1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
93 
The Flamingo. 
The Flamingo forms one of those wonderful 
zoological links, which both delight and puzzle 
naturalists. It may be said to be a 
goose that does not swim, and it is a 
wader with webbed feet, besides it picks 
up its food, holding it in the spoon¬ 
shaped end of its upper bill. In its 
instincts, and modes of flight, it much 
resembles the Wild Goose; in many of 
its habits, also, it resembles the crane 
and heron; so it really occupies an in¬ 
termediate position between the waders 
and swimmers, besides being exceed¬ 
ingly curious and interesting in other 
respects. When Europeans first landed 
upon the West India islands, they found 
these great red birds arranged in phal¬ 
anxes along the coast like ranks of red- 
coated soldiers. They were so tame 
then, that it was easy to approach them ; 
and many years after, it is said, a sports¬ 
man might secrete himself and shoot 
one after another for some time, before 
the flock would take the alarm. Now, 
they are the shyest of all wary things. 
When they pass over the -water, they 
fly low, but when they approach the 
land, up they go, away above the reach 
of shot. On alighting, they do so in 
shoal water, where they feed, standing 
erect, if necessary, but easily reaching 
the bottom with their heads. The legs 
are very small, and as the birds are 
heavy, they are able to stand in swift 
currents of the in-coming and receding 
tides. When feeding, as described, 
the heads are long submerged, and of 
course the birds would be exposed to 
attacks from their enemies, and espe¬ 
cially from man, were it not that sen¬ 
tinels are posted at either end of the 
long row of feeders, which stand erect, 
and sound a trumpet-like alarm in case 
of danger. Then the sentinel leads off and all 
follow in Indian file, or in two lines, forming an 
angle, like wild geese, which they always do 
when on the wing. The motions of these birds 
are peculiarly grace¬ 
ful, although they 
are so tall and ap¬ 
parently unwieldy. 
Their heads and 
necks are swayed 
about with a gentle 
deliberation and 
ease, which is most 
striking when they 
dress their feathers. 
The best known 
species of Flamingo 
are the American 
(Phcenicopterus ru¬ 
ber), and the Euro¬ 
pean or Mediter¬ 
ranean (Phcenicopte¬ 
rus antiquorum). 
Their size and 
liabi^ are very simi¬ 
lar, the European 
being somewhat the 
larger. In color, 
ours is much the 
more intense, ap¬ 
proaching scarlet; while the European one is of 
a rosy-white, except upon the wings, where the 
color is much deeper—sufficiently crimson to 
give good ground for the generic name, which 
means crimson-wing. These beautiful birds 
do not long survive in captivity, and of those 
from which the drawing for our engraving was 
made, none are now alive. They were imported 
by Mr. Charles Ritchie, of New York, from the 
Zoological Gardens at Antwerp, at a cost of 
$350 per pair. The two larger birds in the 
engraving are of the European, and the smaller 
one of the American species. The flesh of the 
Flamingoes is esteemed, and among the an¬ 
cients the thick, fat tongues, were regarded 
as the most delicate of all articles of food. 
The American Panther. 
That the American Panther is widely distrib¬ 
uted, is shown by the various names it has receiv¬ 
ed. In some localities it is known as 
the Catamount and “ Painter,”—a cor¬ 
ruption of Panther. By the Spanish 
American inhabitants of Mexico and 
California, it is called Leon (Lion). It 
is Pagi in Chili, and Puma in Peru. In¬ 
deed, it is found from latitude 50° or 
60° north, to the extreme point of South 
America. It is a true cat (Felis concolor ), 
and with the exception of one found 
in Louisiana and farther south, is the 
largest of our five species. Its weight 
sometimes reaches 150 pounds, and it 
measures about seven feet from the nose 
to the end of the tail. It is covered 
with short, compact hair of a brownish- 
yellow on the sides, and of a dirty white 
on the under part of the body. In 
color, the panther very closely resembles 
the common deer, and it is said to 
change like that with the seasons. The 
tail is more than half as long as the 
head and body together, and has a 
brushy tuft at the end. The young ani¬ 
mals are spotted and barred, but the 
adult ones are without markings, except 
a black patch on the upper lip, and 
dusky black upon the interior of the 
ears. The animal is more abundant in 
mountainous districts than elsewhere, 
and is rather shy in its habits, conceal¬ 
ing itself among the rocks in the day¬ 
time, and prowling about at night. It is 
very destructive to colts and calves, and 
has been known to attack the full- 
grown animals. It climbs trees readily, 
will lie in wait crouched upon a limb, 
for deer to pass, and drop suddenly upon 
them. It is stated that the Panther has 
been known to attack and kill a man, but 
we have met with no authenticated ac¬ 
count of its having done so unprovoked. It is 
said to be easily tamed, and in captivity its 
habits are much like those of a cat. In Cali¬ 
fornia and the adjoining parts of Mexico, Pan¬ 
thers are very de¬ 
structive to domes¬ 
tic animals, and 
strychnine is ex¬ 
tensively used to 
poison them as Avell 
as the wolves. The 
early Spanish Mis¬ 
sionaries had great 
difficulty in sustain¬ 
ing themselves in 
Lower California, 
as the Panther de¬ 
stroyed their do¬ 
mestic animals. The 
Indians would not 
kill or disturb the 
Panther, as they 
had a superstitious t 
regard for it, for the' 
reason that they de¬ 
pended upon it for 
a good part of their 
food. By watching 
the buzzards, -who 
always soon scent 
out a concealed carcass, they could discover 
where the Panther had hidden that portion 
of his prey which he was unable to devour, 
and regale themselves upon the fragments. 
EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN FLAMINGOES. 
THE AMERICAN PANTHER.— (Felis COnCOlOr.) 
