ST. JAGO, CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. 57 



Like many other kingfishers it is not aquatic in its habits, but 

 feeds mainly on locusts and other small terrestrial animals. It 

 has a terribly harsh laughing cry, a feeble imitation of that 

 of its congener of Australia, the laughing jackass. 



We met with several flocks of wild galinis, which are abun- 

 dant on the island, but are very difficult to approach. The 

 birds inhabit the slopes of the gorges which are covered with a 

 thick growth of oil trees (Jatv&plvcL mrcas) which have very 

 much the habit and general appearance of castor-oil plants. 

 The flocks of galinis station sentries to keep a look-out from 

 some rocky eminence, and these, when once they have dis- 

 covered an enemy, never lose sight of him, but carefully watch 

 the stalking operations of a sportsman and give warning as soon 

 as he gets too near to their comrades and is just expecting 

 to get a shot. 



We returned to the town in the afternoon in order to join a 

 seining party. All English men-of-war on foreign service are 

 provided with a sein net, and a seining party is regarded as 

 a sort of lark or picnic by the Blue-jackets. There are always 

 plenty of volunteers eager to go, and a good many officers 

 are ready to join. 



With us, Mr. Cox, the boatswain, was the great man on such 

 occasions, and he enjoyed the sport as much as anyone in 

 the ship. The party of volunteers, of perhaps thirty men besides 

 the officers, goes ashore in the afternoon at about four o'clock in 

 one of the cutters with the net in the dingey, the smallest ship's 

 boat. Then the net is payed out, and everyone is dressed 

 and prepared for going into the water up to his neck and 

 hauling on the lines. At last in comes the bag of the net, 

 or " cod " as Mr. Cox calls it. It is run up the beach with 

 a final spurt, and then comes the fun of handing out the fish 

 and looking at the many unfamiliar forms, for which the Blue- 

 jackets have all sorts of extraordinary names. 



At one haul on the present occasion there was a large shark 

 (Carcharias sp.), 14 feet long in the net. Mr. Cox in the dingey 

 following the net as usual as it was drawn in, in order to free it 

 if it should hitch on the bottom, sighted the shark swimming 

 round within the rapidly decreasing circle, and making bolts at 



