FLAMINGO. 251 



hatched in these nests and young reared, the water would 

 have entirely disappeared, and the Flamingoes would be left 

 stranded in the midst of a scorching plain of sun-baked 

 mud. Being unable to return to the marisma, I sent Felipe 

 back there on 26th May [1883], when he found eggs; in 

 1872 I obtained eggs taken on the 24th of May."* 



The eggs are two in number, with a white chalky and 

 sometimes rugose surface, beneath which the shell is 

 greenish-blue ; average measurements 3"6 by 2*25 in. 



The Flamingoes form a distinct Order, related perhaps to 

 the wading Herodiones, but with far closer affinities to the 

 swimming Anseres. It is therefore not surprising to find 

 that they swim well, and Mr. Blandford states that on one 

 occasion, off the Island of Hormuz, he saw a flock of the 

 present species swimming in the sea at least half a mile from 

 the shore. Mr. Hume remarks that a wounded bird when 

 pursued in deep water carried its neck nearly straight, 

 and bent slightly forward, jerking at every stroke, appar- 

 ently, of its feet, looking, in fact, as if it was staggering 

 along in water just reaching to its breast. Mr. J. Gatcombe, 

 however, has sent the Editor two sketches taken from life, 

 showing the neck curved in a very Swan-like manner, the 

 whole of the breast being depressed beneath the surface of 

 the water, whilst the hind parts of the body are much 

 raised. In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, 

 giving the bird a very remarkable appearance. The following 

 graphic description is given by Mr. Chapman : — 



"In herds of 300 to 500, several of which are often in 

 sight at once, they stand feeding in the open water, all their 

 heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water- 

 plants from the bottom. f On approaching them, which can 

 only be done by extreme caution, their silence is first broken 

 by the sentries, who commence walking away with low 



* Henke found a colony of more than 400 nests in the Kirghiz steppes, on a 

 sand-bank, where the ground was then dry, but with a different wind the water 

 would sometimes be a foot high round the nests, some of which were raised 

 about 2 feet (Ibis, 1882, p. 227). 



t Flamingoes are stated by Henke to feed their young on frogs, to obtain 

 which they visit a fresh-water lake iive-and-twenty miles distant, at night. 



