BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 181 
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 on 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. 
Bio. Aud. Bds: NoA. Vol VE, pl. 375; 
