THE FLAMINGO 191 



the adverse climatic conditions with which Flamingos have 

 to contend during the nesting season. Laying but one egg, 

 it is probable that under favorable circumstances they can 

 barely hold their own, and it is therefore to be deplored that 

 man should be numbered among their enemies. 



To my regret, our search for Flamingos so widely adver- 

 tised the location of the rookery among the negroes of the 

 island, that more than a dozen expeditions were planned to 

 visit it for young birds. 



Fresh meat is rarer than pink pearls in the outer Baha- 

 ma islands. Young Flamingos are excellent eating, and are, 

 consequently, much sought after. As a result of this perse- 

 cution on the nesting-ground, they are steadily diminishing 

 in numbers. 



At this time neither they, nor any other Bahaman bird 

 was protected by law, and 1 take no small pleasure in saying 

 that when this matter was brought to the attention of the 

 proper authorities, an adequate bill was prepared and 

 passed at the next session of the colonial legislature. 



Our camp site was now barely habitable, and it became 

 obvious that if the rains continued we should soon be afloat. 

 Confidence in the life-preserving qualities of our pneumatic 

 mattresses, permitted us to sleep undismayed by the lap, 

 lap, of waters at our threshold ; but more valuable, almost, 

 than life itself, were our photographic plates and specimens, 

 and it was therefore determined to break camp and return 

 to the schooner. In spite of the disagreeable surroundings, 

 the swash was left reluctantly. My work, however, was 

 virtually ended. I had enjoyed an experience unparalleled 

 in the annals of ornithology, had made twelve dozen photo- 

 graphs and pages of detailed notes, and had secured mater- 

 ial adequate to represent the home life of Flamingos in a 

 group, to be exhibited in the Museum which had intrusted 

 me with this mission to a little-known country. 



