y and aquatic insects in
the ripple on the shore.

[Footnote 1: Tantalus leucocephalus, and Ibis falcinellus.]

[Footnote 2: The violet-headed Stork (Ciconia leticocephala).]

[Footnote 3: Platalea leucorodia, _Linn._]

[Footnote 4: Ardea cinerea. A. purpurea.]

VII. ANSERES.--Preeminent in size and beauty, the tall _flamingoes_[1],
with rose-coloured plumage, line the beach in long files. The Singhalese
have been led, from their colour and their military order, to designate
them the "_English Soldier birds_." Nothing can be more startling than
the sudden flight of these splendid creatures when alarmed; their strong
wings beating the air with a sound like distant thunder; and as they
soar over head, the flock which appeared almost white but a moment
before, is converted into crimson by the sudden display of the red
lining of their wings. A peculiarity in the beak of this bird has
scarcely attracted the attention it merits, as a striking illustration
of creative wisdom in adapting the organs of animals to their local
necessities.

[Illustration: FLAMINGO.]

[Footnote 1: Phoenicopterus roseus, _Pallas_.]

The upper mandible, which is convex in other birds, is flattened in the
flamingo, whilst the lower, instead of being flat, is convex. To those
who have had an opportunity of witnessing the action of the bird in its
native haunts, the expediency of this arrangement is at once apparent.
To counteract the extraordinary length of its legs, it is provided with
a proportionately long neck, so that in feeding in shallow water the
crown of the head becomes inverted and the upper mandible brought into
contact with the bottom; where its flattened surface qualifies it for
performing the functions of the lower one in birds of the same class;
and the edges of both being laminated, it is thus enabled, like the
duck, by the aid of its fleshy tongue, to sift before swallowing its
food.

Floating on the surface of the deeper water, are fleets of the Anatidae,
the Coromandel teal[1], the Indian hooded gull[2], the Caspian tern, and
a countless variety of ducks and smaller fowl--pintails[3], teal[4],
red-crested pochards[5], shovellers[6], and terns.[7] Pelicans[8] in
great numbers resort to the mouths of the rivers, taking up their
position at sunrise on some projecting rock, from which to dart on the
passing fish, and returning far inland at night to their retreats among
the trees, which overshadow some solitary river or deser