The Flamingoes, 
1 3 r 
The Flamingo. 
The Flamingoes. 
Order PH.ENICOP TERIFORMES. 
Although these curious birds inhabited Eng- 
land in ancient times, a Flamingo is now a 
bird of extreme rarity in this country, outside 
of menageries. At least three instances of 
the occurrence of the Common Flamingo 
(Phamicopterus roseus) in England are on 
record, and it is probable that it occasionally 
gets blown over from the South of Europe. 
The Flamingo nests in Southern France and 
in Spain, as well as in the neighbourhood 
of the Caspian Sea ; it builds a nest of mud 
and lays two eggs of a chalky white, and of 
about three-and-a-half inches in length. 
The Swans, Geese, and Ducks .— Order Anseriformes. 
The aspect of these birds is so familiar that I need not specify at length the 
characters which distinguish them. They may be divided into three families, viz., 
Anseridd '( Geese and Swans), Anatidcv (True Ducks) and Erisniaturidap Diving Ducks). 
This group of Swimming-Birds can be separated from the 
Ducks by the absence of a lobe to the hind-toe. They are birds 
of plain coloration, and do not show any metallic speculum 
or wing-patch, as do most of the Ducks. 
9 " 
THE GEESE. 
Sub-family 
ANSERINE. 
