THE FLAMINGO. 
827 
be seen fishing together in the deeper water, whilst the 
distance made them appear as though drawn up in 
faultless line, and almost motionless. This red army of 
wondrous creatures covered an extensive portion of the 
lake, which space was continually moving. 
It is rare that man ever has the opportunity of watch¬ 
ing the peculiar habits of the Flamingo from a sufficiently 
close distance: hence, even up to the present day, there 
exist opinions—amongst naturalists, too—respecting this 
bird, which are far from being correct. 
The Flamingo is a swimming bird,—and one of those 
which are furnished with sieve-like bills similar to the 
Swan, Duck, and Merganser,—and not a leader , as is 
usually supposed. It only resembles the Heron in one 
respect, and that is in the length of its legs and meta¬ 
tarsal bones. With the sifters, however, it possesses, 
both externally and internally, several points in common : 
head, beak, wings, webbed-feet, plumage, and the 
interior economy, all agree in the main, with the above- 
mentioned class of swimming birds, though in some way 
differing therefrom. The likeness of the Flamingo to the 
Heron is only apparent, and not real; and yet the 
Flamingo stands alone amongst swimming birds. Perched 
upon a pair of legs twenty-eight inches in length, there 
rests a gracefully and delicately built body: this, again, 
bears a neck two feet long, which is surmounted by a 
thick head furnished with a beak, which can only be 
compared to a snuff-box, inasmuch as the lower mandible 
is deep and roomy, while the upper one is flat and forms 
a lid to its companion; the white plumage is tinted with 
a tender rose-colour; the wings, however, are bright 
rose-colour; the feet and base of the beak are also rose- 
coloured, the end of the beak and the pinions alone being 
