40 BOSY FLAMINGO. 



generally on a narrow path between two ditches. The nests are 

 always in great number, and on the same line. Its eggs, two in 

 number, are elongated, of a very dull white without spots, and a 

 rough chalky surface; great diameter eight centimetres nine millemetres, 

 small diameter five centimetres and a half. The calcareous matter of 

 these eggs is very friable, and chalky in appearance. 



"It lives in societies on borders of the sea and salt marshes, and 

 is frequently found on the shores of the Mediterranean, from Hyeres 

 to Perpignan, and in great number on the waters of Camargue and 

 Aigues-Mortes. 



"It is shy and defiant, and very difficult to approach. When a 

 flock reposes or feeds, some individuals act as sentries, and at the 

 least danger a cry which may be compared to the sound of a 

 trumpet, is uttered, and the whole flock rises in the air, observing 

 the same order as the Grey Crane." 



Savi gives the following account of the nidification of this bird, 

 ("Ornithologia Toscana," vol. ii, p. 365:) — "They nest in societies 

 in the open lagoons near the sea; each couple builds up a conic 

 mound of grass and mud, which is concave at the top. They deposit 

 their eggs in this cavity, and then sit astride the mound, and thus 

 hatch their eggs. The eggs are white, as large as those of a Goose, 

 and two in number." 



Temminck and other modern writers describe the mode of nesting 

 in the same way as Latham and Savi. 



Doderlein (op. cit.) says: — "Innumerable flocks of the Flamingo 

 pass over into Europe every year to find a temporary home near the 

 large lakes of Sardinia, Spain, and southern France, while some 

 isolated individuals pass on into Savoy, Liguria, Tuscany, Greece, 

 and even into Germany, Belgium, and to the shores of the Khine 

 and the Baltic Sea. But it is on the great salt lakes of Egypt, Tri- 

 poli, Tunis, Algeria, and Morocco that this bird has its home, where 

 it remains all the year and breeds. In Sardinia they arrive every 

 year in great flocks towards the middle of August, and differently 

 from other birds they do not depart till the end of March or beginning 

 of April. In April, says La Marmora ('Voyage to Sardinia,') from 

 above the ramparts, which serve as a promenade to the inhabitants of 

 Cagliari, these magnificent birds may be seen arriving from Africa in 

 a triangular flock, like a line of fire marked in the sky advancing in 

 the most perfect order. At the sight of the neighbouring water they 

 slacken their pace, and for an instant appear to be resting in the air. 

 Then, with a slow and circular movement, they describe a conical 

 inverted spire and drop to the ground, where they present a new 



