Anatidae is the duck, geese and swan family of birds of the order Natatores. They are characterized by a thick, broad beak, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin and ending in a nail-like horny tip; the edges of the mandibles are cut into thin parallel ridges, or toothed; the wings are moderate; the legs placed not very far behind; the feet are four-toed and palmated; the hind toe is free, placed high on the tarsus. They feed on grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs and small fish. Research Anatidae
Anatinae is the duck, Wigeon, Teal and Sheldrake sub-family of birds of the family Anatidae. The members of the sub-family are distinguished by a bill of equal width throughout, or broader at the top than at the base, of about the same length as the head; short legs placed behind the middle of the body; the hind toe being without a pendent membrane; and a somewhat round tarsi. Research Anatinae
The eider (Somateria mollissima) is a coastal duck of the family Anatidae found from 45 degrees north to the arctic. Its favourite haunts are solitary rocky shores and islands. In Greenland and Iceland they occur in great numbers, and also breed on the western islands of Scotland. The eider duck is about twice the size of the common duck, being about 70 cm in length, 90 cm in breadth of wing, and from 6 to 7 lbs. in weight. The male is black, with the head and back white, with a black crown. The female is reddish drab spotted with black, and with two white bands on the wings. The eider feed largely on shell-fish, crustaceans, etc.
Their nests are usually formed of driftgrass, dry sea-weed, etc, lined with a large quantity of down, which the female plucks from her own breast. In this soft bed she lays five eggs, which she covers over with a layer of down. If this, with the eggs, is removed the bird repeats the process. One female generally furnishes about half-a-pound of down, but the quantity is reduced by cleaning. This down, from its superior warmth, lightness, and elasticity, is in great demand for beds and coverlets; and the districts in Norway and Iceland where these birds abound are guarded with the greatest vigilance as a most valuable property. As found in commerce this down is in balls of the size of a man's fist, and weighing from 3 to 4 lbs. It is so fine and elastic that 5 lbs. of the best quality is sufficient for a whole bed. The down from dead birds is little esteemed, having lost its elasticity. The king eider duck (Somateria spectabilis) is another species resembling the preceding and inhabiting the same coasts. Research Eider
The flamingo is a bird of the genus Phoenicopterus formerly placed in the order of wading birds, but now generally ranked among the Natatores or swimmers, and constituting a family Phoenicopteridae, allied to the Anatidae or ducks. Its body is rather smaller than that of the stork, but owing to the great length of the neck and legs it stands from 5 to 6 feet high. The beak is naked, lamellate at the edges, and bent as if broken; the feet are palmated and four-toed.
The common flamingo (Phoenicopterus antiquorum) occurs abundantly in various parts of Southern Europe, Northern Africa, etc. It is entirely pink, except the quill-feathers, which are jet-black. The tongue is fleshy, and one of the extravagances of the Romans during the later period of the empire was to have dishes composed solely of flamingoes' tongues. The flamingoes live and migrate in large flocks, frequenting desert sea-coasts and salt-marshes. They are extremely shy and watchful. While feeding they keep together, drawn up artificially in lines, which at a distance resemble those of an army; and, like many other gregarious birds, they employ some to act as sentinels, for the security of the rest.
Their food comprises molluscs, spawn, crustaceans, etc, which they fish up by means of their long neck, turning their head in such a manner as to take advantage of the crook in their beak. They breed in companies in inundated marshes, raising the nest to a certain height by heaping up the mud with their feet into a small hillock, which is concave at the top. In this the female lays her eggs, and it was formerly believed that she sat on them with her legs hanging down, like those of a man on horseback. But the nests are not so high as to allow of this, and the birds really sit with their legs doubled up under them. An American species of flamingo is Phoenicopterus ruber. Research Flamingo
Fulgulinoe is the Pochard sub-family of birds of the family Anatidae, order Natatores. They are distinguished from other members of the order by the presence of a lobated membrane on the hind toe and a compressed tarsi. Research Fuligulinoe
Goose is a popular name for the Anscrinoe sub-family of water birds of the family Anatidae in which the beak is roughly conical in shape. Geese differ from ducks in the plumage of both sexes is generally similar, and they often form a strong and lasting pair bond. The male goose (a gander) assists in the nesting and the raring of the young, vigorously defending his mate and the nest. A group of geese on the ground is known as a gaggle, and a group in flight as a skein. Research Goose
Abbreviations
Research Anatidae
