198 Mr. AV. Eagle Clarke— Ornithology 



Phcenicopterus roseus (Pallas). 



The chief haunt o£ the Flamingo is the Etang du Valcares ; 

 indeed, we never saw it elsewhere in the Camargue, and it is 

 said^ no doubt with truth, that this etang is the only breeding- 

 station in the Delta. The birds, however, occasionally pay a 

 flying visit to the lagoons adjoining the Golfe de Beauduc, 

 as we were informed by the Garde Maritime, but do not 

 remain long in that neighbourhood. 



In recent times, or it may be in wet seasons, the herd 

 which summers in the Rhone Delta may possibly have been 

 numerically stronger than it was during the droughty season 

 of 1894. The local estimates, which we obtained from 

 several sources, all placed the Flamingo-population of the 

 Camargue at three thousand; but figures thus procured 

 must be accepted witb considerable caution, for they are 

 seldom entirely satisfactory. Be this as it may, the numbers 

 present in the Delta this year (1894) certainly did not 

 exceed six hundred, at the very most. Unfortunately our 

 several attempts at taking a census completely failed, owing 

 to the habit these birds have of herding together, as already 

 mentioned. 



Several days were devoted to the Flamingoes. We found 

 them eminently sociable birds, being usually gathered 

 together, or forming two large parties, from which the indi- 

 viduals did not stray far. They were also essentially aquatic, 

 frequenting always the waters of the lagoon, or tbeir margins. 

 And such was the nature of their chosen haunt that the birds 

 commanded the surrounding country far and wide, and were 

 immediately aware of the advent of intruders. In the 

 morning we usually found them busy feeding ; and when so 

 engaged their proceedings were remarkable and puzzled 

 us exceedingly, and for some days we quite failed to com- 

 prehend their singular behaviour. In their search for food 

 the birds were always observed to scrape continuously with 

 their feet the floor of the etang, and at the same time kept 

 their heads quite submerged. The sight then witnessed 

 was a very curious one, for it presented a moving forest of 

 red legs, and an army of pink bodies turning, as it were, 



