149 I learn of flamingos and hurricanes 



It seems quite possible that hurricanes always have been a 

 definite factor in the periodic reduction of flamingo flocks in- 

 habiting certain vulnerable areas in the Bahamas and West Indies. 

 Our American species, Phoenicopterus ruber, has continued to 

 live close to the sea, on lands that may be frequently submerged 

 during storms, whereas the other flamingos of the world have been 

 able to move inland to higher altitudes. Our species is the only 

 one seriously reduced in numbers at this time, except perhaps 

 the rare James's flamingo of the high Andes, which may never 

 have been very abundant. And, although man has been chiefly 

 responsible for the destruction of flamingo populations in the 

 West Indies, these unnatural losses serve to emphasize and render 

 more serious the toll that may be taken from time to time by such 

 natural forces as hurricanes. 



In his reports to the colonial secretary in Nassau, 1922-1936, 

 Elgin Forsyth, who, as commissioner at Andros, was also in charge 

 of flamingo protection for the Bahamas government, presented a 

 vivid picture of the destruction wrought by such storms. In 1925, 

 after four years of rigid protection, the Andros flamingo colonies 

 were again prospering, the main flock nesting in that year on 

 Jack Fisher's Sound building up to an estimated 3,000 mounds. 

 In September, 1926; August, 1928; September, 1928; and Septem- 

 ber, 1929, four hurricanes struck Andros Island. The 1926 storm 

 hit at a time when the adult flamingos were dropping their flight 

 feathers and the new crop of young were just learning to fly by 

 their own efforts. The losses were so heavy that no colony was 

 formed the following year. In 1928 a small group nested, but the 

 young were virtually wiped out by the storm of August 6. When 

 the September storm struck, one of the most violent of the century, 

 the adult birds were again flightless as a result of the molt. In 

 October, Forsyth and his men could find only 25 flamingos on all 

 of Andros, although many of those that had survived doubtless 

 did so by fleeing to Cuba and elsewhere. In 1929, such birds as 

 returned were again dispersed or killed by the storm of September 

 26. It was not until 1935 and 1936 that the Andros flock re- 

 covered to some extent from these disasters. 



Another prospect in that first year of our study was the small 



