half high ; 

 on the top of this cone is a little excavation lined 

 with very soft down. The bird while in the act of 

 incubation places itself in a standing posture, with 

 the hinder part of its body supported upon the nest, 

 as if seated in a chair. The Araucanians value 

 the flamingo highly, and make use of its feathers 

 to ornament their helmets and the ends of their 

 lances. 



The ptllu (tantalus pillu) is a species of the ibis. 

 Its plumage is white, mottled with black, and its 

 general resort is the rivers and the fresh water lakes. 

 Of all the aquatic birds, the pillu has the longest 

 legs, which, comprehending the thighs, are two feet 

 eight inches in length. The size of the body, which 

 is nearly that of a tame goose, is by no means pro- 

 portionate to the length of the legs ; the neck is 

 two feet three inches long, and the region of the crop, 

 which is small, is destitute of feathers. The head is 

 of a middle size, the bill large, convex, and sharp- 

 pointed, about four inches in length, ^nd entirely 

 bare of feathers ; it has four toes on each foot^ 

 which are united at their base by a very small mem^-, 

 brane ; the tail is short and entire like that of almost 

 all aquatic birds. The Spaniards call it the stork 

 of Chili; but it differs from the stork in various 

 respects. I have never seen it light upon trees or 

 any elevated object, and it almost always continues 

 in the marshes and on the banks of rivers, where 

 it feeds upon reptiles ; it usually makes its nest 

 among rushes, in which it lays two white eggs, a 

 little inclining to blue 



