of the United States. 
34 1 
62. PHCENICOPTERUS. 
Phcenicopterus, L. Briss . Gm . Lath. Ill . Cuv . <Temm . 
Vieill. Ranz. 
Bill longer than the head, large, higher than wide, light 
and hollow, furnished at base with a membrane, suddenly 
bent downward in the middle : upper mandible furrowed each 
side, convex, high and trigonale at base, beyond the bend 
very thin and almost plane, narrow, curved, and rather obtuse 
at tip ; lower wider, oval, forming a broad deep channel, at 
base not so high as the upper, very deep at the bend ; mar- 
gins of both wide, finely toothed, those of the upper densely 
striated internally; palate carinated : nostrils in the furrow, 
somewhat distant from the base, approximated, narrow, lon- 
gitudinal, pervious, furnished above with an extensible mem- 
brane.: tongue thick, fleshy, covered by recurved, hooked 
papillae, glandular at base, cartilaginous and acute at tip. 
Head small, near the bill naked ; eyes large : neck exceed- 
ingly long, very slender : body rounded. Feet very slen- 
der ; naked space of the tibia twice, tarsus thrice, as long 
as the middle toe ; tarsus hardly compressed, reticulated ; 
anterior toes moderate; webs almost entire; hind toe ex- 
ceedingly short, articulated high upon the tarsus, touching the 
ground at tip : nails short, laminar, the middle tile-shaped. 
Wings moderate, quills forty ; first and second primaries 
subequal, longest. Tail short, of sixteen feathers. 
Female smaller, and a little paler than the male. Young 
differing greatly from the adult, and changing their plumage 
repeatedly. Moult simple, annual. Colors red, at first white 
and rose. 
Living and migrating in large flocks, frequenting desert sea 
shores and salt marshes. Extremely shy and watchful : es- 
tablish sentinels to give warning of danger by a loud sound, 
and lead their flight. When flying form a triangle, a line 
when alighting, and especially when fishing. Solitary only 
