Nests of the Flamingo 195 



others ; the narrow white line appeared at least three times 

 as thick, and the centre looked as if the birds were literally 

 piled upon each other. My man, Felipe, suggested that 

 these birds must be at their * pajarera,' or breeding-place ; 

 and after a long ride through rather deep water, we found 

 that this was so. On our approach, the cause of the peculiar 

 appearance of the herd from a distance became clearly 

 discernible. . Many of the birds were sitting down on a low 

 mud island ; some were standing on it, and others, again, 

 were in the water. Thus the different elevations of their 

 bodies formed what had appeared a triple or quadruple 

 line. 



" On reaching the spot, we found a perfect mass of nests ; 

 the low mud plateau was crowded with them as thickly as 

 the space permitted. These nests had little or no height : 

 some were raised two or three inches, a few might be five 

 or six inches ; but the majority were merely circular bul- 

 warks of mud, with the impression of the bird's legs 

 distinctly marked on it. The general aspect of the plateau 

 was not unlike a large table covered with plates. In the 

 centre was a deep hole full of muddy water, which, from 

 the gouged appearance of its sides, appeared to be used as 

 a reservoir for nest-making materials. 



i: Scattered all round this main colony were numerous 

 single nests, rising out of the water, and evidently built up 

 from the bottom. Here and there two or three or more of 

 these were joined together — ' semi-detached/ so to speak ; 

 these separate nests rose some six or eight inches above 

 the water-level, and were about fifteen inches across. 

 The water was about twelve or fifteen inches deep. None 

 of these nests as yet contained eggs ; and though I returned 

 to the ' pajarera ' on the latest day I was in the neighbour- 

 hood (May 11), they still remained empty. On both 

 occasions many hundreds of Flamingoes were sitting on 

 the nests, and on the nth we had a good view of them at 



