480 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke — Ornithology 



that they could have been formed only a few months before. 

 These were arranged in groups of about 20 nests, placed close 

 together, and the groups were about ten yards from each other. 

 The structures had the appearance, when seen from a short 

 distance, of hillocks. Some of them were quite a foot in height, 

 but the majority were about 9 inches, and each was some 

 12 inches in diameter. Near by were the remains, or rather 

 signs, of numerous nests of a previous year, now simply 

 represented by mounds of mud. Here we had evidently one 

 of the chosen breeding-grounds of the Valcar^s Flamingoes, 

 but unfortunately the site selected was within view of the 

 lonely cabane of that singular individual Marius, already 

 mentioned, and by whom their nests had been robbed, no 

 doubt, to their last egg. 



That more than very few — indeed that any — young Fla- 

 mingoes are reared annually in the Camargue is extremely 

 doubtful. We saw and carefully examined at least a thousand 

 of these birds during this September visit, but not a single 

 young or immature bird was to be detected in their ranks. 

 This in itself was melancholy evidence of the fate which awaits 

 these birds in the Bouches-du-Rhone. In September we found 

 these birds more widely distributed than they were during 

 the breeding-season, and we observed them on the waters of 

 Consecaniere, aa etang on which we did not observe a 

 single bird during the spring of 1894. 



Regarding the food of the Flamingo in the Camargue, 

 there can be no doubt as to the correctness of the views 

 expressed on this subject in my former contribution. The 

 conclusions arrived at w^ere based upon observations during 

 the breeding-season, when the birds were entirely confined 

 to the lagoons. In these shallow lakes not a vestige of 

 vegetation was to be found, and the animal life of their 

 extremely saline waters consisted only of myriads of the 

 brine-shrimp {Artemia salina) ; it is undoubtedly upon 

 this little crustacean that the Flamingo feeds in the lagoons 

 of the Camargue. 



The legs of this bird appear to undergo a seasonal change 

 in colour. In May and June we noted them as being reddish- 



