The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-04-24
THE FLAMINGO AT HOME.
Nesting Habits of the Picturesque
Bird and Its Method of Con-
structiOn.

There is no member of our native
avifauna so picturesque as the famin-
go; yet this bird is rapidly nearing
extinction in the United States. The
early explorers and settlers in the
southern states found the famingo al
most worshiped by the aborigines.
Its beautiful plumage was it's destruc-
tion, however, and now it is only found
in Cuba and the Bahamas. Thither
Mr.. Frank Chapman went in search
of it, says Bird Lore.
The famingo, aside from the beauty
of it's plumage and it's droll ways, is
especially interesting to the ornithol-
ogist, forming connecting link be-
tween the long-legged herons and the
broad-billed, web-footed geese and
ducks. When the plumage of this bird
is perfect it is a beautiful scarlet color
throughout, excepting the primaries,
which are black.
Arriving at Nassau, Mr.. Chapman
and the members of his party secured
5O-ton schooner and went to a Sc
cluded part of Andres island. Here
they succeeded in easily finding
great number of nests, at least 1000,
which had been occupied the previous
year. The negro guide was sent up
a small palm, where an extended view
was had of the surrounding country,
and discovered, less than a mile away,
a flock containing 700 or more of these
magnificent birds. Here were quanti-
ties of nests that had been occupied
the previous year and others in proc
ess of construction.
AS the nesting habits of famingoes
are almost entirely unknown to nat
ural historians Mr.. Chapman was able
to add much to our knowledge. In
the first place, the old idea that the
incubating bird straddled the nest
when Matching and letting her legs
hang down on either side was shown
to be absurd. 1t was found that the
sitting birds folded their legs under
them in the usual way. Although the
birds returned to the same general
locality year after year they appar-
emily used the nest only one season.
The nests are built of mud scooped
up from around its base, therefore
the breeding season is the rainy sea-
son.
While the birds must build near or,
indeed, in the water, they guard
against complete submergence of
their homes by building it high enough
to protect the egg from danger. The
popular conception of a famingo's
nest makes it not more than six or
eight inches in diameter at the base,
whence it tapers to a truncate hol-
lowed top nearly two feet in height.
Mr.. Chapman saw no nest, however,
over 10 inches high; most of them
were not over eight inches. The av-
erage basal diameter is about 13 inches
and the top about ten inches.
Era of Waterfalls.
One of the most notable things in the
rapid march of mechanical science is
the increasing use of waterfalls for the
production of electric power. This is
going on in all parts of the world, and
has resulted in an enormous increase in
the money value of the falls. Some
one has estimated that Niagara falls,
as producer of power, is worth
$1,000, 100000. Waterfalls are now driv-
ing tram-cars, lighting cities, running
factories, irrigating farms, and per-
forming innumerable other services,
often at distance of many miles from
the source of power. Italy, abound
ing with waterfalls on the slopes of
the Alps and the Apennines, is among
the leaders in this advance. In India
it is proposed to derive $4,000 horse
power from the Doogh Sagar river, at
point where its waters descend about
$500 feet.-Youth's Companion.