620 Marvels of the Universe 
the toes longer, seem to have 
connected the Flamingo group 
with the ancestors of the 
ducks and geese. In their 
structure, Flamingoes certainly 
resemble the duck and goose 
order more closely than any 
other at the present day. 
No one can mistake a Flam- 
ingo for any other type of bird. 
It is the giraffe of its class, with 
the longest neck proportionate 
to size; in that respect exceed- 
ing the swan. In the larger 
species the legs are also perhaps 
Photo by] [Hugh Main, B.Sc, UBS. of a greater proportionate 
ee NNR MORNE length than in the case of any 
This is an excellent example of the power of a harmless insect to make itself ofiner Iendl, Whe Short does ae 
look like a fearsome beast. Here the Elephant Hawk grub is shown in its natural 
state. webbed. The lower part of 
the beak is abruptly turned downwards, and inside the beak (which is short and straight in the 
young bird) there is a horny growth, serving the bird as well as actual teeth in breaking up its 
food, which consists of small crustaceans and fish, water-insects, and mud composed mainly of 
vegetable refuse. The Flamingo, like the duck, prefers obtaining its food through and in the water, 
passing the mud or water through its beak as through a sieve, and retaining in that way minute 
particles of food. In captivity, Flamingoes will subsist on porridge, on shrimps, pounded fish and 
pounded grain. They are able to swim as well as to wade in deep water, and can also fly as 
strongly as geese or swans; but like these birds, their powers of flight are lost for a short part of 
the moulting season in the autumn, when the old quill feathers are shed and the new ones not 
sufficiently grown. At this time Flamingoes are very helpless, as they can only wade or 
swim away from the human 
enemy hunting for their beau- 
tiful plumage. 
This plumage ranges from 
an exquisite blush-tinted white 
(with deep pink and_ scarlet 
wing and tail feathers and 
black quills) to a universal 
pale scarlet in some of the 
American forms. In all species 
except one the legs are a deep 
pink colour. 
Their nesting habits are 
peculiar. They scrape up with 
their webbed feet little columns 
or mounds of mud. The top, 
Photo by] [Hugh Main, B.Sc., FES. which is often only a few inches 
THE CONNAGH WORM. above the level of the water, is 
Here the grub has been disturbed. He has compressed his head and the tapering slightly hollowed, and on this 
segments until the extended part has become distended and the front oval patches 
look like two staring eyes. are laid a single, or perhaps two, 
