STORKS, HERONS, AND PELICAN TRIBE 
S3 
Photo by C^arhs Knight 
FLAMINGOES 
On account of the s’wan-like neck and “ strainers " along the edges of the heak, these birds have 
been regarded as long-legged members of the Duck Tribe, but they seem more nearly related to the 
Storks 
that before they are hatched 
the water has disappeared, 
leaving a burning plain 
of sun-baked mud. On 
the top of this nest 
the parent sits with its 
long neck neatly curled 
away among the back- 
feathers, with its long legs 
doubled up, and projecting 
behind her for some dis- 
tance beyond the tail. 
Until quite recently it was 
believed that the bird incu- 
bated its eggs by sitting 
astride the nest, the length 
of the legs forbidding any 
other position : this has 
now been proved beyond 
cavil to be an entirely 
erroneous opinion. 
The eggs, two in 
number, are peculiar in that 
they are encased in a thick outer chalky coat, which on removal reveals a greenish-blue shell. 
The characteristic crooked beak of the adult is not at all apparent in the young bird^ 
and only appears as it approaches maturity. 
The huge flocks in which these birds consort are graphically described by Mr. Abel 
Chapman as follows: “ In herds of 300 to 400, several of which are often in sight at once, 
they stand feeding in the open water, all their heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses 
and water-plants from the bottom. On approaching them, which can only be done by extreme 
caution, their silence is first 
broken by the sentries, who 
commence walking away with 
low croaks ; then hundreds of 
necks rise at once to full 
extent, every bird gaggling 
its loudest, as they walk 
obliquely away, looking back 
over their shoulders, as though 
to take stock of the extent 
of the danger. Pushing a 
few yards forward, up they all 
rise, and a more beautiful 
sight cannot be imagined than 
the simultaneous spreading of 
the crimson wings, flashing 
against the sky like a gleam 
of rosy light. In many 
respects these birds bear a 
Photi by Pf'. P. Dando^ F.Z S, 
strong resemblance to geese. 
Like them, flamingoes feed EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES 
by day 5 and great quantities These birds breed in the South of France and Spain 
