BIRD GUIDE

FLAMINGOES

Family Phoenicopteridæ

FLAMINGO

182. Phcemcopterus ruber. 46 in.

These large, beautiful birds are found in Southern Florida, and casually north to South Carolina, but it is doubtful if they breed within our limits. They fly with their long neck fully extended and legs trailing behind, a remarkable sight when a flock of several thousand is seen in flight. In 1904, Mr. F. M. Chapman visited a large breeding colony in the Bahamas, photographing the birds in every conceivable position. Their nests are mud-built structures, about a foot high, placed close together in the marshy interior of low lying islands, or on sandbars. The top is slightly hollowed out to receive the single egg (3.40x2.15), which is covered with a chalky deposit. They sit astride the nest with their legs doubled under them.

Notes. A honking like that of Canada Geese.

Range. Resident in the Bahamas and West Indies: north to Florida.