The Turkey

The Turkey

Although his gobble-gobble is now to be heard in

every farmyard, it is only a few hundred years since

the Turkey first came to this country. He did not

come from Turkey, as people at one time thought,

but from the Continent of North America, where he

is still to be found in his wild state. Mr. and Mrs.

Turkey are not always on good terms, for when

Mrs. Turkey lays an egg she has to hide it away to

prevent her husband from destroying it. In fact, he

is a tyrant, and is not afraid of anybody, except

Father Christmas.

The White Heron

The White Heron

The White Heron lives upon what he can pick up

on the borders of marshes or the banks of rivers.

He has a pretty large bill of fare, including fish,

frogs, rats, mice, and various kinds of snails, worms,

and insects. With his long legs he wades for some

distance into the water, and there he stands without

a movement, waiting for the fish to come within

reach of his terrible beak. But at the same time

he keeps a watchful eye upon what is going on

around him; for the Heron is very shy, and if you

go to call upon him, you will probably find that

he is not at home.

The Flamingo

The Flamingo

The Flamingo is most happy standing on one leg in

a foot or two of water. There he waits patiently for

any fish that may come his way. His color may

be pink or scarlet according to the part of the world

in which he is born; and when he is standing motionless

on the look-out for fish, his red body and long

legs give him quite a military appearance like a

soldier at attention. The Flamingo prefers a warm

climate, and by moving from place to place he

manages to enjoy a continual summer-time.

The Vulture

The Vulture

The Vulture is a very useful bird, but he would not

make a pleasant pet. His home is in the sunny

lands of the south, where he is always very busy

in tidying up for Dame Nature. When any poor

animal is killed or dies of old age the news seems to

spread like magic, for although not a single bird may

be in sight, in the course of a few minutes Vultures

come flocking up from all sides. And they never

leave their banquet until they have eaten up everything

but the bones.