And so those six caravels having set out, pursued their way along the coast, and pressed on so far that they passed the land of Sahara, belonging to those Moors which are called Azanegues, the which land is very easy to distinguish from the other[AM] by reason of the extensive sands that are there, and after it by the verdure which is not to be seen in it[AN] on account of the great dearth of water there, which causeth an exceeding dryness of the soil. And to this land resort usually all the swallows, and also all the birds that appear at certain times in this our kingdom, to wit, storks, quails, turtle-doves, wry-necks, nightingales and linnets, and other birds of various species. And many are there, by reason of the cold of the winter, that go from this land[AO] and journey to that one[AP] for the sake of its warmth. But other kinds of birds leave it in the winter, such as falcons, herons, ring-doves, thrushes, and other birds that breed in that land, and afterwards they come and take refuge in this because of the food they find here suitable to their nature. And of these birds the men of the caravels found many upon the sea, and others on land at their breeding-places. And since I have begun to speak of this matter, I will not omit to say a little more about the divers other kinds of birds and fishes that I hear are to be found in that land: among which we may speak first of all of some birds called flamingoes, which are of the same size as herons, with necks as long, but with short feathers; also their heads are small in comparison with their bodies, but their beaks are huge, though short, and so heavy that their necks are not well able to support the weight of them, in such wise that for the aid of these same necks they always have their beaks against their legs and rested upon them, or else upon their feathers for the residue of the time.[N138] And there also are other birds larger than swans, called hornbills, of which I have already spoken. And as for the fishes of these parts, there are some that have mouths three or four palms long, some smaller and others larger, in which mouths there are teeth both on the one side and on the other, so close together that a finger could not be put between one and another, and all are of fine bone, a little larger than those of a saw and farther apart; and these fish are some as large as and others greater than sharks, and the jaw-bones of these are in size not greater than those of other fish. And there is another kind of fish there, as small as mullet, that have, as it were, crowns on their heads, like gills, through which they breathe; and if they are turned over and put with these crowns below in a basin, they lay hold so firmly that on attempting to withdraw them they lift the basin with them, even as the lampreys do with their mouths while they are quite[N139] alive. And there are also many other birds and animals and fish in that land whose appearance we do not care to describe at length,