The
O. S. U. Naturalist
PUBLISHED BY
THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
Vol. 1. DECEMBER, 1900. No. 2
FEEDING HABITS OF THE SCARLET FLAMINGO.
J. C. Hambleton.
One of the favorite winter haunts of Phoenicopterus ignipalliatus is found on the sandy beaches that abound on the west 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 was 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. Upon inquiry I could get no information—no one had any idea how or by whom they had been made.