The ancients greedily sought after the flesh of the Flamingo, which they regarded as the most choice food. The tongue especially was thought to be an exquisite dainty, and the Emperor Heliogabalus appreciated it so highly that a body of troops was exclusively employed in slaughtering Phoenicopteri to satisfy his gastronomical tastes. At the present day we no longer eat the bird; to modern palates its flesh is disagreeable in flavour, and it retains a marshy smell which is far from being pleasant. With regard to the tongue, the Egyptians, it is said, are content with extracting an oil from it, which is used to flavour some descriptions of viands. We must add, in order to complete our account of the Flamingo, that it is covered with down like a Swan, which is employed for the same purposes, and that its thigh-bone is used in some countries in the manufacture of flutes. [Illustration: Fig. 115. Avocet (_Recurvirostra avocetta_).] The AVOCET (Fig. 115) is characterised by a very long and slender bill, flexible, and curved upwards; this latter peculiarity has procured for it the name of _Recurvirostra_ (curved beak). It uses this strange implement to rake up the sand and mud to a pretty good depth, in order to catch the worms, small mollusks, and fish-spawn which constitute its chief food. Its long legs enable it to travel in safety over swamps and lagoons; it also swims with great ease. It may often be seen looking for its food in the very centre of lakes and ponds. The Avocet stands about twenty inches in height, although its body is but little bigger than that of a Pigeon. It is a pretty bird, of slender make; its plumage is black on the head and back, and white underneath. It is to be met with on both the Continents; the European species is common in Holland and on the French coast. It is wild and shy in its nature, and very difficult of approach. It is clever in avoiding snares set for it by the fowler, and ingenious in escaping--either by flight or swimming--its pursuers. The nest of the Avocet is a very simple structure, generally made by placing a few blades of grass in a hole in the sand. Here it lays two or three eggs, of which it is frequently robbed; for, like those of the Plover and others, its congeners, they are regarded as great delicacies by the gourmand. The flesh, however, is not considered very tempting. [Illustration: Fig. 116.--Stilt Bird (_Charadrius himantopus_).]