ARGENTINE FLAMINGO 129 



on so scanty a fare this large bird not only supports 

 itself but becomes excessively fat* I spent half a 

 winter in Patagonia at a house built on the borders 

 of a small lake, and regularly every night a small 

 flock of Flamingoes came to feed in the water about 

 200 yards from the back of the house* I used to open 

 the window to listen to them, and the noise made 

 by their beaks was continuous and resembled the 

 sound produced by wringing out a wet cloth* They 

 feed a great deal by day. but much more, I think, by 

 night* 



Where they are never persecuted they are tame 

 birds, and when a flock is fired into and one bird 

 killed, the other birds, though apparently much 

 astonished, do not fly away. They are silent birds, 

 but not actually dumb, having a low, hoarse cry, 

 uttered sometimes at the moment of taking flight ; 

 also another cry which I have only heard from a 

 wounded bird, resembling the gobbling of a turkey- 

 cock, only shriller. They are almost invariably seen 

 standing in the water, even when not feeding, and 

 even seem to sleep there ; on land they have a very 

 singular appearance, their immense height, in pro- 

 portion to their bulk, giving them an appearance 

 amongst birds something like that of the giraffe 

 amongst mammals* To the lakes and water-courses 

 in the midst of the grey scenery of Patagonia they 

 seem to give a strange glory, while standing motion- 

 less, their tall rose-coloured forms mirrored in the 

 dark water, but chiefly when they rise in a long 



crimson train or phalanx, flying low over the surface, 

 i ii 



