BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. l8l 



away nearly as many alive to sell to passing vessels, most of which 

 die from want of care. They are killed by hundreds for their 

 feathers, and thus gradually their ranks are being thinned, until at 

 last the Flamingo, like the Dodo and the Solitaire, will be a thing of 

 the past. The nest is a curious structure, composed of clay and 

 mud, and formed somewhat in the shape of a sugar-loaf, with a 

 slight depression on the top, in which they deposit their eggs. At 

 the salt ponds of Inagua and Abaco they still breed in large 

 numbers, but the negroes say that they are becoming fewer and 

 fewer every year. The eggs are white, the shell being covered by 

 a chalky substance. While oji the nest, this bird sits with its legs 

 hanging down on either side, and it presents a most ludicrous 

 appearance. I was told by the negroes that Flamingoes are still 

 found on Andros Island. 



Fig. Aud. Bds. N. A., Vol. VI. pi. 375. 



