38 
WILD WINGS 
ing. The Louisiana Herons had eggs, and there were about 
a dozen empty nests, some of which had feathers in them of 
the “ Men-o’-\\"ar,” but which were probably the homes of the 
cormorants which we had seen in the vicinity. Audubon 
found on the keys rookeries of the Man-o’-\\^ar Birds, which 
were beginning to breed at this very same time, in May, but 
of late years they have not been known to nest within the 
Ibiited States. Their presence in such large numbers made 
me confident that they were j^reparing to lay. To make sure, 
I had the guide visit these resorts later in the summer, and 
he did not in any case find the birds breeding. They build 
a huge nest of sticks, like the cormorant, and lay two or three 
dirty-whitish eggs. As we pulled back to the vessel through 
the narrows, a pair of the exquisite ]:)ink Roseate Spoonbills 
flew close by the boat, giving me a splendid and memorable 
view of their glorv. 
Alas for the j)rocrastinating naturalists ! The Frigates were 
seen till dark hovering over a distant isle. Thev did not 
return to this roost at all, and next morning at daybreak all 
of them had entirely disappeared, except a few stragglers that 
rose to mock the cameras of the delinquents. More and more 
convinced am I that the only safe time to photograj^h birds, 
no matter how plenty they may be, is the first time they show 
themselves. 
During the cruise we had watched longinglv and carefullv 
for a sight of the great rosy Flamingos. That pleasure was 
not for us. Small bands of the warv creatures are vet seen 
during fall, winter, and early spring. The last small flock was 
noticed by our guide in March. But it was now May, their 
nesting-time in the West Indies and the Bahamas, and thither 
all stragglers had evidently retired. had now explored 
pretty thoroughly the only possible region in the United States 
where they could nest, and it can be safely assumed that this 
