FLAMINGOES 



(182) Phoenicopterus ruber 



Linn. 

 (Lat., a llaniiof^o; red). 



FL.A.MIXGO. Ads. — Bill yel- 

 lowish, will"! a Ijlack tip; large and 

 bo.x-like with a bent-down end; with 

 strainers on the sides. Plumage 

 rosj'-red as shown. Im. — Grayish- 

 wliite, the wings more or less marked 

 with gray and dusky. L., 48.00; 

 Ex., 65.00; W., 16.25; T., 6.00; Tar., 

 13.00; Tibia, g.oo; B., 5.50. Nest — 

 A mud-cone, hollo\Yed on top; two 

 dull-white eggs, with a chalky cover- 

 ing, 3.40 X 2.15. 



Range — Atlantic coast of tropical 

 and sub-tropical America, from the 

 Bahamas, Florida Keys and Yucatan 

 to Brazil; accidental in S. Car. 



Both species are very wary at all times. They feed upon 

 water plants which they reach by immersing the head and 

 neck or by tipping-up. 



Order ODONTOGLOSS/E. Lamellirostr.a.l Gr.al- 



L.4T0RES 



Family PHOENICOPTERID^. Flamingoes 



These great birds are found only casually on the Florida 

 Keys, but are more or less abundant in the Bahamas, West 

 Indies and southward to Brazil. Attention is first attracted 

 by their beautiful plumage, as though dyed by the rays of the 

 setting sun; then by the extremely long legs and neck; and 

 lastly by the curiously bent, box- like bill. This bill is in 

 reality a crude form of suction pump and is used by press- 

 ing the bent end of the ujiper mandible into the mud and 

 dabbling with the lower one. Water and mud run out the 

 strainers on the edges, while solid, edible food is retained. 



They nest in large colonies on muddy flats, scraping up the 



