Taught by God, the flamingo has, however, another means of security than the malaria from the intrusion which its brilliant colouring would be sure to draw upon it. In other respects, besides its red coat, it has been compared to the soldier. When feeding or resting (which they do on one leg, the other drawn up close to the body, and the head under the wing), the flamingoes are drawn up in lines, and sentinels, very watchful ones too, are placed to guard these shy and cautious birds. At the first appearance of danger, the sentinel flamingo utters a loud cry, much resembling the sound of a trumpet, upon which the whole flock instantly takes flight, and always in the form of a triangle. Do not you think sitting on her eggs must be rather cramping work for the flamingo with those long legs? But I will tell you how cleverly she contrives. Instead of building a nest on the ground, where she would find it impossible to cower closely enough over her eggs to keep them warm, the flamingo heaps up a hill of earth so high, that she can sit comfortably upon it with her long legs dangling, one on each side. At the top is a hollow just large enough to hold her two or three white eggs. A full-grown flamingo stands between five and six feet high. There is another species of this bird much smaller, called the little flamingo. The Romans ate these birds, and Heliogabalus, the profane Emperor, delighted in a dish of their tongues, which are large, considering the size of the bird. In modern times, however, the flesh is rejected as fishy, but the feathers are highly valued. THE SWAN. You are no doubt well acquainted with this beautiful bird, and have perhaps fed some of its species, by the ornamental waters of the parks. Or perhaps, and that is far better, you have seen it sailing majestically down the river Thames, free and unconfined, enjoying its perfect liberty. The swan has been called a royal bird, being formerly regarded as the exclusive property of the crown, and even now there are but few exceptions to the rule. The royal swans, that is those belonging to the Crown, are marked in a particular manner on the bill, and every year, on the first Monday in August, men, now called swan-hoppers (a corruption of the old term swan-uppers, because they went up the river after the swans), proceed up the Thames to mark the young swans hatched during the year. The Dyers' Company and the Vintners' Company also own swans in the Thames, which were granted to them in olden times. The Vintners' mark for their swans is a nick or notch on each side of the beak, from which their swans have been called, merrily, "swans with two necks" (nicks). Perhaps you have heard of an inn, which has a swan with two necks as a sign; now you will understand how it came by so strange a name. [Illustration: THE SWAN.]