058 THE BIHDS OF LORD HOWE AND NORFOLK ISLANDS, 



1908, but nesting had not commenced. The birds were very 

 tame, and sat in groups gravely inspecting us a couple of yards 

 distant, as we discussed our lunch. They have an inexpressibly 

 sly look, owing to the white line under the eye. 



In this group the nests are most frequently placed on the 

 ground, owing to the absence (except at Phillip Island) of any 

 trees or even shrubs. Dr. Metcalfe(Crowfoot, Ibis) says : " The 

 eggs are not laid in large colonies, but here and there in con- 

 venient spots, all over the island. The Noddy always makes 

 some kind of a nest. I have seen it made of dry grass, bits of 

 seaweed, dry sticks or twigs, and fish bones. As a rule there is 

 nothing but a basement made. The material is merely laid in a 

 heap, as it were, in a shallow hollow, and the egg, only one, is 

 laid thereon. In one instance I found a considerable attempt at 

 building a nest on the top of a dead tree-stump, about three feet 

 from the ground; it consisted of a mass of grass, twigs, and sea- 

 weed, but there was no interweaving of the materials." 



Breeding commences in October and extends into January. 

 The eggs vary from creamy-white to warm pinkish-white, and are 

 generally sparingly marked with brownish-red or dark red spots 

 and blotches, and pale purplish suffused blotches. Occasionally 

 one of these suffused markings is very extensive. As a rule the 

 markings are more frequent at the larger end, but one remark- 

 able specimen I obtained from the Mooo Stone (a rock near 

 Norfolk Island) is heavily blotched with masses of rich yellow- 

 brown and dark brown extending in the form of an irregular 

 zone round the middle of the egg, while a few streaks and spots 

 are sparingly scattered towards the ends, both of which are 

 unmarked. The ground-colour of this egg is a rich cream. 



Sometimes these eggs approach rather closely to some of the 

 more sparsely marked eggs of the Sooty Tern, but the collector 

 who has the privilege of '* picking over " a boat-load of eggs 

 brought in by the islanders, can always distinguish the species 

 when blowing the eggs, as the yolk of the Noddy's is pale yellow; 

 that of the Sooty Tern's egg being salmon-pink. 



