EAGLE ISLAND. 109 



ground^ and was no less than 26 feet in circum- 

 ference^ and two feet eight inches hig-h."* An 

 American professorf conjectures the above nest to 

 have possibly been that of the Dinornis^ the g'ig'an- 

 tic New Zealand bird^ known only by its fossil 

 remains. A very slig-ht knowledg-e^ however^ of 

 ornitholog-y, would be sufficient to confute the 

 notion of any struthious bird constructing* a nest of 

 this kind^ or of a wing-less land bird of g'reat size 

 inhabiting" an islet only a quarter of a mile in 

 leng'th. Both Mr. Gould and myself have seen 

 nests of the same construction^ the work of the 

 larg'e fishing--eag'le of Australia. 



This island is low and sandy ^ with a few casuari- 

 nas^ or " she-oaks/^ a fring-e of Suriana maritima^ 

 some Tournefortice^ and thickets of Clerodendrum 

 inerine. Land rail and other birds were numerous. 

 The reef, which is very extensive_, did not dry 

 throug'hout at low water^ but some sand banks 

 along' its lee margin were exposed^ and upon them 

 I found the greatest assemblage of "pretty'' shells 

 that I ever met with at one place. What would not 

 many an amateur collector have given to spend an 

 hour here ? There were fine Terehrce in abundance^ 

 orange-spotted mitres^ minutely-dotted cones^ red- 

 mouthed Strombiy glossy olives^ and magnificent 

 NaticcBy all ploughing up the wet sand in every 



* Hawkesworth's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 599. 

 f In Silliman's Journal for July, 1844. 



