52 
THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
which to build their nests, though they soinetinies nest in trees. From two to four white 
eggs are laid, from which, if all goes well, as many young, covered with fluffy white down, 
are hatched. 
The J.VBIRUS are distant relatives of, and scarcely inferior in size to, the Adjutants. There 
are three species, one occurring in the Indian Peninsula, New Guinea, and Australia, one 
in Africa, and one in South America. It is to this last species that the name Jabiru 
correctly applies. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that it is one of the handsomest 
of its tribe. The whole plumage is pure white, and the upper-parts are made additionally 
resplendent by an indescribable satin-like gloss. The beautiful whiteness of its plumage is 
enhanced by the fact that the head and neck, bill and feet, are jet-black. Some would give 
the palm of beauty to the African Saddle-billed Stork, Black and white, as in the 
American form, are the contrasting ‘‘ colours ” ; but the plumage of the body, instead of being 
pure white, is plentifully enriched with black, with beautiful purple reflections. 
FLAMINGOES 
Inflight the long neck and legs are flully extended, gi-ving the bird a very remarkable appearance 
More or less nearly allied to the Storks are several species familiar enough to the 
professional ornithologist, but not very well known generally. One of the rarest and most 
interesting of these is the VVilALE-llE.VDED or Shoe-BILLED Stork of the Nile, remarkable 
for its enormous boat-shaped bill. More common but equally interesting are the beautiful 
Flamingoes. Apart from the brilliancy of their colour, the most noticeable feature of these 
birds is the curious beak, which is bent downwards at a sharp angle, and provided on its 
inside with horny plates resembling those of the Ducks and Swans. The tongue of this bird, 
unlike that of the Stork Tribe generally, is thick and fleshy, and also resembles that of 
the duck. 
The flamingo is the only member of the Stork Tribe which builds a mud-nest. Its 
foundation laid often in as much as 15 inches of water, and rising above the surface from 
6 to 8 inches, with a diameter at the top of 15 inches, it forms a pile of no mean size. 
Strangely enough, though these birds are never so happy as when wading “ knee ” deep in 
water, yet after the construction of the nest the incubation of the eggs is delayed so long 
