262 
BIEDS. 
[Chap. VIII. 
The upper mandible, which is convex in other birds, is 
flattened in the flamingo, whilst the lower, instead of 
being flat, is convex. To those who have had an oppor- 
tunity of witnessing the action of the bird in its native 
haunts, the expediency of this arrangement is at once 
apparent. To counteract the extraordinary length of 
its legs, it is provided with a proportionately long neck, 
so that in feeding in shallow water the crown of the 
head becomes inverted and the upper mandible brought 
into contact with the bottom ; where its flattened surface 
qualifies it for performing the functions of the lower 
one in birds of the same class ; and the edges of both 
being laminated, it is thus enabled, like the duck, by 
the aid of its fleshy tongue, to sift before swallowing 
its food. 
Floating on the surface of the deeper water, are fleets 
of the Anatidse, the Coromandel teal *, the Indian hooded 
gull 2 , the Caspian tern, and a countless variety of ducks 
and smaller fowl — pintails 3 , teal 4 , red-crested pochards 5 , 
shovellers 6 , and terns. 7 Pelicans 8 in great numbers 
resort to the mouths of the rivers, taking up their posi- 
tion at sunrise on some projecting rock, from which to 
dart on the passing fish, and returning far inland at 
night to their retreats among the trees which over- 
shadow some solitary river or deserted tank. 
I chanced upon one occasion to come unexpectedly 
upon one of these remarkable breeding places during a 
visit which I made to the great tank of Padivil, one of 
those gigantic constructions by which the early kings of 
Ceylon have left imperishable records of their reigns. 
1 Nettapus coromandeliantis, Gm. 5 Fuligida rufina, Pallas. 
2 Lams brunnicephalus, Jerd. 6 Spatula clypeata, Linn. 
3 Dafila acuta, Linn. 7 Sterna minuta, Linn. 
4 Querquedula creeca, Linn. 8 Pelicanus Philippensis, Gmel. 
