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0. S. XI. 21aturalist 
PUBLISHED BY 
THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 
Vol. J. DECEMBER, J900. No. 2 
FEEDING HABITS OF THE SCARLET FLAMINGO. 
J. C. Hambletox. 
One of the favorite winter haunts of Phoenicopterus ignipalliatus 
is found on the sandy beaches that abound on the xvest coast of 
South America, at about latitude 42° South. 
On the north coast of the large island of Chiloe, there are several 
places of this sort where these beautiful birds may be seen in flocks 
of hundreds during the months of June, July and August, the winter 
months in that region. 
I remember the first time I walked over one of their favorite 
resorts. It w r as on the Pudeto river, near the small town of Ancud. 
The tides here are rather high owing to the formation of the bay, 
and as a consequence it enters the river and floods great stretches of 
sand that border the left bank. As the tide goes out the flamingos 
may be seen here by hundreds. The first time I visited the place 
the tide had been out some hours and there were no birds to be seen. 
I was disappointed for the trip had been made for that special 
purpose. 
However my attention was soon attracted to long rows of small 
hillocks of sand, or rather, to be more exact, circular ditches in the 
sand that appeared to have been made while the water was still 
present. These were about two or two and one-half feet in diameter 
by five or six inches wide and three or four inches deep. This, of 
course, gave the central portion the appearance of a small hill about 
eighteen or twenty inches in diameter. L T pon inquiry I could get no 
information — no one had any idea how or by whom they had been 
made. 
A few r days later the mystery was solved when a second visit 
was made to the place at a more propitious moment. 
Upon approaching to within a few hundred yards of where a 
regiment of these scarlet beauties was lined up, the birds took flight 
and it was then that I discovered who w r ere the authors of my mys- 
terious little hills. 
By subsequent observations I found that the birds took their 
stand in the water when it was about a foot and a half deep, and at 
more or less regular intervals about eight or ten feet apart. Here 
