croaks; then the hundreds of necks rise at once to the full
extent, every bird gaggling its loudest, as they walk obliquely
away, looking back over their shoulders as though to take
stock of the extent of the danger. Pushing a few yards
forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful sight cannot
be imagined than the simultaneous spreading of their crimson
wings, flashing against the sky like a gleam of rosy light.
In many respects these birds bear a strong resemblance to
Geese. Like them, Flamingoes feed by day; and great
quantities of grass, &c., are always floating about the muddy
water where a herd has been feeding. Their cry is almost
undistinguishable from the gaggling of Geese, and they fly
in the same catenarian formations.”
Another particular in which the Flamingoes resemble the
Geese and Ducks is in their moult, which appears to take
place earlier and to be more simultaneous in the males than
it is in the females. Wiirdemann, who describes the running
down and capture of a number of Ph. ruber on the
Florida Cays, states that out of eight birds selected for
skinning, only one proved to be a female.
In the adult the entire plumage except the wings is rosy-
white ; the quill-feathers black ; the upper and under wing-
coverts light scarlet, passiug into rosy-white on the inner
webs scapulars lanceolate and drooping; iris pale lemon-
yellow ; bare skin next the eye yellow; bill rosy-red at the
base, the terminal portion black ; legs and feet pinkish-red,
brighter at the tarsal joint.
In the young of the first year the pink is absent, with the
exception of a slight trace of it on the wings; the secondaries
are irregularly barred with black, and the bill, eyes, and legs
are of a dull lead-colour. The nestling is covered with a
whitish down, tinged with grey on the upper parts.
In size there is considerable variation, irrespective of sex.
Mr. Chapman says that the largest he measured was fully
6 feet 5 inches in length, whilst others (old red birds), barely
reached 5 feet. The wing from the carpal joint to the tip
averages 16 inches.
GREY LAG GOOSE. 253
AN SERES.
♦ AN AT IBM.
A n s e r c in e r e u s , Meyer.*
THE GREY LAG GOOSE.
Anser ferus.
Anser, Brisson’f .—Beak nearly as long as the head, sub-conical, elevated at
the base, which is covered with a cere, or skin ; a conspicuous nail at the tip ;
under mandible smaller than the upper. Nostrils lateral, placed towards the
middle of the beak, pierced anteriorly. Wings large, the second quill longest.
Tail of sixteen feathers. Legs under the centre of the body ; the tarsi moderately
long ; the hind toe free, articulated upon the tarsus ; the three anterior
toes united by a membrane.
T he last Order of Birds which now remains to be considered
consists of the Geese, Swans, Ducks, and Mergansers,
which are remarkable for their powers of swimming and
diving, and are commonly called Water Fowl. From the
geographical position, extent, and varied character of the
British Islands, the species of this Order are numerous.
* Taschenb. deutsch. Vögelk. ii. p. 552 (1810).
f Ornithologie, vi. p. 261 (1760).