156 



NATLliAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



'glintitig ' in tlic siinlight like a pink cloiul. Many pairs of oM rcil liirils wore obsi-ncd 

 to 1)0 ac'i'oinp:inic-d \>y a single wliito (iniiuatuie) one. On examining narrowly the 

 different herds, there was an obvious dissimilarity in the appearance of certain gioiiiis: 

 one or two in |)articnlar seemed so nuicli denser than the others; the narrow white 

 line apjieared at least three times as thick, and in tiie centre it looked as if the birds 

 were literally ])ileil u]ion eadi other. Felij)C suggested that these l)irds must be at 

 their ' pajareni,' or breeding-place ; and after a long ride through rather deep water 

 we foinid that tliis was so. On our approach, the cause of tlie i)eculiar a|)pearance of 



the herd from a distance 

 became clearly discerni- 

 ble. Many of the birds 

 were sitting down on a 

 low mud island ; some 

 were standing on it, and 

 others, again, were in the 

 water. Thus the ditYer- 

 cnt elevations of their 

 bodies formed what had 

 ai)pearedatripleorquad- 

 rui)le line. On reaching 

 the spot we found a per- 

 fect mass of nests; the 

 low mud ])lateau was 

 crowded with them as 

 thickly as the space jk r- 

 mitted. These nests had 

 little or no height: some 

 were raised two or three 

 .^' -^-^ t! H ■ -x fflHtSaiBR ST' inches, a few might be 



^3f^ " ^iP" ~ |l 1-5-^- ^^i^^^^^^s' five or six inches; but 



the majority were mere- 

 ly circular bulwarks of 

 mud, with the impression 

 of the birds' legs dis- 

 tinctly marked on it. 

 The general aspect of the 

 j)lateau was luit unlike a large table covered with jilates. In the centre wasadeephole 

 full of muddy water, which, from the gouged apjiearance of its sides, apjieared to be 

 used as a reservoir for nest-making materials. Scattered all round this main colony were 

 numerous single nests rising out of the water, and evidently built up from the bottom. 

 Here and there two or three or more of these were joined together, — 'semi-detached,' 

 80 to speak ; these separate nests rose some six or eight inches above the water-level, 

 and were about fifteen inches across. The water was about twelve or fifteen inches deep. 

 None of these nests as yet contained eggs, and tho\igh I returned to the 'pajarera' on the 

 latest day I was in the neighborhood (May 11), they still remained empty. On both 

 occasions many hundreds of tlamingos were sitting on their nests, and on the 11th 

 we had a good view of them at close quartere. Linked arm and arm with Felipe, and 

 croucliing low on the water, to look as little human as possible, we ap]iroacliO(1 within 



t'lu. 'C. — I'hoenicopUrut aiUu/iujrum, Uaiuliigo. 



