Philobiblon

Reading my latest edition of The Historian a description by William Dampier of his first sight of flamingos caught my attention: They were, he wrote, ‘much like a heron in shape’ though ‘bigger and of a reddish color’ and in such numbers that from a distance they ‘appeared like a brick wall, their feathers being of the colour of new red brick’.. ‘The young ones are, at first, of a light grey.’

It left me musing on how few adults there must be, at least in the western world, who don’t have at least a vague idea of what a flamingo looks like. The thrill of discovery of something truly unknown, truly strange, that we’ve had not even an inkling of before, is denied us.

But perhaps I’m wrong – I read today that an entirely new family of primates has been found.

Scientists originally thought the monkey, named Rungwecebus kipunji after Mount Rungwe in Tanzania, was a type of mangabey from the genus Lophocebus. However, a more detailed genetic analysis of the animal showed its close connection to baboons.

Still – not quite the same thing as coming on that flock of flamingos. Thrilling no doubt to the scientist peering down at the DNA separation gel, but denied still to the rest of us.

Then again, we have moved on in many ways. Dampier concluded his disquisition on the subject of these curious words by noting: “The flesh is lean and black yet very good meat … their tongues have a large knob of fat at the root which is an excellent bit, a dish of flamingos’ tongues being fit for a princes’ table.’