106 



NORTH AMERICA. 



flamingo quite gentle, and no way distrustful of mankind. But at present it is very different, 

 and the flamingo is not only one of the scarcest, but one of the shyest birds in the world, and 

 the most difficult of approach. They chiefly keep near the most deserted and inhospitable 

 shores, near salt-water lakes and swampy islands. 



Their time of breeding is according to the climate in which they reside ; in North America, 

 they breed in summer ; on the other side of the line, tliey take the most favorable season of the 

 year. They build their nests in extensive marshes, and where they are in no danger of a sur- 

 prise. The nest is not less curious than the animal that builds it ; it is raised from the 

 surface of the pool about a foot and a half, formed of mud, scraped up together and hardened 



by the sun or the heat of the bird's body ; it resem- 

 bles a truncated confe, or one of the pols which we 

 see placed on chimneys ; on the top, it is hollowed 

 out to the shape of the bird, and in that cavity the 

 female lays her eggs, without any lining but the 

 well-cemented mud that forms the sides of the build- 

 ing. She always lays two eggs, and no more ; and, 

 as her legs are immoderately long, she straddles on 

 the nest, while her legs hang down, one on each 

 side, into the water. It is a long while before 

 the young ones are able to fly, but they run with 

 amazing swiftness. They are sometimes caught, 

 and, very different from the old ones, suffer them 

 selves to be carried home, and are tamed very easily. 



The Roseate Spoon Bill [Platalca ajaja), Vvhicli 

 is of a beautiful red, inhabits the sea-shores of Ame- 

 rica, from Brazil to Georgia, and is sometimes 

 found in Mississippi in the summer. It is also to 

 be met with in the West India Islands, but confines 

 itself to the shores and mouths of rivers. It wades 

 about in search of shell-fish, marine insects, small 

 crabs, and fish, in pursuit of which it occasionally 

 swims and dives. 



The Wood Ibis ( Tantalus Loculator) is found in the southern parts of the United States. 

 Its favorite haunts are watery savannas and inland swamps, where it feeds on fish and reptiles. 

 The French inhabitants of Louisiana esteem it good eating. The whole body, neck, and lower 

 parts of this bird are white ; the bill is nearly nine inches long. The Scarlet Ibis (Ibis rubra) 

 is little known except that it frequents the borders of the sea, and the shores of the neighboring 

 rivers, feeding on small fry, shell-fish, sea worms and crabs. The White Ibis (/. Jllba) is nu- 



Roseate Spoon Bill. 



merous at the south, and 

 The Rail. There are 



The Common Rail 



resemjbles the preceding in every respect except in color, 

 several kinds of Rail inhabiting the United States ; the Virginia 

 rail [Rallus Virginianus) which is not a 

 very common species, but is found in the 

 fresh-water marshes of the east, and spreads 

 over the interior as far west as Ohio ; the clap- 

 per rail (it. crepitans), which is also called 

 mud-hen, meadow clapper, big rail, &c., and 

 has its principal residence in salt marshes ; 

 and the common rail {R. Carolinus) , which 

 is abundant along the reedy shores of the 

 Delaware. The engraving represents one of 

 these birds. When the reeds have attained 

 their full growth, the rail resorts to them in 

 great numbers to feed on the seeds of this 

 plant, of which they are remarkably fond ; 

 and if a stone be thrown among the reeds 

 at this time, there is a general outcry, and 

 a reiterated kuk, kuk, kuk. The discharge 

 of a gun produces the same effect. Their 



