NORTH AMEKICAN MARSH BIRDS 9 



Dui'ing the summer, probably in July and August, a complete 

 molt takes place, at which time the young bird assumes the adult 

 plumage, or one closely resembling it, in which a few signs of imma- 

 turity may be retained in the way of dusky shaft-streaks or dusky 

 tips in some of the wing coverts. 



Doctor Chapman (1905) says of the molt of adults: 



The molt begins while the birds are still nesting. Specimens taken June 13 

 have new feathers appearing in numbers on the crown and scapulars. At this 

 "time the old plumage is much worn and faded. The back, in some specimens, 

 is nearly white, and the long scapulars are so abraded that little but the shaft 

 remains on the terminal third. The upper and under wing coverts, and espe- 

 cially the axillars, show less change than other portions of the plumage. As 

 far as I could learn from the usually inaccurate testimony of the negroes, the 

 moult continues through July and part of August; the flight feathers being shed 

 an the latter month. 



Food. — Doctor Chapman (1905) says of the food of the flamingo: 



The stomachs of all the adults examined contained only the remains of shells 

 •of the genus Ceritheum, which are evidently swallowed entire and ground up in 

 "the stomach, the walls of which are exceedingly thick and muscular. The birds 

 ^sometimes fed in water which reached to their bodies, and the treading or danc- 

 ing motion, which has been well described by former writers, was employed 

 ■while the head was submerged. 



He did not observe that the birds posted sentinels while feeding; 

 but W. E. D. Scott (1890) describes the operation quite fully, as 

 follows : 



All the time the birds were feeding there were three small parties, varying 

 from two to five individuals, that were apparently doing a sort of picket duty. 

 At each end of the line and about 100 yards from it was posted one of these 

 parties, offshore and at the center of the line and some hundred yards away the 

 third party was stationed. About every half hour the indviduals composing these 

 picket squads would take wing, fly to the flock in line and alight, and presently, 

 that is in less than a minute, another or part of the same picket squad would 

 leave the flock and fly to the point left but a few minutes before. I am not sure 

 that the entire squad was changed at such times, but the pickets taking the place 

 that had been left only a few minutes before, were generally one or two more 

 or less in number than the party they apparently relieved. I never saw more 

 than five individuals in a party, and now and then there was only a single senti- 

 nel, but generally from three to five. The birds at these outposts did not ap- 

 pear to be feeding, but were apparently guarding against any attempt to surprise 

 the main body. 



C. J. Maynard (1890) obtained some evidence that the flamingo 

 feeds at night; he writes: 



A.t one time, late in January, we had penetrated into the interior of the island 

 many miles, and had reached the borders of a large, shallow lake, near the shore of 

 which was a mangrove island. During the daytime we had seen numbers of fla- 

 mingos and I was assured by my guide that they fed near this island at night. Ac- 

 cordingly about sunset we concealed ourselves among the mangroves of the island 

 and awaited the coming of the flamingos. As the sun disappeared numerous cor- 

 morants, pelicans, and herons began to settle on the low trees over our heads, and 

 one large brown pelican alighted so near me that I could have touched it with my 



