80 F. E. Blaauw—Some Notes on the Argentinian Flamingo


which successfully reared young for the first time in captivity last

year, again repeated their success this year. Five eggs were laid

and four young ones fully reared. This species is intensely

susceptible to damp.


Diamond Doves, Geopelia cuneata. A number of young ones

were washed out of their nests by heavy rainstorms ; they will nest

in such exposed places. But a fair number were fully reared.



SOME NOTES ON THE ARGENTINIAN

FLAMINGO


(Phcenicopterus chilensis)


By F. E. Blaauw, F.M.Z.S.


Whilst travelling by train from Buenos Aires to Mendoza I saw

this species in a wild state in a large shallow lake.


It was a couple of hours after we had passed Bufino that the train

travelled over a dam that had been constructed in that lake.


It was in the month of March, 1911, and as soon as we came upon

the dam I was struck by the sight of countless numbers of the beautiful

pink birds standing in the shallow places.


I was also agreeably surprised by the sight of half a dozen Coscoroba

Swans which were swimming quite close to the railway track. It was

probably a summer or autumn resort for the Flamingos, because when

about two months later I re-passed the lake nearly all the birds

were gone.


Later on when I visited the north-western part of Tierra del Fuego,

staying at a sheep farm at Zentes Grande (name of the farm), I saw

again some Flamingos, five in all, standing in a shallow lagoon and

I was told by the manager of the farm that the Flamingos were winter

visitors there and that the birds I had seen were probably the first

ones of that season.


They frequented mostly, he told me, the salt lagoons which were

less liable to be frozen over than the fresh-water ones.


The birds were rather shy and I could not get very near them as

they flew away on my approach.



