When It Stands On A Lotus-Leaf Five Inches
In Diameter, The Spread Of The Toes, Acting On The Principle Of Snow-Shoes,
Occupies All The Surface, And It Never Sinks, Though It Obtains A Livelihood,
Not By Swimming Or Flying, But By Walking On The Water.
Water-birds, whose prey or food requires a certain aim or action
in one direction, have bills quite straight
In form, as the heron and snipe;
while those which are intended to come in contact with hard substances,
as breaking shells, have the bills gently curved, in order that the shock
may not be communicated to the brain.
The Barotse valley contains great numbers of large black geese.*
They may be seen every where walking slowly about, feeding.
They have a strong black spur on the shoulder, like the armed plover,
and as strong as that on the heel of a cock, but are never seen to use them,
except in defense of their young. They choose ant-hills for their nests,
and in the time of laying the Barotse consume vast quantities of their eggs.
There are also two varieties of geese, of somewhat smaller size,
but better eating. One of these, the Egyptian goose, or Vulpanser,
can not rise from the water, and during the floods of the river
great numbers are killed by being pursued in canoes. The third is furnished
with a peculiar knob on the beak. These, with myriads of ducks
of three varieties, abound every where on the Leeambye.
On one occasion the canoe neared a bank on which a large flock was sitting.
Two shots furnished our whole party with a supper, for we picked up
seventeen ducks and a goose.
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