OCR Text |
Show EATS IN PECULIAR POSITION Flamingo Forced to Contortions Because Be-cause Its Upper Jaw, Not the Lower, Is Movable. Nature has so created the beautiful beauti-ful flamingo that he does some things both backwards and upside down. For one thing, he eats wjth the crown of his head on the ground, in the bottom of some shallow stream. From one glance at his jaw one would think it was badly broken. Instead, his bill Is in perfect working order, only things are reversed with It, and bis lower ji.w is securely fixed, while his upper jfw Is movable. Both portions of his big beak are arranged in a series of thin plates, like the bills of all mem- bers of the duck family, so that he can easily sift the nice squirmy things he- v likes from the soft mud. Flamingoes frequent salt marshes, and when these become dry will then-go then-go long distance to find others. Florida used to be the birds' happy hunting ground and many lovely members Tf , the family could be met in otbpr countries. coun-tries. Very few of them are left now, and those surviving are very shy of the hunter, and seldom seen. Very few are left in this country, and bird lovers predict that in a few year r.iore they will become extinct. |