The Feamingo.- 
-BIRDS.- 
-The Wild Swan. 
421 
enormously long legs, of wliicli the naked part extends 
far above the articulation of the tarsus, as in the Wad- 
ing birds, with which it was. On this account, long asso- 
ciated by ornithologists ; but the leet are fullv webbed, 
it presents the same lamellated structure of the edge-s 
of the bill which prevails amongst the Anatidse, and 
its plumage possesses all the characters of that of 
these birds. The bill itself is of a singular form, but 
Fig. 131. 
is wonderfully well adapted to the peculiar mode of life 
of this bird— fig. 131. As the Flamingo stalks along 
upon its long stilt-like legs, or wades in the shallow 
waters, it holds down its long neck towards the ground, 
and the pecurliarly formed upper mandible is thus turned 
back downwards, and constitutes a receptacle for any 
small objects in the mud or water. These are retained 
by the lamellm of the mandibles, assisted by the spines 
which fringe the fleshy tongue, and the Flamingo is 
thus enabled to retain the small fishes, mollusca, and 
Crustacea which constitute its food. 
The Flamingo is an inhabitant of Southern Europe, 
Africa, and Asia. It is a large bird, old males often 
standing nearly five feet in height, and as it is grega- 
rious in its habits, collecting in large flocks upon the 
sea-coast, its bright red wings give these parties a 
close resemblance to bodies of soldiers standing in line. 
The nest of this bird is very curious, being a small hill 
of mud, with a cavity in its summit ; in this the ferhale 
lays two or three eggs, which she hatches by sitting 
astride upon the hillock. Other nearly allied species 
are found in both hemispheres. 
THE WILD GOOSE {Ariser ferus)—V\a.i& 29, fig. 110 
— also known as the Gkay-lag Goose, is believed 
to be the original stock of our domestic geese, though 
another species, the White-fronted Goose, is also pro- 
bably one of their progenitors. It is a migratory bird, 
inhabiting most ])arts of Europe and Asia, frequenting 
high northein latitudes in the summer for the purpose 
of bi'eeding, and descending to the w'arm and temperate 
regions in the autumn. It was formerly not uncom- 
mon in this country in the winter, but of late years 
has become rare. 
THE BEAN GOOSE {Anser segetum) is the most 
abundant of our British species ; and although chiefly 
resident here only in the winter, a few pairs are known 
to remain in Britain through the summer to breed, espe- 
cially in the north of Scotland. It is found all over 
Europe, and breeds in the extreme north of that con- 
tinent. Its name of Bean Goose is given to it from its 
fondness for pulse and grain ; it is known to frequent 
corn-fields often in great flocks, which do considerable 
damago. In its migrations this bird, and many of its 
allies, usually fly at a great height in the air, and in 
the form of a wedge, or rather of the letter V, with 
the point directed forward ; they generally fly by 
night, when their passage is betrayed by tlie clanging 
sound of their voices. 
THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE {Anser albifrons), a 
rather smaller species than either of the preceding, is 
distinguished by having a white band at the base of 
the upper' mandible, contintied in the foi m of a patch 
on the forehead ; it is an irdiabitant of the whole 
northern hemisphere, and is an abundant winter visitor 
to this country. Its note somewhat resembles a laugh ; 
and hence it has sometimes been called the Laughing 
Goose. 
THE BRENT GOOSE {Anser Bernicla), the smallest 
British species, has a white spot on each side of the 
neck. It is veiy abundant here during the winter, 
but, unlike tbe preceding species, dwells chiefly upon 
the coast, feeding upon sea-weeds of various kinds. 
THE NEW HOLLAND GOOSE {Cereopsis Norm Hol- 
landiw) — -Plate 29, fig. 111. — Of the numerous other 
species of Geese distributed in all parts of the world, 
our space will only permit us to refer to the curious 
Australian bird, to which the name of Cereopsis has 
been given. In this bird the base of the upper man- 
dible is occupied by a large cere, towards the front of 
which the nostrils are pierced ; the tarsi are rather 
elongated, and the webs uniting the toes are deeply 
cut out in a semicircular form. It is about the size 
of our Common Goose, and is of a gray colour, with 
the quills of the wings and tail blackish ; the bill is 
black, the cere yellow, the tarsi reddish-orange, and 
the feet black. The Cereopsis frequents the shores of 
Australia. Its voice is very strong and clanging. 
THE WILD SWAN {Cy gnus ferns), called the Whoop- 
ing Swan, in allusion to the whooping cry of the male, 
is a winter visitor to this country, its summer residence 
atid breeding place being in the high northern latitudes 
of the Old World. In the Oikneys, however, a few 
pairs generally remain through the summer and breed. 
The Whooping Swan is about the same size as the 
ordinary Tame Swan and, like it, is of a white colour; 
but the bill is yellow, with the extremity black, wliile 
in the Tame Swan the black is at the base of the bill. 
In this country the Wild Swans frequent the rivers 
and lakes, and in severe winters move down to the 
sea-shore. As in the cranes and several other birds 
which have a loud and trumpet-like voice, the trachea 
of the Wild Swan is very long, and is bent back into 
a large fold or loop, enclosed in the interior of the 
breast-bone 
THE TAME SWAN {Cygnus olor), or Mute Swan, 
so called from his possessing only a soft and rather 
musical voice, very different from the strong notes of 
the preceding species, is the well-known and grace- 
ful species so often seen adorning with its delicate 
