90 LITTLE FOLKS 
river or pond, and he likes for his dinner, the little frogs and worms 
that live in the soft mud under the water. But he might watch all 
day, and starve to death, for all the dinner he would get, if he was 
not pretty sharp in his hunting. 
He wades into the water (he belongs to the family of Waders) ; 
then he goes on to stir up the mud with his feet, and frighten the 
little fellows out of their mud houses. Not having hands, he needs 
something to catch them when they are out, so he just lays 
his head down by the side of his feet, top down, and uses his open 
mouth for a market basket ! Isn't that the funniest basket you 
ever heard of ? It would not seem so odd to you, if you could see 
the bill, for it is as big as all the rest of his head, and shaped more 
like a canoe than anything else, as you see in the picture. So it 
does very well for a basket. 
He looks very droll in that position, and it is no wonder the 
first men who saw him standing that way, thought he stood on his 
head. 
This bird — did I tell you? — is the Flamingo, and you could 
see him any day, if you lived near any of our Southern lakes or rivers. 
That is, you could if you were very quiet, for he is extremely shy, and 
will keep out of your way if he can. They go in flocks, and some of 
the sharp eyes are sure to spy a hunter. But they are not afraid 
of cattle, and so men dress themselves in the skin of an animal to 
hunt them. 
He is worth seeing, too. He's no dull-coated fellow, hopping 
about on two dumpy legs ; by no means ! — he wears a whole suit 
of the most brilliant rose-color, and he stands up gracefully on two 
long, slender legs. His body is elegant — as I said — and his neck 
is as long as his legs. He is four or five feet high. 
Mamma Flamingo makes a curious nest. It is sort of a small 
hill of mud, a little scooped out on top. There she lays her two 
or three white eggs, and there she sits — like any old hen, only she 
can't curl her long legs under her, as a hen can, so she lets them 
hang down outside. 
The babies are droll, little, dull-coated fellows, and do not at- 
tain to the dignity of red suits till they are two years old. 
In old times Flamingoes were eaten, and thought to be very 
nice, especially the tongue, and I have read of emperors who kept 
quite an army of men for nothing but to hunt the unfortunate birds, 
that he might have their tongues for his table. 
