FLA 
FLA 
ftate of fociety, and under a polity which excites at 
once our veneration and wonder. 
On the firft difcovery of America, and the coads 
of Africa waflied by the South Sea, the Europeans 
found Flamingos on feveral fhores of either conti- 
nent, gentle and unfufpicious of mankind. In 
thofe extenfive folitudes, where they had fixed their 
abodes, they had long enjoyed fecurity ; and knew 
no enemies, but fuch as they could either evade or 
oppofe. The negroes and native Americans pof- 
felied but few defti ucflive arts for killing them at a 
diftance; and when the birds perceived the arrows, 
they contrived a way to avoid them. But when 
the Europeans beheld fuch defireable prey, it was 
far otherwife. Unaccuftom.ed to fire-arms, the 
Flamingos were loft in amazement, when they faw 
one of their companions fall ; they neither tried to 
avoid their fate by flight nor cunning; and num- 
bers were deftroyed before the reft recovered from 
the confternation that feized them on the firft at- 
tack. At prefent, however, the Flamingo is not 
only one of the moft rare, but one of the fhyeft 
birds in the world, and the moft ciifficult of ap- 
proach. They chiefly frequent the moft deferted 
and inhofpitable fhores, near falt-water lakes, and 
fwampy iflands. In the day-time, they come 
down to the banks of rivers; and at the approach of 
night, they often retire to the interior and more 
mountainous parts of the country. When they 
fuffer themfelves to be feen by mariners, they al- 
ways appear drav/n up in a long clofe line of two 
or three hundred together; and, according to Dam- 
pier, exhibit, at the diftance of half a mile, the ex- 
a6t reprefentation of a long brick wall. But when 
they feek for food, their rank is broken ; yet not 
before they have ftationed one of their number as 
a watch, whofe fole employment is to obferve and 
give the fignal of danger while the reft are feed- 
ing. As foon as this faithful centinel perceives 
the remoteft appearance of danger, he fcreams with 
a voice as fhrill as a trumpet, and inftantly the 
whole band are on the wing. When feeding at 
eafe, they are remarkably filent ; but, when alarmed, 
they fill the whole air with intolerable fcreamings. 
Hence it appears, that the Flamingos, having 
once experienced the tyranny of man, avoid him 
with the moft cautious circumfpeftion : however, 
this caution feems to originate in fear, and not in 
antipathy; for in fome villages along the coaft 
of Africa, Labat aflTures us, the Flamingos come 
in great numbers, and take up their refidence 
among the natives. There they aflTemble by thou- 
fands, perched on the trees within, and in the vici- 
nity of thefe villages; and the clamour they raife is 
fo powerful, that it may be heard at the diftance of 
a mile. The negroes are much attached to their 
fociety ; and confider it as a gift from Heaven, and 
a proteftion from accidental calamities. The 
French who have been admitted to this part of the 
African coaft, relu6tantly behold fuch a quantity 
of gam^e untouched, and rendered ufelefs by igno- 
rance and fuperftition ; but they never venture in 
public to deftroy thole reputed facred fowls, left 
their lives ftiould atone for their temerity. In 
their wild ftate, the Flamingos are fometimes fliot 
by m.ariners; but their young, though they run ex- 
celTively faft", are more frequently overtaken. La- 
bat fays, he has frequently caught them in nets ex- 
tended round the places where they breed. When 
their long legs are entangled in the meflies, they 
are then unqualified to efcape; neverthelefs, they 
continue to combal with their deftroyers^, mak- 
ing ufe of all thofe inftruments of defence with 
which nature has fupplied them. When taken 
old, they ftill retain their natural ferocity; they 
refufe all nouriftiment; and ufe their bills and 
claws on every opportunity to annoy their tyrants. 
The fowlers, therefore, finding it im.pofTible to tome 
them, are compelled to deftroy them; otherwife 
they pine and die, if left to themfelves in captivity. 
Their flefli is black and hard; though, Dampier 
fays, well-tafted ; but that of the young ones is more 
agreeable to the eye than to the palate. However, 
of all other delicacies, the tongues of the Flamingos 
are moft celebrated. A diili of thefe, fays Dam- 
pier, is a feaft for an emperor. In fa6V, the Ro- 
m.an emperors confidered tliem as the higheft lux- 
ury ; and hiftory informs us, that one of them pro- 
cured fifteen hundred Flamingos tongues to be 
ferved up in a fingle difn. The tongue of this 
bird is certainly very large; but vvhat peculiar fla- 
vour it iTiay poflefs, we leave to be determined by 
the profeffors of epicurilm. It is probable, that 
the beauty and the fcarcity of the bird might be 
the firft inducements for ftudious gluttony to fix 
on it's tongue as a dainty for the appetite. 
When thefe birds migrate from one place to 
another, they repeat the found Tococo, in a very 
vociferous manner; and hence the Canadian fa- 
vages have given them that appellation. In their 
flight they appear to Angular advantage, fecming 
as bright a red as a burning coal. Their manner 
of feeding is very particular: the bird thrufts down 
it's head, fo that the upper convex fide of the bill 
only touches the ground; and in this pofition the 
animal appears, as if it were ftandingon it's head. 
In this attitude it paddles and moves the bill about, 
feizing whatever fifn or infeft happens to come in 
it's way. For this purpofe, the upper chap is 
notched at the edges, fo that it can hold it's prey 
with fuperior fecurity. Catefby, however, exhi- 
bits a difi'erent pi6ture of ihefe birds manner of 
feeding ; for, according to him, they thus place their 
upper chaps undermoft, and fo work about, in or- 
der to pick up feeds from the bottom of the wa- 
ter, refem^bling millets : but as in picking up thefe 
feeds they neceflfarily take up great quantities of 
mud, their bills are lerrated in fuch a mianner that 
the foil flows out while they fwallow the grain. 
The feafon of incubation depends greatly on the 
climate in which they refide: in North America 
they breed during oi;r fummer; and on the other 
fide of the line they likewife chufe the moft favour- 
able feafon of the year. They build their nefts ia 
extenfive marflies, and v/here they are leaft obnox- 
ious to the danger of a furprize. The neft is not 
lefs curious than the animal which builds it; being 
raifed fromi the furface of the water about a foot 
and a half, and formed of mud indurated by the 
fun, or the heat of the bird's body. It refemi'oles 
a truncated cone in it's figure ; and at the top it h 
excavated in theftiape of the bird. 
The female Flamingo, Tike ail large fowls, lays 
but a fm.all number of eggs. Her n'ift has feldom 
been found to contain m.ore than two; and as her 
legs are immoderately long, fhe ftraddles on the 
neft, while they depend on each fide into the v/a~ 
ter. 
It is a long time before the young are able ta 
fly ; and when they are early caught, they are tamed 
with facility. In five or fix days they become fa- 
miliar, eat out of the hand, and drink falt-water ia 
abundance. But though they are eafily domefti- 
cated when young, they are not reared without th(^ 
greateft 
