is not less curious than the bird that erects it. It is raised about eighteen inches above the surface of the pool, and is formed of mud, scraped together and hardened in the sun; its shape resembles that of a common chimneypot; the upper part is hollowed out to the shape of the bird; and in that cavity she lays her eggs, which never exceed two in number. The young ones are for a long time incapable of flying, but they are said to run with amazing celerity. They may be easily domesticated; but generally pine away for want of their natural supplies.

Flamingoes chiefly inhabit America and Africa, but are sometimes met with on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, Italy, and France. They were in high request with the Romans, who often used them in their sumptuous entertainments and grand sacrifices. The tongue was considered by them as the most delicate of all viands.

THE CASHEW CURASSOW.

THIS bird is nearly of the size of a hen turkey, and takes its name from the knob over its bill, which, in shape, greatly resembles the cashew nut of America. It is a native of the torrid zone, and is found in Jamaica, and other islands of America. It feeds, like the turkey, on grain, insects, and the like.

The knob over the bill is of a fine blue colour, as is also the basis of the upper mandible of the bill; the remainder of the bill is red: the eyes have reddish brown irides. The whole bird is of a shining blackish colour, reflecting purple glosses; except the lower part of the belly, the covert feathers, under the tail, and the tips of the tail feathers, which are white. The legs and feet are covered with a scaly skin, of a bright flesh colour.

There are several species of this bird.

Of the Spoonbill, which has sometimes erroneously been called the Shoveller (the real Shoveller being a bird of the duck tribe), there are three species. The first of these is the ROSEATE SPOONBILL, which has beautiful red plumage, with a collar of black at the lower part of the neck. The third, which inhabits Guiana and Surinam, is called the DWARF SPOONBILL, and is about the size of a sparrow. Its body is brown above, and white beneath; the quills have white shafts; and the tail is rounded, short, and of a brownish white colour. The most common species, however, is the second, which bears the name of the WHITE SPOONBILL, from its plumage, except in some rare exceptions, being entirely white. This bird is about the size of a heron, but somewhat shorter in the neck and legs. The bill is more than half a foot long, and has the shape of a spoon.

"This bird," says Mr. Latham," is found in various parts of the old continent, and from the Fero Islands, near Iceland, to the Cape of Good Hope. It frequents

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the neighbourhood of the sea, and has been met with on the coasts of France; at Sevenhuys, near Leyden, it was once in great plenty, annually breeding in a wood there. The nest is placed on high trees, near the sea side. The female lays three or four white eggs, powdered with a few pale red spots, and of the size of those of a hen. They are very noisy during breeding time, like our rooks; are seldom found high up the rivers, chiefly frequenting the mouths of them. Their food is fish, which they often take from other birds, in the manner of the bald eagle; also muscles and other shell fish, being found in greatest numbers where these are plenty; and they will also destroy frogs and snakes, and even grass and weeds, which grow in the water, as well as the roots of reeds. They are migratory, retiring to the warmer parts as the winter approaches, and are rarely seen in England." In consequence of their destroying frogs, toads, and serpents, they are highly prized at the Cape of Good Hope.

On the hind part of the head of this bird is a beautiful white crest, reclining backwards; while the legs and thighs are jet black: but the wisdom of Providence is conspicuous in the conformation of the bill, which seems entirely adapted to the habits and manner of feeding of these birds; the frog and the lizard, which constitute the principal food of the Spoonbill, often escape the thin and narrow beak of the heron and others, but here the mandibles are so large at the end, that the prey cannot slip aside.

THE AVOSETTA.

THE Avosetta is about the size of a pigeon, is variegated with black and white, and has extremely long legs; but the most extraordinary part of its figure is the bill, which turns up like a hook, in an opposite direction to that of the hawk or the parrot; this is of

a black colour, flat, sharp, and flexible at the end. The feet are webbed, and furnished with three toes forwards, and a short one behind.

The Avosetta is found in various parts of the Continent. In England they commonly breed in the fens of Lincolnshire, and on Romney Marsh, in Kent. They visit also the Severn, and sometimes the pools of Shropshire. In winter they assemble in flocks of six or seven about the mouths of large muddy rivers, in search of worms and insects, which they scoop out of the mud, with their recurved bills. Their feet seem calculated for swimming, but, as they are never observed to take the water, it is probable that they are furnished with a web merely to prevent their sinking in the mud. The female lays two eggs, about the size of a pigeon's, of a white colour tinged with green, and marked with black spots.

THE Godwit is about sixteen inches in length; the bill is nearly as long as that of the woodcock, of a palish red towards the base, black at the point, and turning a little upward; the upper mandible something longer than the lower, the tongue is sharp, the ears open, and

large. The feathers upon the head are a light brown or reddish colour, with their middle parts black, but about the eyes of a more pale or yellowish tincture; the neck and breast are pretty much of the same colour with the head, only interspersed with transversed black lines, edged with a pale yellow. The tail feathers are alternately crossed with black and white lines. The legs are of a dusky greenish colour, sometimes black, and the claws black.

They feed by the seaside upon sandy shores, where they pick up the worms which show themselves as soon as the tide recedes. The throat and neck of the hen are gray, and the rump is white, speckled or powdered with blackish spots. In some places they are called the Stone Plover. They are a very timid bird, and will hurry to shelter on the approach of tempestuous weather.

THE birds of this species vary much in size, some weighing not more than twenty-two ounces, while others weigh thirty-seven. They are found in England, France, Italy, and Germany, and as far north as the