THE FLAMINGO 



173 



" Our tent was stayed to .... one of the boats " 



set mud nests each with its single white egg, while two held 

 newly hatched Flamingos ! Not only were these the first 

 young Flamingos ever seen in the nest by a naturalist, but 

 their presence was an assurance that this rookery was not 

 composed of the birds whose homes had been flooded by the 

 storm of May 17, but another colony and one which had not 

 suffered a similar catastrophe. I should not therefore have 

 to wait at least three weeks for the eggs to hatch, but had 

 arrived at the most favorable period it would have been 

 possible to select. 



While we were standing, half dazed by the whole experi- 

 ence, the army of birds which had gathered in the lagoon 

 rose, and with harsh honkings bore down on us. The action 

 was startling. The birds in close array came toward us 

 without a waver, and for a few moments one might well 

 have believed they were about to attack ; but with a mighty 



